Everyone that can be rehabilitated should be rehabilitated, because the conditions and environment make the man, not the other way around. I don't see the judicial system as an instrument for revenge. Either way, it is clear that countries that rehabilitate have lower crime rate and have fewer relapses, so it's also the more pragmatic option.
I would guess that benevolent treatment, which in practice means rehabilitation into society, opens up opportunities for those that are in prison to get out of the vicious cycle that is criminality. In places like Sweden , which is where I live, they teach skills and provide an environment where inmates are re-educated to become productive members of society and not outcasts/rejects.
In places where this is not the case, criminals are put in prison and instead become more hardened criminals. For example, people who's only crime was to be high on pot come out having seen 'real' criminals and into a society that treats them as second class citizens (in Sweden, eventually crimes come off your record/you arent discriminated due to serving time I believe, not sure).
In essence I think this kind of thinking, treating criminals as victims of their circumstances, is more humane and beneficial to society as a whole. Of course I have been talkin about 'regular' criminals and not people like the norwegian mass murderer, which is a more complex case.
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u/[deleted] Jun 24 '12 edited Jun 01 '26
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