Quote:
Originally Posted by Rapini
Seriously though, what undeserved or unreasonable "collateral consequences" are you talking about?
I presume you won't ban me for "off topic" posting if it answers a direct question?
California tried the "get tough on crime" stance in the 1990s, sent thousands of people to jail for minor crimes. They took peoples' juvenile brain farts - including minor physical violence such as this - and harshly sentenced people to "remove them from society" during their most promising years. Peoples' sentenced compounded as they were introduced to more prison life than non-prison life. Now there's a whole generation of people who are locked up for minor infractions, major infractions that only occured in prison, or because they're basically institutionalized and truly no longer able to function in society. The prison budget is bloated and is competitive with the education budget in terms of size and scope.
Casinos, often located in high crime areas, further stress the local police with a litany of minor crimes - degens swiping $1 chips, drunk and disorderlies, etc. There's some fractional deaths that are attributed to police tending to a bruised shoulder instead of stopping an argument between two gangs before the guns come out.
If you live in some kind of utopia where the police have unlimited time and unlimited jail space and the judges are thoughtful and considerate, and the system as a whole focuses on the benefit of society rather than meeting legislative quotas, then I readily admit my opinions have no place in your society.