The concepts of presumption of innocence, evidence, and open trials are about the only things we get really right in my opinion(or even try to get right), and even so it is a system that has become fully rigged to give those with a lot of resources a reasonably fair shake while serving as little more than a prison funnel for those who are not rich or look like outsiders, and especially for those who have been in trouble before.

Thank you for bringing these issues up…our assumptions about crime and punishment are so irrational and run so deep that even the most compassionate, liberal, and open-minded people I know have almost no problem with outrageous sentences for even harmless, victimless “crimes”, unfair and increasing economic barriers to justice, an ever-growing, profit based prison system and all the horrorshow of new corruptions that entails, along with a huge amount of prejudice against any ideas that look for results instead of revenge.

And as almost always, I can’t help but notice that the more conservative and more religious someone is, the more deeply entrenched they are in these mindsets, and the more they fight any kind of reform or even debate. Reasonable, compassionate people figure out as children that kicking a mean dog only makes it meaner…yet somehow, many folks think that society is well served by treating humans worse than they would treat a vicious animal.