Ok, first off, prisons are not lions dens. Yes, they can be dangerous, cold, not nice places to be. But guess what? THEYRE SUPPOSED TO BE!!! Its called deterrence. If prison is a bad place, then people wont want to go there, and therefore will not commit crimes (according to the preventionist approach). Even then, they dont just throw all prisoners together and say here ya go...good luck. Even then, those on the retributivist side of thinking believe that any kind of justice (even jail house justice, which does exist) is appropriate as the punishment should fit the crime. Here, the punishment clearly does not fit the crime.
Bullcrap! A man called into the radio as the matter was being discussed while I was driving to work today. He was a Hispanic gentleman who was around 5 foot tall. He was in prison for 3 years for a felony assault. He is now a productive member of society. He was in a Nebraska prison and he survived. He said himself that height doesnt matter. And you make prison sound as if they are being flogged daily. They have it much better than you know. High caliber workout facilities, library, better food than we feed to our schoolchildren or college kids, and a chance to earn degrees on the taxpayers dime. Oh yeah, REAL tough life behind bars.
Treatment and counseling? Tell that to the parents of Jetsetta Gauge in Iowa whos pedophile killer was given counseling and parole from his previous offenses. Or John Cofee who killed that little girl in Florida, or the other SOB from Minnesota (i believe) who convinced the judge he was not a threat and needed counseling only to go to Montana and kidnap two children, killing one of them. Oh yeah, they need understanding and counseling...what they need is a bullet to the head. These men who would rape and kill a CHILD ARE animals and should be treated as such.
WHAT!?!?!?
The judicial system does not need to take into account height, weight, sexual orientation, favorite color, or even age. It should do what it does, take into account the crime, the victim, and the law. End of story. You get judges weighing all these little factors and the system slows to a halt. The point of prison IS punishment. Justice is blind. You commit the crime, regardless of who you are, and you do the time. That is how a civilized society of laws works. None of this crap about lovey dovey feelings. Its right and wrong, legal and illegal, crime and punishment. Period.
I apologise for going off, but it is seriously that sort of wishy-washy sentiment that puts dangerous people out on the street to harm innocents. Honestly, would you feel this way if it were your daughter/sister/cousin that was molested????