Claim: We, In America, Need to rethink the way we define crime and the way we punish it.

=== Assisted Self-destruction === I am surprised that you disapprove of assisted suicide. Drug use, Prostitution, And other victimless crimes are in the same category with suicide. Here is the standard formulation in its most general form: --- if _________ is not illegal, Then supporting/supplying _________ is not illegal --- Please explain why filling the blank with "suicide" is different from all the other victimless actions. If you cannot, Then perhaps the entire formula on victimless crimes loses credibility. You seem to be saying that facilitating suicide should be illegal. Why not then facilitating drugs use and facilitating paid sex? How are they not all identical either way? === "Knowledge is an effective teacher" === I don't mean to catch you in a silly example, But knowledge does not PERFORM teaching. Knowledge is WHAT is taught. Admittedly, I have not attempted to teach a violent criminal to get a job and be nice. To me, It seems like it will be virtually impossible to teach them much of anything. How can you say that suffering is not a good teacher? Most of the things I have learned in life are a direct result of suffering (however small). One time in middle school, I never started a report that was due just before Christmas vacation. So my grandma sat with me for a couple days (during vacation! ) and made me do the report. Boy was that suffering--and effective teaching. If you don't pay the energy bill, Your electricity gets turned off (learning through suffering). If you don't plug in your phone, It will be dead in the morning (learning through suffering). If you fool around on your bike or moped, Or cliff jumping, Etc. And you break your leg (learning through suffering). === "they don't want people getting away with their crimes" === I don't mean to catch you in a silly example, But should I be okay with people "getting away with it"? That seems like a recipe for disaster. As soon as you announce that some act is not going to be punished (aka, It is okay to do), That act will unquestionably occur more often. It is clear that "justice" provides some level of deterrence, Which is a non-useless goal. I don't want people to suffer the "same pain" as the victim. That's called an eye for an eye. In most cases, I would prefer that the criminal provide money to the victim. This is a form of punishment, But it does not duplicate the victim's suffering. Instead, It helps restore the victim to their pre-crime position in life. Unfortunately, Many of the criminals have no money to provide to the victim. This is one place that jail comes from--a form of payment in lieu of money. Yes, It fails miserably compared to money for the victim. Yes, It does cause suffering. No, It should not include violence or inhumanity. But it does provide the valuable outcome of some level of deterrence. Now, You are telling me to happily allow all people (rich and poor) to commit crime with no negative consequences at all. You suggest I send them to school. Should I give lawbreakers a full-ride scholarship to the college of their choice? What message would that send: "crime pays. " === Separating Causes and Effects === In an academic setting, It sounds plausible that a minor bad thing (prostitution) is totally separate from a major bad thing (human trafficking). However, In the real world, These strongly linked to each other.