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PaperclipPerfector  12hr ago (text post)   481 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for August 22, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Where does this idea of lowering criminal sentences because the criminal is stupid or trashy originate from? Is this common across many countries? Just an Anglo thing? Recent? Old?

Under US law, sentencing serves four specific purposes: deterrence, incapacitation, retribution (or just punishment), and rehabilitation.

In the context of the death penalty, the US Supreme Court has held that mentally disabled offenders are not smart enough to understand deterrence and are inherently less morally culpable as regards retribution. These rationales date back at least to English common law.

I can't comment on non-Anglo countries' sentencing systems.

In the context of the death penalty, the US Supreme Court has held that mentally disabled offenders are not smart enough to understand deterrence

...wait a minute, what? But the entire point of deterrence as a justification is that you're not trying to deter the specific crime that actually happened, but rather comparable crimes in the future. I have non-zero sympathy for the "less morally culpable as regards retribution" argument, but deterrence would surely be an argument against this class of defense, not for it.

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