Ultra-Tech Punishments?

[Manic Typist]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

Interesting. So, the maximum sentence for murder is 18 years?

[Gnaskar]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

Interesting. So' date=' the maximum sentence for murder is 18 years?[/quote']

 

Actually, it turns out that was upped to 21 years in 2010 (as part of a "terror laws" overhaul); but with a note in the law stating that this only applies when mass murder or other such "extremely worsening circumstances" are involved. The minimum sentence for murder is 8 years, and it's rare to hear of someone getting more than about 12 years. On top of that, good behavior and such make it a general rule that most people only spend about half their sentence in an actual jail.

 

One the other hand, to be released from a Norwegian jail a council of psychologists and other experts have to certify that you are no longer a risk to society in general, nor to any of your victims and their families. If they decide you are still a risk, they can keep you locked up for another 5 years before you get another evaluation. So, in the most extreme cases, we can keep someone in prison indefinitely. It just rarely happens.

[Manic Typist]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

Very interesting.

 

Any idea of what the recidivism rate is for violent offenders in the area?

[Gnaskar]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

Depending on the source and the year, crime in general has a repeat crime rate of 20-30%.

 

Violent crimes are harder to find statistics for, but from what I found: it was about 50-60% for violent crimes, and 30-40% for rape.

 

On the other hand, there's only about 1000 cases of violent crime per year. That's 0.2 per 1000 people. And most of those are just drunken brawls.

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

Memory implantation.

 

Couple of examples of this in Star Trek. One gave the offender very detailed false memories about a long and extremely unpleasant jail term, then letting the offender go. Not sure how this was supposed to work in terms of rehabilitation but, if deterrence without having to run an actual prison system is your culture's thing, it has possibilities.

 

The other was, for a murder, giving the offender the victim's memories of the event, then forcing the offender to replay this repeatedly.

[Ragitsu]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

Yup: sadism.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

This system/culture works well most of the time' date=' but recently a weakness has been exposed. With an estimated 1 in 10 rape cases actually ending in an arrest, and most of those the ones where the victim knew his/her attacker, there just isn't enough of a disincentive to stop everyone. A small group of people (estimated to be around five people, last I checked) around the country have been going berserk with around a rape per week for the last couple of months. [/quote']

 

You guys need to bring back that blood eagle thing. A rape a week is ridiculous to put up with from one person.

 

I recommend you begin a regimen of costumed vigilantism.

[Gnaskar]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

You guys need to bring back that blood eagle thing. A rape a week is ridiculous to put up with from one person.

 

I recommend you begin a regimen of costumed vigilantism.

 

I've proposed both of those to my local representative, but he didn't think it would get passed. Something about civil liberties and cruel and unusual punishment.

[Mister E]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

Jet li in "The One" (2001) end scene:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owYk4TOddYY

[Ragitsu]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

Jet li in "The One" (2001) end scene:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owYk4TOddYY

 

Better hope you're skilled enough!

[megaplayboy]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

Behavior modification for those resistant to rehabilitation.

Experiencing the memories and trauma of one's victims, as has been mentioned. Some sociopaths and sadists might not consider this a punishment, though.

 

Sedation and incarceration in a virtual prison--perhaps something set up to teach/rehabilitate the criminal(interesting premise for an RPG, I guess.)

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

Sedation and incarceration in a virtual prison--perhaps something set up to teach/rehabilitate the criminal(interesting premise for an RPG' date=' I guess.)[/quote']

 

Had this in the 'Cyberpunk 2020' rpg. Called "Braindance".

 

Originally intended as rehabilitation via behaviour modification. Inevitably, as society and the world in general went downhill, it was soon being used as a straight-out punishment/deterrent. Supposedly very nasty stuff.

[Ragitsu]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

How about revocation of reproductive rights?

[wcw43921]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

I have never understood how suspended animation is punishing the perp.

 

I don't know as it is so much punishment as it is warehousing the convict. A prisoner in suspended animation does not have to be fed, or washed, or guarded, or suffer abouse at the hands of other inmates. (Which may not be as cost-effective as sticking him in a cell and feeding him crap three times a day--but it could be.) There is also the possibility of deterrent--suspended animation could be considered a death sentence--except that if it turns out that the convicted is actually innocent, he can be revived to live his life again--if he could deal with the culture shock of missing the last six or seven decades.

 

How about revocation of reproductive rights?

