Resolved: In the United States, minor jail time ought to be replaced with significant rehabilitation

Thank you for the compliment, and likewise I can tell that already we have a great debate going. I hope it stays interesting and a good read for both each other and the audience. With that I begin the Negative Rebuttal. Beginning with question of which value is more appropriate, Justice or Societal Welfare in the scope of the criminal Justice system. 1. Justice versus Societal Welfare In the case construct, I stated that "the validity and respectability of the Criminal Justice system depends on its delivering of Justice." This does not go directly addressed by my opponent. I take it therefore it is conceded that Justice is a better value by which we determine the appropriate punishment for criminals. II. The Criterion for Appropriate Punishment --- Looking from the point of view of Justice A. Rehabilitation is outside the Jurisdiction of the State, and thus is an unjust approach towards criminal behavior. My opponent writes that he "needs a little more of this argument". He asks "how does it tie in to justice" And so I'll oblige. Justice is, as I mentioned, a complex issue. But a key element to the nature of justice is Jurisdiction. We forbid people from taking revenge into their own hands because they do not have the Jurisdiction to mete justice. Principals are allowed to discipline the behavior of students on school grounds, but only Parents are allowed to discipline children for what they do outside of school. For Principals to punish a student for actions he takes while at home is Unjust. Jurisdiction is a critical component of Justice. And Rehabilitation, because it falls Outside the Jurisdiction of the State, fails to fulfill the value of Justice. (Reference to III A. in Round 1. Note: argument was unchallenged) B. Jail time Is a Just form of punishment My opponent concedes that Jail Time is a just form of punishment. Although he said "I personally see the significant rehab as what is more just", he by implication admits that Jail time is still a just form of punishment, even if, in his opinion, not the most just of punishments. --------------- The value of this debate is Justice. So if Jail Time is more Just than Rehabilitation, Jail Time should be the accepted form of punishment. I have shown in II A. (and III A in Round 1) that Rehabilitation is Unjust because it falls outside the State's jurisdiction. My opponent has conceded that Jail time Is a just form of punishment, and therefore, Jail Time is Just while Rehabilitation is not. Therefore Jail Time is the appropriate form of punishment. ---------------- However, to cover all bases, I will address the issue of societal welfare. Let us assume that societal welfare is a better value than Justice in determining the correct punishment for the Criminal Justice system. III. Forced Rehabilitation is against the societal welfare My opponent writes that by voting pro "you open the door for having the possibility of saving criminal acts from* happening". However in doing so he makes 2 mistakes. First of all, a Forced rehabilitation is very different from an optional rehabilitation. Am I against rehabilitation? Of course not. If juveniles wish to enter rehabilitation of their own free will, it's a right they are entitled to. But to Force juveniles into rehabilitation is an altogether different matter. There is no reason to suspect forced rehabilitation would have a high rate of success. And furthermore, brainwashing unwilling inmates and fostering in them a belief that Lord Xenu hydrogen bombed aliens into oblivion on earth 75 million years ago, is not exactly how I would go around promoting the societal good. Because that is how Criminon "rehabilitates" inmates. Recruiting them to become scientologists. Forced Rehabilitation is exactly what Cambodia did to its political prisoners, what China does to its political prisoners. The second mistake is that even if rehabilitation programs rehabilitate, referencing Rebuttal (IV) B in round 1, "out state governments are not made of money". We can reduce crime even more effectively than rehabilitation if we put a camera on every street corner. We can reduce crime even more effectively if we increase the number of police officers 10 fold. There are countless ways we can effectively eliminate crime if we had enough money. But as I said, state governments are not made out of money. Forced rehabilitation is an expensive project. The money could be redirected towards better education, more police officers, and so on and so forth. IV. Jail is good for societal welfare. My opponent claims jail time is ineffective and therefore not good for societal welfare. To argue this, my opponent cites an article about a poll which takes place in England. The poll asks people what they "think" is effective. Besides being in another country, people's expressed opinion on the effectiveness of jail time probably doesn't actually correlate with the actual effectiveness of jail time. My opponent maintains that jail time does not discourage crime. I disagree. My opponent offers no reasonable evidence and so jail time discourages crime still stands.