Nowhere did I say I support capital punishment. What I am saying is that we as a society harshly punish other types of criminals who prey on the weak (identity theft, molestation, etc.), so why do we continue to make excuses for this category of criminal?
Will harsher penalties deter dealers? Maybe, maybe not. But if a dealer isn't deterred, I'd still rather see them rot in prison than live freely in society.
> What I am saying is that we as a society harshly punish other types of criminals who prey on the weak (identity theft, molestation, etc.)
I don't think we're especially harsh about identity theft. And I think our approach to paedophilia is wrong and results in more victims. So I'd rather be consistent in the other direction.
> why do we continue to make excuses for this category of criminal?
I think the critical difference here is that it's noncoercive. If someone sells something to someone who wants to buy it and who knows what it is and what the effects are, surely that's a lesser crime than stealing, yet alone a violent crime.
> if a dealer isn't deterred, I'd still rather see them rot in prison than live freely in society.
Why? That's what economists call a deadweight loss - no-one benefits. Even the revenge aspect - while it's something many victims think they want - doesn't actually make people happier (rather like drugs, hmm?).
(Also if you want to "see them rot" you might as well be advocating capital punishment. Prison should be about reform.)
The point is that risk of death does not deter sellers; why do you think a long prison sentence will deter drug sellers?
> so why do we continue to make excuses for this category of criminal?
I am genuinely baffled by this comment. American prisons hold more people - by any measure - than any other society. (America is 5% of the world population but has 25% of the world's prisoners.) Many of those people are serving very long sentences for drug offences. More than half of federal prisoners are there for drug crime, only about 16% of state prisoners are there for drug crime. As of 2001 one in six black American men had been incarcerated! Here's an article talking about the very long (and racistly applied) prison sentencing for minor drug related crime: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/opinion/high-time-the-i...
> In October 2010, Bernard Noble, a 45-year-old trucker and father of seven with two previous nonviolent offenses, was stopped on a New Orleans street with a small amount of marijuana in his pocket. His sentence: more than 13 years.
> At least he will be released. Jeff Mizanskey, a Missouri man, was arrested in December 1993, for participating (unknowingly, he said) in the purchase of a five-pound brick of marijuana. Because he had two prior nonviolent marijuana convictions, he was sentenced to life without parole.
That's life for a cannabis related crime. I don't understand how you think drug dealers in the US get light sentences? "African Americans serve virtually as much time in prison for a drug offense (58.7 months) as whites do for a violent offense (61.7 months). (Sentencing Project)" (from link below)
And so far the only justification you've given for even longer sentences is that it'd make you feel good.
You started this thread by saying that you didn't want to see drugs legalised. So criminal sellers only exist because you have laws against selling the drug. This is obviously going to select for a certain type of person. Removing those people from the chain of supply is one of the reasons to legalise! Why would I visit a scumbag criminal to buy contaminated heroin when I can get a clean product of known strength from a pharmacy?
Society has limited funds to deal with the problems that drugs cause. We can either spend that on very expensive enforcement of law (which tends to be racist in its application) and prison (which clearly hasn't stopped drug use yet despite very long sentences. Or we can spend the money on treatment of addiction; sexual health; child protection; awareness. We save money if we legalised drugs.
I'm not. I'm showing that people selling drugs ignore drug laws. They ignore the laws for drugs with lower addiction risk (like cannabis) even if the consequences are severe - life without parole.
Why does parent think strict laws are going to work to stop people selling drugs with higher addiction risk (like heroin or cocaine)?
I'm also countering parents main point which seems to be that we don't already severely punish people who sell drugs. That's wrong. People who sell drugs, even drugs with lower risk, in America are imprisoned for very long sentences.
Will harsher penalties deter dealers? Maybe, maybe not. But if a dealer isn't deterred, I'd still rather see them rot in prison than live freely in society.