Comments about ‘Letter: Is the United States' prison sentencing too harsh?’

Yes, to say we are too harsh is an understatement. Everything is against the law, all punishable by prison.

I am not familiar with the facts of this case, but generally speaking, our system is a mess. We incarcerate more people than any other nation by a wide margin. Take the most vile dictatorship, and we exceed it by far. Yet this is not a serious issue in our public discussion. The financial cost to taxpayers alone is stunning. The human cost is far reaching.

The victim got a harsher punisment than the criminal ever will. She will not get to hug her family again in this life. Captial Punishment is just and throughout lds scriptures it is authorized. The murderers punishment is pretty lenient compared to the victim. Were are her rights in this.

Tell that to her kids and husband. Anyone who would pull a gun on a woman and shoot and kill her in her own home is a danger to society. He should just be thankful we can't sentence anyone to a life of hard labor.

In my opinion penalties are not harsh enough! People might think twice before they commit crime in punishment were more severe. For the murderers, rapists, and child abusers prison should be a cement floor with four cement walls and a bucket to use for the bathroom while they await the death penalty. I remember the outcry several years ago about an American teenager being cained in another country (Singapore I believe) for vandalism, consequently they do not have much vandalism there. If we deterred crime with more severe punishments crime would drop. I don't feel bad for this kid at all. We have to live with the consequences of our decisions.

It should have been the death penalty.

Not many Christian views here.... Words are one thing while hearts are far from him.

Our sentencing laws are too hars on potheads, not murderers.

Just from the facts as I read them in the paper, I have no problem with the sentence this man got. He was convicted of killing someone in their own home during the course of a burglary. That's a crime that deserves some serious prison time.

Re: "Do we give no credence to the ideas of helping the sick, reformation or forgiveness and believe that there is truly no hope for these people?"

Sure we should help them. And we do. There are scores of rehab programs available to criminals, including chaplains and religious support, to help get them right with themselves, with society, and with God.

And, it's a far cry from "self-righteous barbarism" to make sure people who have demonstrated an ability or propensity to senselessly kill us never get another shot at us.

Self-righteousness is "having or showing an exaggerated awareness of one's own virtuousness . . . ." Last I checked, I have never brutally murdered anyone. That's also true of all but a tiny, tiny fraction of 1% of us. But if that were ever to change, most of us would fully expect society to react by removing us from the temptation ever to do so again.

It's just compassionate common sense.

Not barbarism.

Esquire do you beleive in Jesus when he said he that killeth shall die. Is it Christian to allow a dangerous person out in society to harm your family? As for what other countries, did our forefathers immigrate to this country to be like other countries?

At least people are not in prison on hearsay evidence and can't go without a fair trial. And if htey are convicted of a crime than we for the sake of society make our streets safer.

First, I would say that generally speaking our criminal justice system is much too harsh to non violent offenders. Drug and non violent offenders that are not involved in selling drugs shouldn't be in jail. We need to rehabilitate these people versus locking them up and paying for their prison sentences. Second I hate the idea of life without parole. Either apply the death penalty or give them a chance to rehabilitate and be released. Locking someone in a box for the rest of their life is a waste of space, time and resources.

Esquire writes:
"Not many Christian views here.... Words are one thing while hearts are far from him."

Among the latest and most fashionable of the false doctrines is that which implies that to be "Christian," compassionate, and loving of thy neighbor is to basically look the other way at criminality and toss justice out the window.