Should life imprisonment be abolished

Thank you for sharing your opinion. Firstly, the fact that the severity of the punishment does not act as a deterrent for the crime has not been refuted.We can see that the existence of life imprisonment has done little to deter the criminals who committed the crimes you enlisted.It does not teach *anyone* a lesson. Furthermore,the 80,000 crimes you mentioned include relatively petty crimes like theft, assault, battery etc. as it is for these crimes that most criminals are released in a relatively short period.The current aim of the Law is *only* to punish the criminal.Adequate emphasis is not given to rehabilitate him, or to eradicate the underlying causes of crime.If criminals do not change in a few years, it can partly be the failure of the government correctional system too.Crime is a multi-dimensional problem that arises due to various factors like social inequality and ethnic differences.To say that it can be stopped simply through stricter laws is to oversimplify a complex problem. Not all governments have a corruption free judiciary like the United States.Many governments use Life imprisonment to harass dissidents.Death penalty, and now life imprisonment without parole are laws that give the government power over the individual citizens. and they must be abolished to protect liberty. I am glad that you have accepted that life imprisonment is wrong for High treason and robbery, now for the others: Rape has often been used by various governments to frame certain individuals they want to get rid of. Julian Assange , who was charged with rape in Sweden is one such example.The Life Imprisonment option gives overwhelming power to the government to silence critics and dissidents.While I agree that rape is a serious crime that leaves the victim scared for life, i still believe that the aim of the law should be to make the aggressor understand his mistake. Imprisonment does nothing but punish him without him understanding the depth of his crime, resulting in criminals repeating the crime over and over again. Drug dealing is often indulged in by teens and young adults who don't know better as a means to make a quick buck.It should be combated through effective rehabilitation and provision of employment opportunities. Once again, many corrupt governments in Mexico and many parts of Latin america regularly plant drugs on civilians to harass them. Child abusers are mentally depraved and should be give treatment, not imprisonment. Human trafficking is usually done to force women into prostitution. Banning many of the activities associated with prostitution,while keeping prostitution itself legal is a much better way of combating it. Those involved in these activities could be imprisoned for a prolonged period of time, but should be given a second chance to regain their freedom if they prove that they have changed. While conventional methods of punishment such as prolonged imprisonment and community service/labor must be used, efforts should be taken to rehabilitate these criminals to give them a chance to improve their lives, as many of them are forced into a life of crime from a young age. Vocational training and counselling must *also* be given to ensure that they are given a genuine chance to correct themselves. Modern advancements in tracking technology as well as Psychology can be used to ensure that they remain within the Law. So we see that life imprisonment does not stop crime by being a deterrent, nor does it help the criminal understand why his actions were wrong. While it may punish individuals who are convicted , it does little to prevent crime itself. Also, the damage done to the victim is irreversible,harassing the criminal is not going to get one's loved ones back,Thus the 1st two arguments that you put forward stand refuted The fact that it can be used as by corrupt governments to condemn innocent people to a fate worse than death makes its eradication necessary.