Posted on 01/09/2013 5:32:14 AM PST by GlockThe Vote
I'll stand up for the felons, or if we're talking people who have served their sentences ex-felons:
For if in serving their sentence they are not fully restored to the body politic (voting, arms, all things a law abiding citizen may do) then we have created a secondary class of citizen -- moreover, it is infinitely worse, because any such rights are dependent upon the government, which one must always consider as being willing and able to abuse its power.
Moreover, if one is never able to pay for one's "debt to society" then one can never assume that the punishment for any 'infraction' will EVER be paid. The logical endpoint of such policies: your one parking ticket, years ago, may still be used to deny you help or exercise of 'rights'/privileges... IOW to control you.
Do you think that we want those laws to be observed? We want them broken. There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power the government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.-- Ayn Rand, "Atlas Shrugged"
I’m thinking of murders and rapists let out on parole.
That's not really the same thing, now is it. (Parole vs. Sentence Served)
But even that wouldn't be an issue if we actually treated those Capital crimes with Capital punishment.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.