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Comment by ImJamal | Hacker News Reader

I do not think he should ever be let out of prison. Pedophilia is a crime that I wouldn't want to risk letting prisoners out of jail if they committed such a crime.

If somebody is stupid enough to let a pedo out out of jail, I don't want him to have access to the same tools he used previously to interact with these children. This is no different than when a drunk driver loses their drivers license.

I am completely willing to accept that some people might be rehabilitated in prison, but I am not willing to take the chance with pedophilia. Certain crimes I would be more lenient with, but one of the most heinous crimes is not something I feel comfortable releasing.

I would much rather pay to keep a pedo in jail then risk any child is hurt.

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> I would much rather pay to keep a pedo in jail then risk any child is hurt.

One slight problem with that argument: if the punishment for child abuse is life in prison, and the punishment for murder is also life in prison, wouldn't a child abuser have a rather strong incentive to murder their victim? After all, you can't exactly make it worse, and a dead kid isn't going to talk...

The same applies on the other side as well: if talking means that Uncle Jimmy has to rot in prison for the rest of his life, there's quite an incentive for family members to keep it quiet. "You wouldn't want to do that to Jimmy, would you - he just made a mistake and it won't happen again..."

It might feel right on an emotional level, but in practice punishments like that quickly lead to more harm to kids, not less.

There are a few issues with your argument.

1. If murdering the victim would help a pedo avoid prison then why wouldn't they just murder all of their victims today? The guy in this case already got 15 years in prison, surely he would have wanted to avoid that? I don't think a child rapist is doing some sort of calculation today saying I am not going to kill the kid because 15 years in prison is acceptable, but if I might be in jail for my entire life then I will kill the kid.

2. I don't think a 5 year old knows the difference between 15 years in prison and life in prison so I don't think it would make a difference with the current situation and what I am advocating for.

3. If some family member is trying to avoid life in prison for the uncle, then why wouldn't they also do that for 15 years?

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