Sharon Hansen on Crime

I don't know that stricter punishment reduces crime

A: I am not a criminal because I have no desire to be a criminal. I enjoy helping people and helping to make the lives of others better than they would be if they had not met me. I don't know that stricter punishment reduces crime. I know that not all crimes have equivalent punishments. Some people seem to get punishments that are more severe in relationship to their crime whereas others get a very light punishment for a similar crime. I think that stricter punishment for a lesser crime would tend to increase crime. If a criminal figures he's going to go to jail for the rest of his life, he may as well get his "money's worth" and be as bad as he wants. So I actually think the opposite is probably true although I have not done any research. If a criminal is in prison forever with no hope of ever getting out, he's going to do what he darn well pleases because he has nothing to gain and nothing to lose.

Eliminate the police state we now live in