I was in a jury pool in Texas in December. After the attorneys finished with their questions, the judge himself had each of us answer the following question:
What is the purpose of incarceration?
A. Punishment
B. Rehabilitation
C. Deterrence
Every single one one of us who answered anything other than punishment, including answers that said some combination of the three, were dismissed by the judge.
The cruelty is a feature.
Incidentally, the case was a guy who robbed a convenience store. He had a gun, no shots were fired, no injury, no death, got away with two hundred dollars.
He was found guilty and sentenced to fifty nine years.
I was in a jury pool in Texas in December. After the attorneys finished with their questions, the judge himself had each of us answer the following question:
What is the purpose of incarceration?
A. Punishment
B. Rehabilitation
C. Deterrence
Every single one one of us who answered anything other than punishment, including answers that said some combination of the three, were dismissed by the judge.
The cruelty is a feature.
Incidentally, the case was a guy who robbed a convenience store. He had a gun, no shots were fired, no injury, no death, got away with two hundred dollars.
He was found guilty and sentenced to fifty nine years.