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Comment by ajmurmann | Hacker News Reader

Rehabilitation and integration are not goals in the US. It's punishment and deterring criminals. It's dumb and antiquated old testament morale beyond believe.

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Let's not single out the US for that. There are quite a lot of places (many even worse than the US) that use imprisonment for punishment and as a deterrent, rather than rehabilitation. It's society's dirty little secret, that some members of it just want "Bad People" to be punished.

There are no other modern rich, democratic countries with anything even approaching the incarceration rate or minimum sentencing insanity the US has, so it's entirely proper to single the US out.

The Japanese system is deeply troubled too although in different ways.

Yes, they have old people who dont get enough for a pension. That is troubling as so far, as it prooves that people can in the end vote with there hands and feets against the free market approach of everyone insure himself against beeing poor at old age.

I'm talking about the justice system. I'm not quite sure what you are talking about.

The recently posted HN Article about the elederly in japan stealing to avoid the penalty of beeing poor for a honest live in capitalism.

The good old "That is fine because Russia, China and Somalia are worse." reply.

Guess you missed the part where I generalized it to "Society". But sure.

Why are those not goals of the US prison system? How can that be changed?

Depoliticize the justice system.

Elected prosectors, elected judges, elected sheriffs, and the politicization of sentencing rules are just completely nuts.

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