Prison may be too soft : I don't know, because (thank God) I have never been incarcerated in one. But as a non-offender, the prospect of prison would certainly be a deterrent to me, were I to consider an illegal act. But as we all know, prisoners aren't a homogeneous population : there are some, surely, for whom the present regime is not too liberal, and equally there are others for whom it is far too comfortable and for whom a regime intended to punish rather than to merely control would certainly be appropriate. But it is worth bearing in mind that some of the earlier punishments which we now think of as a mild joke (e.g., the stocks) were in fact an extremely painful experience : not only was the offender likely to have rocks, faeces, etc., thrown in his/her face, he/she was also confined in an agonising position causing unbearable pain in his/her back muscles [1] -- the stocks were no joke, and to suggest even in jest that they should be brought back to ignore their horrible reality. Yes, let's make prison tough for those that deserve it, but let's not even think for one second of going back to the dark ages when physical torture was an everyday risk, even for those guilty of nothing more than soiling the future bride of the monarch of the day.
** Phil.
[1] I'm speaking of those that held both the ankles and the wrists; those that held the wrists and the neck were not quite as severe, but to be forced to maintain that position for any significant period of time must have caused considerable physical discomfort -- something that we tend to overlook these days.
Topic: Non curry - What the **** is wrong with this country? (read 4,306 times)