punishment

there used to be, dirtside, a legal defenses called "diminished capacity" and "not guilty by reason on insanity." These concepts would bewilder a Loonie. In Luna City a man would necessarily be of diminished mental capacity to even think about rape; to carry one out would be the strongest possible proof of insanity - but among Loonies such mental disorders would not gain a rapist any sympathy. loonies do not psychoanalyze a rapist; they kill him. Now. Fast. Brutally.

A few thoughts on crime and punishment:Punishment__ither don__ merit it, or learn to embrace it.It is easy to endure punishment, much harder to accept it.Committing a crime is like incurring a debt: you can either pay it off now, or pay it off later__ith interest.

I stood behind the man__ chair, my blade at his throat. __hy do you do it?_ I asked, knowing he wouldn__ answer. __ill people, and blow up buildings, and sell drugs?_ It was what they all did. Committed crimes. That was why I killed them. __ou__e a criminal, a terrorist, a danger. And I have been asked to take you out._ I told him. I was legend now, yet he asked the same question all the others did. __hat is your name?_ My sensitive ears tuned out the slit as my sword cut his neck. I walked around the chair to see his face. I watched as his eyes__lowly at first__hanged from blue to milky white. His skin went pale. And as I heard him take his last breath, I ducked in so my lips hovered at his ear, and whispered, __y name, is Sharden.

All attempts at law, all religion, all ethical norms might be nothing more than attempts by the weak to restrain the strong. Then, within the law, arise the new strong, who subvert the law for their own ends of power and family interest, leaving the old strong outside their circle to pursue the waiting possibilities which they call crime. The weak, the cowardly, the decent ones, live between these groups.

Sloane wasn't interested. As a police officer he was concerned with crime, not punishment.

A curse burns bright on crime.

The man who has a conscience suffers whilst acknowledging his sin. That is his punishment.

Extreme civilization robs crime of its frightful poetry, and prevents the writer from restoring it. That would be too dreadful, say those good souls who want everything to be prettified, even the horrible. In the name of philanthropy, imbecile criminologists reduce the punishment, and inept moralists the crime, and what is more they reduce the crime only in order to reduce the punishment. Yet the crimes of extreme civilization are undoubtedly more atrocious than those of extreme barbarism, by virtue of their refinement, of the corruption they imply and of their superior degree of intellectualism. ("A Woman's Vengeance")

punishment had not been spared--with best results in patience and purification

Whoever fails in the consideration generally due to the interests and feelings of others, not being compelled by some more imperative duty, or justified by allowable self-preference, is a subject of moral disapprobation for that failure, but not for the cause of it, nor for the errors, merely personal to himself, which may have remotely led to it. In like manner, when a person disables himself, by conduct purely self-regarding, from the performance of some definite duty incumbent on him to the public, he is guilty of a social offence. No person ought to be punished simply for being drunk; but a soldier or a policeman should be punished for being drunk on duty.

Nonsense. Young boys should never be sent to bed. They always wake up a day older, and then before you know it, they're grown.

We__e here to execute a murderer,_ Zil said, pointing at Hunter. __e are bringing justice in the name of all normals.___here__ no justice without a trial,_ Astrid said.Zil grinned. He spread his hands. __e had a trial, Astrid. And this chud scum was found guilty of murdering a normal.__he penalty,_ he added, __s death.__strid turned to face the mob. __f you do this, you__l never forgive yourselves.___e__e hungry,_ a voice cried, and was immediately echoed by others.__ou__e going to murder a boy in a church?_ Astrid demanded, pointing toward the church. __ church? In God__ house?__il could see that those words had an effect. There were some nervous looks.__ou will never wash the stain of this off your hands,_ Astrid cried. __f you do this, you will never be able to forget it. What do you think your parents would say?___here are no parents in the FAYZ. No God, either,_ Zil said. __here__ just humans trying to stay alive, and freaks taking everything for themselves.

To punish someone for your own mistakes or for the consequences of your own actions, to harm another by shifting blame that is rightly yours; this is a wretched and cowardly sin.

Punishing a person for the wrongs of another makes about as much sense as throwing up to enjoy the meal a second time.

Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment.

We are all punished for the lives we have chosen, in one way or another.

I'm not interested in absolute moral judgments. Just think of what it means to be a good man or a bad one. What, after all, is the measure of difference? The good guy may be 65 per cent good and 35 per cent bad__hat's a very good guy. The average decent fellow might be 54 per cent good, 46 per cent bad__nd the average mean spirit is the reverse. So say I'm 60 per cent bad and 40 per cent good__or that, must I suffer eternal punishment?"Heaven and Hell make no sense if the majority of humans are a complex mixture of good and evil. There's no reason to receive a reward if you're 57/43__hy sit around forever in an elevated version of Club Med? That's almost impossible to contemplate.

How often do we hear from the local diocesan people__he bishop, the communications director, the victim assistance coordinator, and others__hat this abuse is not restricted to clergy, but, rather, it is a societal problem? It does occur outside in the public realm. When was the last time you heard of a sex offender not being held accountable for his actions once caught? The Church treated the abuse as a sin only and nothing more. Out in society, sex offenders are not moved to another community quietly. __ut protest that priests are 'no worse' than other groups or than men in general is a dire indictment of the profession. It is surprising that this attitude is championed by the Church authorities. Although the extent of the problem will continue to be debated, sexual abuse by Catholic priests is a fact. The reason why priests, publicly dedicated to celibate service, abuse is a question that cries out for explanation. Sexual activity of any adult with a minor is a criminal offense. By virtue of the requirement of celibacy, sexual activity with anyone is proscribed for priests. These factors have been constant and well-known by all Church authorities_ (Sipe 227_228).