I actually don't understand prison sentence lengths at all.
1. Why is prison time measured in years?!? I can't even list all the things I've done in the last year. I can't imagine being confined to a few square blocks for ten or twenty or thirty times that length of time, especially when it does not only cause loss of freedom (which was supposedly the only intent) but a greatly reduced quality of life (e.g. endangerment, and even small things like having worse meals all the time).
2. Why is prison even considered for young people? People do stupid things when they're young; they don't always know better. You can't tell me that someone who's 20, who's barely had a chance to live alone for "years", should suddenly be told to spend "years" living with strangers for (most likely) some petty crime. Great recipe for development there.
3. Why do we have bail? Oh, you're rich? Great, leave; otherwise, stay in jail until your trial. And since the system is so damned efficient, who knows how long that will be. Oh, and those in charge occasionally forget about people[1] after they're detained.
4. Why isn't community service the number one penalty for most crimes, especially minor offenses? And, why isn't the bar being significantly lowered for what constitutes a minor offense?
[1] http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/05/us/california-forgotten-prison...
1. Why is prison time measured in years?!? I can't even list all the things I've done in the last year. I can't imagine being confined to a few square blocks for ten or twenty or thirty times that length of time, especially when it does not only cause loss of freedom (which was supposedly the only intent) but a greatly reduced quality of life (e.g. endangerment, and even small things like having worse meals all the time).
2. Why is prison even considered for young people? People do stupid things when they're young; they don't always know better. You can't tell me that someone who's 20, who's barely had a chance to live alone for "years", should suddenly be told to spend "years" living with strangers for (most likely) some petty crime. Great recipe for development there.
3. Why do we have bail? Oh, you're rich? Great, leave; otherwise, stay in jail until your trial. And since the system is so damned efficient, who knows how long that will be. Oh, and those in charge occasionally forget about people[1] after they're detained.
4. Why isn't community service the number one penalty for most crimes, especially minor offenses? And, why isn't the bar being significantly lowered for what constitutes a minor offense?
[1] http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/05/us/california-forgotten-prison...