Quote Originally Posted by juroara View Post
but I dont see how any sane person can really mean this becuase it just opens the door for the murderer to kill again?

do you really mean actions or do you mean personality?

I dont think its 'fair' to compare pedophillia to homosexuality. homosexuality is between consenting adults. the problem that people have with pedophillia is that it involves an unconsenting child. while its true *as two posts above state* that the most common pedo would never actually harm a child themself - we still have the problem of pedo pornography. while the harmless pedo might not harm a child, what happens if they were to watch a video involving real children? those are still real children that were wronged.

im not saying punish pedos, or put them away - but we cant allow any pedo material on the market especially if it means real children will suffer from it.[/b]
What you're saying is that I condone releasing pedophiles (and criminals) with no charge. I never said that. I would definitely not like that to happen - I'd rather they were incarcerated or killed. In the utopian society I described, crimes would not happen, so there would be no need to punish.

And although I wasn't comparing pedophilia and homosexuality, they are both products of personality and genetics.

I feel that no one deserves to be punished for anything. However, when this is necessary, I do not disagree with it.

Patrick, that's a pretty silly take on determinism. If a man kills someone, you say he's not responsible for the action because predicate conditions led, inescapably, to that murder. But if you cut this man out of spacetime moments before he draws the knife and does the deed, nobody ever gets killed. As a link in the chain of events, he is every bit as responsible for his actions as all the other things leading up to them.

Plus, there's plain common sense here. He may not be responsible for his actions, but certain causes borne against him as punishment will produce certain effects that will lessen the chances of him doing the same horrible things in the future. Surely this is what we mean with corrective punishment, right?[/b]
I agree that the man in your allegory is a link in a chain of events, but he is no more responsible for his actions than a peice in a game of chess.

And again, I do not stand in the way of corrective punishment when it is necessary. Achieving true justice requires too much of a sacrifice.