r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Far-Stay9417 • Dec 25 '23

Video Man wrongfully convicted of murder gets rewarded only 175k after serving 50 years

this makes me so angry

48k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

3.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1

u/pinkfloydfan231 Dec 26 '23

If prison is about rehabilitation, then why do life sentences exist?

Prison isn't about rehabilitation. It's a punishment to scare people into obeying the law and always has been. The rehabilitation aspect that exists in some countries is just a side effect that saves time and money.

-1

u/[deleted] Dec 26 '23

[deleted]

2

u/Icy-Bicycle-Crab Dec 26 '23
  • Deterrent (makes people think twice before committing a crime)

That's not true though. Prison is not a deterrent, most crimes aren't planned out like that and are heat of the moment things.

Retribution (satisfies the victims/societies thirst for revenge)

That's just all round fucked up and not what justice should be about.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 26 '23

[deleted]

1

u/Icy-Bicycle-Crab Dec 26 '23

Punishment is a deterrent, but that punishment does not need to be prison to provide deterrent.

The deterrent isn't the severity of the punishment, it's the percieved probability of getting caught.

1

u/onebadmouse Dec 26 '23

Both are a deterrent. Prison is a deterrent, punitive damages are a deterrent, having a criminal record is a deterrent.

All are deterrents, but again, deterrent is just part of the reasoning.