 

Are you talking about chemical castration, or tying a slab or raw meat around the convict's scrotum and locking him in a room with an angry pit bull? The former could be seen as a moderate deterrent, but could also could be construed as unfair to the convict's present or potential children--just because someone is a repeat offender doesn't mean his children will be. The latter would be seen as an extreme deterrent, and depending on the society, an excessive violation of the convict's rights. But a society that wouldn't see it that way would just as soon execute the poor slob, as remove his ability to reproduce.

 

The Country Of The Kind by Damon Knight has perhaps the most unique form of punishment--a man who commits a murder is sentenced to a high-tech form of shunning. After his brain is fixed so he has an epileptic seizure if he ever attempts another violent act, and his body chemistry altered so that his odor lets everyone know who he is, the people who make up the permissive, passive society of this future refuse to associate with him, or acknoledge his presence. He can still cause property damage--and does it quite often--and can take whatever he wants; people just move elsewhere or let him have their things--they can always get more. But no one has talked to him or acknowledged him for thirty years--and it has had an effect. He keeps trying to entice people to join him through sculptures he leaves around--but no one does.

 

Hope that helps.

[Robot_Nixon]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

If you subscribe to the concept of the technological singularity, man-machine interface, and personality recording and transcribing. And you don't get hung up on the star trek transporter sophism that it doesn't actually transport you, it only kills you by disintegration and recreates an exact copy of you at the destination, then;

 

You could record and store the personality of the offender in a virtual prison cell where time passes in real time, he must attend virtual rehabilitation courses, and if underprivileged, is allowed to attend some form of training to allow a productive reintegration into society.

 

Meanwhile, to pay for the data storage, power, and rehabilitation and vocational courses, your body would be provided as a rental to others who have died, had theirs stolen, or just want to vacation as someone else. Of course the renter has to pay for repairs or buy insurance that will do the same, but the implications create a strong deterrence to crime.

 

Not only do you have to put up with the general aging of your body while incarcerated, but you may have new injuries that will be impairing to some greater or lesser degree depending on the medical technology available. More importantly, you'll have to deal with the social impact of the rentals, insofar as any social contracts made by your renters, like romantic involvements, business relationships, and all the other drama that comes with being alive and interacting with people. Since these contracts were made through some form of duplicity either explicit or implicit because of the false nature of the body rental, none of them will likely be very rewarding for the person that eventually has to reclaim the recognizable body and its new allotment of social baggage.

 

Still within the realms of sadism, but not terribly so. Of course, you would have to come up with a surrogate if the convicts rental body is permanently destroyed that isn't rewarding, such as a basic robot lacking features, and even human levels of agility and strength, or a generic clone made without appealing features and only rudimentary physical abilities. It sounds terrible but if the released personality works hard enough they can upgrade to a more custom clone or robot/android, or with stored genetic code, even regrow their old body.

[Ragitsu]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

Is peacefully writing out the criminal elements of one's personality truly sadism?

[Christopher]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

The Country Of The Kind by Damon Knight has perhaps the most unique form of punishment--a man who commits a murder is sentenced to a high-tech form of shunning. After his brain is fixed so he has an epileptic seizure if he ever attempts another violent act' date=' and his body chemistry altered so that his odor lets everyone know who he is, the people who make up the permissive, passive society of this future refuse to associate with him, or acknoledge his presence. He can still cause property damage--and does it quite often--and can take whatever he wants; people just move elsewhere or let him have their things--they can always get more. But no one has talked to him or acknowledged him for thirty years--and it has had an effect. He keeps trying to entice people to join him through sculptures he leaves around--but no one does.[/quote']

This reminds me of a similar Fantasy Example (just apply Clarkes Law). The elfs there are very cloes to tolkien, minus the military power. They mostly life in small hunter-gatherer villages.

One of the few forms of punishment they have is "shunning". They completely ignore the existance of him for a short time (relative. Without contact to the outside world they can live hundreds of years). They of course only do this to mild offenders.

For stronger offensives (pretty much any crime involvign violence), they usually use exile.

[Old Man]

Re: Ultra-Tech Punishments?

 

The Country Of The Kind by Damon Knight has perhaps the most unique form of punishment--a man who commits a murder is sentenced to a high-tech form of shunning. After his brain is fixed so he has an epileptic seizure if he ever attempts another violent act, and his body chemistry altered so that his odor lets everyone know who he is, the people who make up the permissive, passive society of this future refuse to associate with him, or acknoledge his presence. He can still cause property damage--and does it quite often--and can take whatever he wants; people just move elsewhere or let him have their things--they can always get more. But no one has talked to him or acknowledged him for thirty years--and it has had an effect. He keeps trying to entice people to join him through sculptures he leaves around--but no one does.

 

I remember seeing a similar Twilight Zone episode (this was the new series that ran in the eighties).