I have long held that if someone has not paid full price for his (actual) crimes... that is, a burglary, a robbery, rape, murder, mayhem, whatever, or restitution is not possible, that individual has no business being out on my streets. I do not consider use of drugs or prostitutes or going gambling or whatever is the consensual “crime” du jour to be criminal acts. Because I do not recognize the LEGITIMATE authority of any government to outlaw such behaviors. The government CLOSEST TO the situation (city or county) DOES have legitimate authority to regulate and penalize PUBLIC BEHAVIOR, though... but I digress...
If the penalty for a crime has been paid in full and restitution made to the victim, then the perpetrator should be able to walk free again. If he does go on and commit another crime, then the second time he’s convicted, away he goes and someone can pipe sunlight to him on alternate leap years. Parole or probation should not exist for crimes of violence and should only be made available to NON-violent offenders if it is shown to be the best way for restitution to be made to the VICTIM of the crime.
So if you’ve followed me to this point, the violent criminal should pay full pop for his crime, no discounts allowed, and then be able to do as he chooses with his life. Of course this presumes that he has learned to control his baser impulses and has found prison sufficiently distasteful as to make him not want to perform acts that would send him BACK there.
Now, as perhaps you know, the BEST deterrent to crime is an armed (and PACKING) citizenry, coupled with an incentive system which would reward such things as proper marksmanship and saving taxpayers the expense of imprisoning wrongdoers for long periods of time. Paying a felon’s funeral expense pales in comparison and the armed citizen could receive, say, ten percent of the estimated cost of trying and imprisoning his attacker as a special thank-you for being willing to help out.
This way, your concerns can be laid to rest, as the behavior which troubles you is minimized as are the perpetrators.
I agree with much of what you say, especially doing the full pop for a violent crime.
Although I have never owned a gun, I fully support the Second Amendment.