image: One for the Road.
There's a lot of talk on the scumbag problem this morning after the second Polish man died. Twenty's calling for vigilantism. I disagree with this as vigilantism can take on the hue of paramilitarism with ease and become a front for more crime. However if anyone trots out the "underpriviledged" chestnut as an excuse for this behaviour I'll set Twenty on you with a pipe-wielding posse to beat some sense into you because a lack of education or poor facilities does not force a screwdriver into someone's brain. Environment does not dictate action: the scumbag(s) that killed those guys did it of his/their own volition.
Prison doesn't work either, at least in terms of rehabilitation rather than the "scumbags off the street" factor. Recidivism proves that:
"27.4% of released prisoners were
serving a new prison sentence within
one year. This rose to 39.2% after two
years, 45.1% after three years and
49.2% after four years"
And it costs €90,900 per annum per prisoner.
Source.
So, it's a waste of time, money and life to jail most of these fuckers. So what's my big idea?
Chemical incarceration.
The injection of those convicted of serious assault, murder and sex offences with a chemical agent that prevents motor functions in the human body without affecting consciousness. Scumbags become prisoners in their own body and are released to the care of their own families. The chemical is given as long as is necessary to incapacitate the offender for the duration of the sentence.
Presto: prison costs are drastically reduced, scumbags are off the streets and not receiving scumbag training while in jail, their families are responsible for them and once the sentence is served they get the use of their bodies back. I'd imagine recidivism would fall off rather drastically. Sentences could be reduced as six months stuck in your own head probably equates to a 5 year prison sentence.
I'm no chemist but I'm sure there's a drug that can temporarily interrupt motor functions. And just to be clear: I'm serious.
14 comments:
Fantastic idea!
We could use them as speed bumps of something
Liberals would never allow it. They spend more time protecting the rights of scumbags as anybody else....
not a bad suggestion at all. Being a pragmatist, I like to try and create a right out of two wrongs.
We have scumbags we don't want.
We have rendition flights we don't want.
'Nuff said?
I'm all for rights, but it's a simple equation: violate someone else, lose your rights.
two words:
nerve gas.
I'm sure that would constitute torture.
And I feel like anybody who suggests something so stupid shouldn't be allowed have a brain, but that would leave me in their category, which puts me in a horrible, recursive, self-punishing position, in the same way we all imprison ourselves when we start thinking in this biblical 'eye-for-an-eye' way.
@Onefortheroad: No, I don't support the death penalty.
@Stopcock: Constitute it as torture for me.
@Neil: I never think in a biblical way. If it was eye-for-an-eye we'd be stabbing the murderers in the head with screwdrivers. My way, they live. And if you feel that way, perhaps you can suggest a system of punishment that actually works?
Hmm, my point may have been missed. Outsource. If we have the rendition flights anyway, get some value from them, put the scumbags on the flights for some surfing in Guantanamo. That's what waterboarding is, right?
Oh, and the Innuits have a good way of dealing with those kind of people in their society too. I believe the quote was: "someone would push him off the ice when no-one else was looking" :-)
No, I can't, but I can't see this working any more than the prisons we're using now.
Well written article and you have the nub of a good idea there. But if it was implemented wouldn't this kind of Offender Treatment just become a new hobby-horse for the 'right-on' brigade who I can already see parading outside Government Buildings arguing for extra grants for the offenders families, for day care centres, education facilities, excursion grants and whatever! The "ice treatment" looks very innovative though!
Might to say that plan's so crazy it just might work.
Isn't it a desperate shame that decent, enlightened citizens have to entertain such extreme methods?
I'm not disagreeing with you, either.
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