So... when it comes to recidivism, when is enough enough?
Clearly, the fine judicial folks in Florida haven't reached their breaking point yet.
But seriously. What kind of justice system allows people to commit crimes, many of them felonies, and continue to be let off the hook? Obviously, some people commit a crime, do the time, and they never grace the halls of the criminal system again. Others commit a crime so heinous that it is clear they must never see the light of freedom again.
But what about the grey middle? How do we define criminals that do not necessarily commit heinous or capital crimes (murder, rape, kidnapping, etc) but are wired in such a way that breaking the law is all they can comprehend to exist?
I propose some kind of point system that is added to an existing criminal record. You can assign points to classes of offenses - class 3 misdemeanor all the way to class 1 felony and capital crimes. Once you reach, say, 20 points, where 1 point might be a traffic ticket, 5 might be B&E - level stuff, 10 might be for assault with deadly weapon - level stuff, and 15 for aggravated assault - level stuff, you're done. No more chances. Life without parole.
Why wouldn't something like this work? We already have a class system for offenses, and we already have sentencing guidelines, and we already have computerized criminal record systems, so why not?
Unless we believe we'd never be able to build enough jails to hold them all. In which case, we must continue to take a hard look at the foundation of our country, such things as race, education, opportunity, and the failure of the modern family unit, and work from there. True solutions always start from a rebuilt and reexamined foundation.
But until someone is brave enough and has the political will to suggest such things, there are always Band-Aids for the larger problem, like the point system above.
-SH
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