If they could "cure" criminals...

I think they should stay right where they are. If they did the crime then they should serve the time.

clockwork orange.. have you been watching it lately ? :P I think you should cure them, and let them live with what they did in jail for the same amount of time.. maybe the jail time would mean more.. if they actually felt remorse for their actions instead of remorse because they got caught. I think the most important of details you mentioned.. is protecting society..

What a fascinating subject! I certainly don't believe that such a thing will ever be possible, but I'm happy to play the "what if" game. Firstly, I believe that even if it were possible to "cure" a man from being a rapist/murderer for example, that man's whole character would soon have him find another outlet for his innate bad behaviour. For the sake of argument, let's presume that this miraculous cure takes away ALL desire for any "bad" behaviour. What would we have? A mechanical robot? Would he have any real life? So let's presume again, and this miraculous cure could take away only certain, programmed responses, such as rape, murder, violent actions, etc, leaving him with the types of bad behaviour (anger, greed, lust, pride, selfishness,etc) that we all have. That sounds OK - make him like the rest of us - but how long would it take for the lust to turn to rape, for the anger to turn to murder, for the greed and selfishness to turn to stealing, etc? Could he be re-programmed to such an extent that this wouldn't happen? Or are we back to the mechanical robot result? IF such a cure was truly possible, with a 100% cure rate, my answer would have to be "Yes. I accept him back into the community." I do not believe that punishment achieves anything, either for the perpetrator or the victim. His punishment will not bring back the life he took. His punishment will not change his nature. On the flip side of that, would this have an adverse effect on would-be crims? Surely the thought of being caught and spending years or a lifetime in prison is a deterrent to at least some crims? Maybe they would weigh up the pros and cons and think the crime might be worth it if they could have this treatment and get back out again? Great discussion!

Actually, I've seen that in at least one SF story, and it was accepted that they would be released - but because the person that had committed the crime was "adjusted" so they did believe what they had done was wrong and "inhibited" - not unlike the concept in "The Clockwork Orange" - so they were unable to commit another crime. And, believe me, the "treatment" was more than considered punishment enough, and society was safe from that person ever committing another crime.

Hi dawnald, I belive that not matter what, they shouldn't be let out to the society, let them pay for their crimes, after all their victims had no choice and had to suffer and what of for the families of the vitims? don't matter is done to their brains, they still done the crime. Tamara

This is actually a pretty interesting subject. It reminds me of the movie A Clockwork Orange, which I thought was amazing. But back to the original topic, I would let criminals back into society as long as it was proved they were no longer the person they were when they entered jail.

Protecting society and punishing criminals is the prior importance, not having strong enough deterrants to stop them commiting crimes in the first place is also of great importance. Here in the UK the justice system is a joke and punishment is far too lenient, prisons are like holiday camps. Until the justice system is updated and the guilty are properly punished instead of punishing the innocent victims of crime then crime rate will always be high. Shame the government doesn't realize this. In order to beat crime, punishments should be more severe. But I won't get up on my soap box. But the public need to be protected not persecuted or seeing that the justice system has failed them over and over again by giving out lenient sentences.

If there was a 100% guarantee they would not reoffend and they had served their allocated time, then yes, why would I be concerned? We're talking a 100% certainty here! An initial punishment such as jail time etc should definitely form part of the process to get them to that stage though. Regardless of their inability to commit another crime, they should still be made to repent for the one they did originally. Protection of society is ultimately what matters and as far as I'm concerned, revenge certainly isn't an answer! Closure, punishment and rehabilitation would all fall under the banner of society protection by default you would think. It all goes hand in hand.

If that is true, that would be good but can be weird too. Or there could be more problems arising. Supposedly the family of the victims concoct revenge against the ones with the criminal behavior. They would be very 'lost' on why they are being revenged and targeted at. But if there is a way for the victims of the family to forget the memory of their painful loss, I wonder whether there are any that would opt for it. Really something to think about there! Good discussion..

Well we can do this already, it's called a lobotomy but it leaves the person in a semi vegetative state. I guess the government has to chosen to continuously house and care for our misfits rather then turn them into vegetables.

I think it is better to cure the criminal if there is a way. Criminals are not born, but they are formed due to a number of factors. Most important of all the factors is moneytary need or need of power. Anyway, whatever the cause may be, a criminal is always a criminal and punishment is not the proper way to deal with them. Better, if we could treat them to normalize with other people (provided there is a way for that). But, if the society is at a stake for their activities, the place for their treatment shall be isolated, out of reach of the society.

Hi dawnald, well my answer is only going to cover serial killers here or the topic could take many nights to respond to. I have a great interest in the study and psycological make up of serial killers, so to go with your scenario of a magical cure I would still be of the opinion that they should continue to be studied behind bars. They need to be kept out of society and punished as their acts before incarceration took place were too much to ever allow them their freedom again. Also the mindset of these types of criminals would inevitably include the ability to fake the cure and go back on another mindless rampage. No one could ever be 100% certain of how a person would act in the future but they must remain accountable for their past deeds. Remember I am not talking about criminals in general but just one category and the subject is a fascinating one, but to summarise I would say serial killers must remain incarcerated and contine to be studied as they have the unique ability to empathis with the potential acts of other serial killers out there and thus possibly provide some clue or thought which could stop the next rampage by someone else of their ilk.

Was reading this morning...somewhere under all that anger is a hurt..and funny thing is, we might be ok with one person hurting us, but not with another person using the same language..time, context, our frame of mind, all contribute to development of that anger in us, and food or intake is just one of the criteria..no, I would not let them lose... but I am open to such attempts. At least they would try to become better prison inmates.

Hello my friend What a great question , hmmm I would say sure cure the offenders with minor offenses, people that hurt children, or take someone life nah, the damage is done they should do the time for their crime, we can cure someone that have these thoughts and have not actually acted on the thoughts thats alright, but if the crime was done sorry I don't think they should be cured if it was possible, so to me the list of what is important could all be taken care of with them doing life in prison, 1-punishment 2-revenge 3-closure for the victims 4-protecting society All this can be done as long as they are locked away for ever, lets cure the people with these thoughts, not the people that actually acted on their thoughts.

I think closure for the victims and protecting society is the two most important thinks. Punishments vary depending on what the crime was and how sevre it is. I have yet to belive we can eliminate bad behavior all together. I thik people have plenty of free will that will over ride anything medically we try to do to deter the bad behavior.

Truly if they are cured they should be given a second chance....after they serve their sentence.....because in order for them to really change they have to find out what it's like to give up something like their victims did...and I think if they did serve their time....and their victim (if alive) okay's it then give them another shot.

hi dawnald there you go again making us poor mylotters have to actually think. I am sort of torn. I think if the criminal had done a minor'crime say like rob a bank or steal something,maybe then if he is one hundred per cent cured,why let him out. But for a horrible murderer I would hesitate to let him or her lose on society until they have served their sentence.If that hardened criminal didnt become cured I would hate to thrust him back out onto society. I mean even with a so called one hundred per cent cure I would still be skepical.

This is an interesting discussion. If we are to presume that the criminal was cured with a one hundred percent guarantee that he or she would not reoffend I may consider the idea of allowing them back into society but I do wonder if such a guarantee would be possible. Of course the criminals should have paid their debt to society before being released but another thought came into my mind in regards to this and that is the victims of the crimes committed and how they would feel about these unlawful individuals being given a second chance; I guess it may depend on what the crime was. As a rule I believe that everyone should be entitled to a second chance but nothing is ever a clear cut issue.

If they could be cured, they could be good citizenns and help society instead of destroying it. I´d release them. I believe that criminals should be put away to protect society, not as a revenge.