regev comments

I’m considering a special flight to Japan just to have one of those cranberry - white chocolate - pistachio doughnuts – yummy!

iKnow is awesome – thanks!!

Why can’t my wife hire the kind services of Kyoko or one of her young friends? So inconsiderate!

As manifested in the latest Georgian war, in the fight against US defense missiles in Europe, in Iran, in this spying case and many more, it is now clear: the Russian power is back, big time. Beware people wherever you are…

The car's design is beautiful.

yamahama

Why do we, as a society, punish someone?

There are few different answers to this question, some are moderate and enlightened, and some are more emotional and radical. Here are 4 main reasons for punishing a man:

1) “He deserves it” – Emotionally we feel that if someone did bad, then he deserves to be punished, “an eye for an eye”: you’ve killed someone? You should be killed too. This is childish, yet authentic behavior. Most of us feel like this when we first hear the details of a terrible criminal act, though a moderate person or a judge must know to suppress his immediate emotional response, and decide comely, peacefully and rationally, but I’m digressing.

2) “Be ware” - A second reason for punishing someone is to frighten others from committing such forbidden acts, and to scare the criminal himself from doing so in the future. This reasoning doesn’t seem to apply to capital punishment what so ever: for a psychotic people as Tomohiro Kato, lifetime in prison or capital punishment makes no difference; in fact they might even prefer the latter. They do not learn from other cases, they don’t care if someone else was jailed or hanged, they do not make these calculations, they are just insane or tired of it all.

3) Protect Society - A third reason for punishment is to defend society from wrongdoers, from people that interrupt the others, that make our life together less possible or impossible. We punish and lock them down because we have no other way, they don’t let us live our lives peacefully, they give us no other alternative. Such reasoning, of course, can not justify capital punishment – it’s enough to lock down the criminal for life in order to protect society. And though imprisoning cost money and resources to the society, it’s a price society got to pay, for it also has minor responsibility for the bad condition in which the criminal was raised, for his unemployment or for neglecting him, or for not treating his mental condition. I’m not saying in any way he’s not to blame, I’m just saying society have some little responsibility and should spend the money needed for the imprisoning.

4) Rehab - A fourth reason for punishment says that we lock a criminal in order to rehabilitate him, to make him again a decent part of society, a part of us people who respect each other and follow the agreed laws. In many cases real rehab is not possible, the criminal has been through too much, has done too much wrong, or gone totally mad, yet killing will obviously not rehabilitate him either.

One final remark: I’m writing this while being truly sorry for the lives of the people that were murdered, and the awful grief that surrounds their families whose life will never be the same. I just don’t think capital punishment is the answer to anything.

(*) Sorry for my long comment.

Where can I sign in?

roughneck is right. I have nothing but respect for these good people.

What’s wrong with you comments ppl? She is so cute!

By definition it is (that’s what it’s all about!), though I don’t find it offensive.

Great article – thanks.

6 billion - wow - that's impressive! A brave and honorable step by the chairman. Hope it will help to cheer up his employees. Why can't my boss do the same?

a windy palm by the roaring see as thoughts grow shorter a twit

Sounds great!

It’s a shame the name (and age) of the poor guy who made the mistake is published instead of the name of the righteous man who returned the money.

This is cute!

WOW this looks so delicious !!