As we should all be aware, when one is convicted of committing a crime, it is a public acknowledgment of the violation of the public trust that serves as the basis for all society. Hence it is that those released from incarceration say that they have paid their 'Debt to Society.'
Of late I have been considering this and I'm not convinced that jail/prison time is the appropriate way to pay me and the other citizens of my county and/or country back for endangering our way of life. Depending on the nature of the crime I think other avenues of debt repayment should be used more often. Violent criminals that are likely to continue to cause harm to others are welcome to stay in a cell where they pose less of a threat to the general populace, though as part of their debt they should probably learn how to deal with their violent tendencies in more productive ways.
Non-Violent convicts should likely serve time incarcerated depending on the nature and severity of their crime, but should in almost every case also be sentenced to community service. I would be much better served by having CEOs, drug dealers, and Jay walkers who didn't spend a great deal of time in a cell, but rather cleaning up highways and parks, and doing minor maintenance on municipal properties. Fines are also a good idea, using the money of criminals to pay for the police, or C.O.s that handle them.
To be fair I'm not all that familiar with the way the various judges and laws address sentencing for various crimes, it's just a thought I had about collecting what we're owed.
