[ExI] What is Grace?

[Stefano Vaj]

On Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 4:29 AM, Gordon Swobe <gts_2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I think we incarcerate or execute criminals for one or more of the following reasons:
>
> 1) retribution (we should make them suffer for what they did)
> 2) rehabilitation (we should heal them and make them productive citizens)
> 3) deterrence (we should prevent them from re-offending, and make them an example to others)

At least in western societies, criminal sentences serve somewhat
unofficially an additional purpose, namely the more or less temporary
elimination of people who are perceived as dangerous or asocial from
society.

This is of course hypocritical and distorsive, since it should be
dealt with if anything not on the basis of crimes allegedly already
perpetrated and their gravity, but on the basis of potential future
damages.

-- 
Stefano Vaj