Tony Farmer (Top 100 recruit) collapses in court during sentencing for assault

[rsvman]

... that would be the sort of perspective that would drive our society even further on the extreme in regards to imprisonment of our citizens (as it stands, we already lead the world in the persentage of the population in prison).

+``-

The fact that we lead the world in percentage of the population that is incarcerated doesn't necessarily mean that we should not be imprisoning people. Maybe it means we have a higher percentage of criminals?

When I lived in Japan I recall that for an entire year they had a total of 6 armed robberies nationwide. At that time the population of Japan was approximately half that of the United States. So the equivalent would be that in an entire year there would only be 12 armed robberies in the United States! There were probably 12 armed robberies in Newport News, Virginia (just to pick out a random mid-sized city.) It would come as no surprise, then, that the Japanese aren't imprisoning as high a percentage of their populace as we are.

My feeling is that the problem is not in our criminal justice system but in our society. Somebody needs to teach people right from wrong, responsibility, etc. Basketball is entirely irrelevant. It's a freakin' game, for crying out loud. Putting a ball through a hoop is a pastime, not a life.

[gus]

The discussion on NPR about Breivik suggested he was unlikely to see the light of day.

Except of course on the days he gets to go to the prison's solarium.

[BD80]

... My feeling is that the problem is not in our criminal justice system but in our society. Somebody needs to teach people right from wrong, responsibility, etc. ...

Whoa there Pilgrim. You're getting mighty close to PPB territory. Isn't differentiating right from wrong a religious tenet?

At the very least, imposing one's choice of morals upon another is certainly an issue of public policy.

Of course, I agree with you with every fiber of my being.

[Newton_14]

This thread has in fact evolved into PPB, and pretty much ran its course. I think closing it now is the best course of action.