Crime and Punishment

Hello friends,

If I said to you that I don't think criminals should be punished, you would probably react negatively.  You might make inarticulate sounds, you might think I've lost my mind, and if you really know me, you would probably think I'm pulling your chain.  Most people in our society believe that criminals should be punished, and in truth, I agree.  We are fairly homogeneous in this belief, as a matter of fact.

Where we see large differences of opinion in our society is when we try to define crimes and set punishments for them.  Some don't believe the death penalty should ever be used, regardless of the crime; some believe that lethal injection is too good for the guy who raped and killed little girls.  Some believe the death penalty is meant to be a deterrent to other criminals; some believe it is for ensuring that a specific person cannot hurt anyone ever again.  Some people believe that drug use is a crime; some say that it is more akin to a medical disorder, like anemia.  Some believe that abortion is murder; others see it as a choice.

Whatever you believe in your heart, there is someone who disagrees with you.  This is why we need to be careful when making decisions on emotionally charged issues.  As much as an action may make your insides roil, as much as an opinion may tear at your heart, that does not make legislation the appropriate response.  We have to look at what works, what makes sense for society as a whole.

Making abortion illegal did not stop it.  Desperate women went to black market "doctors" who used dirty instruments in less-than-hygienic conditions.  Time after time, nations have proven that prohibition on alcohol and drugs does not work.  People continue to use them, but the society that criminalizes that use then spends its resources on finding, prosecuting and imprisoning those users.

We have to remember the true consequences of making something illegal.  It's not just the loss of our freedom to do something with impunity.  When people talk about marijuana as a "gateway drug", they're referring to the fact that using it leads a person to more dangerous drugs.  Most don't consider the "taboo effect": once a person has broken one taboo, it is easier to break the next one.  People talk about how drugs should be illegal because use supports criminal activity.  However, if you could buy the drugs at your local apothecary, the criminals wouldn't make money from the sale.

Those consequences also extend to our wallets.  When we make something illegal, we must now fund the enforcement of that law.  The police must investigate, crime labs must confirm, District Attorneys must press charges, judges and jurors must hear the evidence- and that's all before a conviction happens.  Think about how much money is spent before we ever know for sure the person is guilty.  If they are convicted, the cash hole goes deeper- jails, guards, food, court appeals...

If you had to pay for it by yourself, would you?  If someone came to you and said, "Hey, the guy next door is smoking pot.  We're going to investigate, arrest, convict and punish him, and we need your check," would you write it?  What if I told you the annual cost of incarcerating drug users in the US is over $9 billion?  That's approximately $20,000 per year per drug user.  Do you care enough about whether or not the guy next door gets high to pay $20,000 to see him go to jail?

Think, people, before you support a new law.  Think about the total consequences.  Think about the resources that will be spent and if they can be better used in other ways to achieve the desired result.  As an example, think of all the rehab and education programs, all the shelters and research, that could have been funded with the money we've spent in the last 20 years on the "War on Drugs".

I'm not saying there should be a crack pipe in every living room.  I'm saying that until the crack head commits a real crime to support the habit (e.g. robbery) or endangers another person, in my book they aren't a criminal just for making poor health choices- an idiot, perhaps, but not a criminal.

Remember people: we cannot legislate our woes away.  We cannot pass law after law until we reach utopia.  Absolving ourselves of personal responsibility by having the government make all the right choices for us and punishing those who choose otherwise for themselves does not create a great society; it creates a society of weaklings who cannot think for themselves and who live in constant fear of false retribution.

Think for yourself, and take responsibility for your choices.  The rest will come.

Until next time,
MK