the punishment should fit the crime

WHERE DO I SIGN UP? LOL

I just can't see leaving my family!

yeah, yeah and yeah. and i got one more "yeah" for ya'll:
WE GOTTA PAY FOR THAT SHIT! them sitting in prison, we pay for that!!

YEAH!!

I get your point.My daughter is a federal cop in a seriously under funded division that goes after child molesters and people that promote kiddie porn. Carries a 10mm and a badge.
We still have to ask ourselves if we are ready to have our sons,daughters,friends or family members become one of those "handful of innocent people" that you first mentioned? Dana1009 posted"I can't see leaving my family". If you are one of the handful that's exactly what will happen. An eye for an eye is ok I guess. But if I didn't take the eye in the first place then you can't put mine back.

I agree they shouldn't have color tv's or even B&W, no community type activities with other inmates, no luxuries whatsoever. BUT, there was just a case in the paper this morning here, yet again, two convicted murderers who weren't murderers at all. It's so clear that they did NOT do it that the slide held in the examiners office all this time, unexamined, will exonerate them, that they are free until retrial. They simply did not commit the crime, jailhouse "informants" were used to lie about them, and they have been done as wrong or more wrong than anyone killed. Imagine spending 20 years or more, even a Single year, in jail as a murderer, never again able to hold any job at all even if cleared of the crime, because someone wanted you there knowing you were innocent. That person, or persons, should be locked up, even tortured, for TWICE that length of time. It's unspeakable. And giving a convict (who could be innocent as these two men obviously are) to the victim's family, or the state killing them, is just not what a human being should ever even consider. There Absolutely ARE times when they are seen as 1000% guilty and then proven 1,000% innocent later. It just happend AGAIN. It has also happened hundreds of times, that's HUNDREDS, to people who were killed in the death chamber or sent to death row for crimes they had Nothing to do with.

I'm ALL for Strict punishment but we have to retain our sense of civilization and the chance that we can and DO make mistakes at times. Other times, the prosecutor or supposed witnesses are just the ACTUAL criminals. They are human and prone to mistakes and even being evil themselves. Not unless they were known to be absolutely perfect and never corrupt and never ill-willed, never biased, never anything less than perfect would I consider being so harsh. Until such time, which I don't ever foresee coming, we have to accept that it happens and stop short of being inhumane to innocent people which is bound to happen. No luxuries of any sort but no inhumane treatment or killing either. How in the world could you ever sleep at night knowing you had been a part of killing a totally innocent person. That has happened in my state, in my name, with my tax money and it tortures my conscience.

LOL @ dance_master!

slappy, it costs a LOT more to keep them on death row. It also can NOT be undone. "Mistakes happen" will NEVER be an excuse for a murder and that is precisely what a state does when they kill. It is premeditated first degree murder in every sense of the term. Would you actually want to be any part of that? I sure don't. People who do are VERY scary to those of us who have a heart and a conscience. Anyone who believes in the ten commandments should also abhor the process. Remember "thou shalt not kill"? It wasn't in any way unclear.

Compensation is the LEAST that Must be done for those who were set up and put away, locked up like an animal in a cage, lost their livelihood and families and parts of their soul that can not be imagined unless you have been there. If you don't think it's so bad, or is in any way acceptable, go spend a day behind bars, even one day. Then multiply that times 7,300 and factor in that you never get to know if you will EVER be released. That's 20 years. Nothing, no amont of money, could ever begin to compensate for that. It's an insult to expect that it would. EVERY single inmate released after being wrongly convicted seems to forgive and just be glad to get out. That's how horrible their hell was while there. They'll say ANYTHING else is heaven by comparison. They don't want money or retribution. All they want is something they can never have back, the years that were stolen from them. The only solution is prevention. Preventing it can only be done (at least some of the time) when those who deliberately put innocent people in prison face automatic Double the time behind bars themselves if caught. That'd put an end to a lot of it. Who'd ever want to risk that? The thing they fear most is that they'd have to face what they did to the ones they hated so much. That's why they did that to them. They know how wretched it is to rot in a cell. They would want that like they'd want to be stung by a thousand killer bees in their privates. Hmmm, maybe that'd be a better punishment for them. Right now, NOTHING happens to them. That's why they aren't afraid to use the legal system as a weapon for their evil doings. They face NO punishment. It should be swift and harsh and lasting. Then we'll have true justice.

I think we need to find better punishments than just warehousing people in small cubicles for x number of years. I am not talking violent killers, rapists, or other violent offenders don't get me wrong; I'm talking about someone convicted of shoplifting, theft, embezzlement, identity theft, non violent robberies, etc.

We're VERY short for volunteers these days (who has the time?), so why not put these people to work.

Instead of warehousing these people why not put them to work on a farm? With so many farmers having to hire illegal immigrants cause they can't afford to pay anyone else, why not use these prisoners as cheap labor? Everyone will benefit the farmers, the tax payers, and the prisoners who will learn some positive skills while they serve thier sentence.

I would also adovcate (again non violent offenders) to serve thier sentence by enlisting in the Army. Give them credit for time served per year they are enlisted, again they will pick skills they could use when a member of society. I don't think most grunts make $60, 000 a year so we save money as tax payers.

I also like the idea of judges making up thier own sentences (having shoplifers stand outside Wal-Mart with signs letting people know they stole from that store).

As far as the rich commiting crimes...the best thing to do here is to totally cut off any access to the millions of dollars they have during a long period of time. Martha Stewart didn't care about going to prison, she would still have all her money when she got out! I say take all the money people like this have freeze for a number years or have them draw off this money based upon minium wage. Maybe once these idiots see what its like to live with the low wages they force thier employees to live on then MAYBE they'll think twice about stealing money or fixing the market.

Finally I do not agree with the eye for an eye concept. The problem is that if everyone goes an eye for an eye then everyone ends up blind.