Punishment

Okay so two main points 1.The severity of the crime The severity of the crime can be measured by the effect on the victim. I believe that people who are raped are subject to a lifelong torment. 13% actually take their own lives anyway (1), but the rest are doomed to know it their whole lives and feel 'empty' as they put it in many studies. We cannot underestimate the suffering of these people, and their future relationships are also tainted by it. I know death is definitive but we must understand that sometimes life can be such a torment that one can wish for death. For 33% of victims actually consider suicide and have these thoughts (1), so for the bottom third of people, life is so bad that death is a considered option. And indeed for the bottom 1 in 10, death is actively chosen. So even for the most resilient and least effected cases, major depression, self blame, stress are a certainty and are often lifelong. So although the 'effect' of murder is still more severe, in the way it actually removes somebody from life - rape victims, the ones that don't kill themselves anyway, actually have their entire life changed and that of their family forever. Not as simple as just the removal of someone, but instead a lifelong torment and feeling of anger, not to mention the lifelong feelings of self blame, depression and suicidal thoughts by the victim. Indeed forgive my crudeness, but I believe that someone who is raped and commits suicide, suffers more pain than somebody who is murdered. And in some cases I believe that somebody who is quickly murdered, would suffer less than even a resilient person, who has a lifelong rape trauma. I know this point may be somewhat weak, but this second one is my main one. 2.The perpetrator and his/her personality. There are a hundred reasons why one could kill another, indeed there is an infinite number of reasons. Some are even noble and even desirable. Rape however has one reason, small, quick pleasure. The most ignoble thing to murder for, the kind of intent that in a court of law would get you the longest sentence. Rape is only done for pleasure. As I have explained above about the effects of rape, just think that someone will do that to someone for 1 orgasm. The fact that people who live by these morals are being treat less harshly than anyone, annoys me. If an individual murders someone, you cannot assume anything. For example at one end of the scale-soldiers. Further down from that you have people who kill in self defence or even because they are part of a socio-economic caused subculture that does not use the police. For example, people brought up in certain estates will be aware of rivals e.c.t and not be able to get help of police, knowing that a person is out to kill their family, they may kill them first to protect their children. Personally I know people who have killed people and some of them are wonderful people. One grew up in a country where the police where as corrupt as the gangs and so violence was survival not a choice. So murders are often gang related and complicated, the majority are not random acts of cruelty. I am not condoning murder, but I do believe that someone who rapes someone is always at least as bad as someone who murders someone. Would you agree? Obviously there isn't much difference between someone who murders randomly and someone who rapes randomly, but everybody who rapes is wicked, not everybody who kills is wicked. So because the person who rapes is always the worst kind of person (i.e. selfish, minimum pleasure for lifelong suffering of victim) they should be kept away from the public for the longest and as a result of their extreme wickedness (if we go by the law) they should be punished more severely. Murder is complicated and unless it is done at random and for purely pleasurable purposes, it should not be classed as severe as rape. That will be enough to be going on with (1) http://www.suicide.org...