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Sure. But that does not eliminate the fact that blacks and hispanics commit overwhelmingly more crime than their share of the population, and is driven by gang activity (at least for violent crimes).

So the lady on the Simpsons that throws cats at people was just schizo from cat parasites.

Or it's just a joke.

Y'know, THAT is the exact reasons why I prefer anime/cartoon over real-life actors. With live action set in current time like CSI, people might become confused about things. "That picture is just too pixelated -- let's zoom in to see the details." Also, actual CSI Effect - "Our criminal justice system must find ways to adapt to increased expectations"

You can't get confused over a cartoon, there is Absolutely. No. Way. to get them confused with things in real life. (The bright colors usually give it away.)

Or so I thought. Guess I'm going to start watching static on TV instead. (They're HERE!)

> argues layer after layer after layer that humanity has systematically overvalued the punitive signal for behaviour modification

There is a significant behavior between this and idea that punishment does not work. That punishment can be, and has been, overused in some circumstances is not in question. There are numerous papers, such as this one from the American Psychiatric Association, http://www.apa.org/news/press/.... There is also this publication from the National Institute of Justice on the effectiveness of punishment as deterrence, https://nij.gov/five-things/pa... .

If I might say, the NIJ publication is particularly interesting. It points out that the severity of sentencing does little to deter crime, but the _certainty_ of sentencing does.

The threat of jail doesn't keep people from committing crimes.

True, but the likelihood of getting caught does have a strong deterrence effect. I think Amazon did really well on this one because it looks like a clear 100% likelihood of being caught and punished. https://nij.gov/five-things/pa...

1. The certainty of being caught is a vastly more powerful deterrent than the punishment. ...
3. Police deter crime by increasing the perception that criminals will be caught and punished.
4. Increasing the severity of punishment does little to deter crime. ...

It is not retributive, it is preventative. Within 5 years of release from prison, over 75% of criminals are re-arrested for another crime. Certain crimes are so bad for society that those criminals should be permanently be removed from society: murder, violent rape, etc. If you want to pay out of your personal pocket to keep these dirt bags incarcerated for their entire lives, great, but don't force me to, and don't release them because you ran out of room or money.

https://www.nij.gov/topics/cor...

If you assume an ex-prisoner will commit crimes again, your prison system isn't working.

At least in the U.S., it's a good bet that a criminal will re-commit. This may be a sign that the prison system isn't working, but it doesn't change the fact that we have a recidivism rate of over 50% in the first year after release alone.

That said, if we don't give "rehabilitated" convicts the benefit of the doubt after "paying their debt," we're pretty much guaranteeing that they'll have to return to crime. Convicts do need the ability to escape their criminal past.

would you propose the same solutions to preventing suicides as homicides/violent crimes?

Yes. Better mental health care and sensible restrictions on guns.

Not having ready access to a gun might have given some of those suicides a chance to reconsider. A Harvard study says 9 out 10 people who survive a suicide attempt do not go on to die by suicide. But it's pretty hard to survive a pistol shot through the roof of the mouth, you know?. The vast majority of people who attempt suicide by means other than handgun are not successful. The success rate for the gun users is well over 90%.

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/m...

Regarding homicides and violent crime, you are much more likely to be shot to death in a violent crime than beaten, stabbed, strangled, impaled, poisoned, hatcheted, smothered or thrown out of a window combined. The National Institute of Justice says that nearly 70% of homicides are committed with firearms.

http://www.nij.gov/topics/crim...

Half-wit.

It's not the threat of punishment that matters, but the higher likelihood of being caught that has actually been shown to deter crime. Having more and better evidence from recordings improves that chance.

My understanding from John Oliver's show is that one reason there isn't good data on gun violence is that the CDC is not allowed to fund studies pertaining to it. The parties with private money to put towards research are probably few and biased one way or another.

You will get little real understanding from John Oliver since he isn't really interested in developing a genuine evenhanded understanding of the issues, he is pushing an agenda.

Going on about the CDC is misdirection as the Department of Justice has been collecting statistics and studying this for a long time. Why do you think John Oliver doesn't mention that? Example:

Gun Violence Prevention

Besides private parties and TV hosts, you should also be skeptical of academicians, some of whom are willing to lie to push a narrative.

Does Disgraced “Historian” Michael Bellesiles Deserve A Second Chance?

For your consideration:

An interview with John R. Lott, Jr.
Bogus Gun-Control Numbers

I don't know that the death penalty significantly reduces recidivism when compared to life in prison.

Recidivism: is one of the most fundamental concepts in criminal justice. It refers to a person's relapse into criminal behavior, often after the person receives sanctions or undergoes intervention for a previous crime. Recidivism

When your fucking dead, your not going to do it again; this ain't no zombie apocalypse movie we're talking about. If your in prison for life, there is always the chance that you'll kill our maim one of your fellow prisoners or a corrections officer. The death penalty is about a crime being considered so heinous that society will not tolerate any chance of recidivism.

The only problem I have with the death penalty is they let people too stupid to get out of jury duty decide guilty or non-guilt. If you can prove your innocence you can at least get out if your still alive, but dead is dead.

http://www.nij.gov/topics/crim...

Seems a pretty narrow definition of terrorist. Please point to any examples of wider uses of the word.

I can see that you extrapolated based on those three columns, but the graphic isn't exactly clear on how they're arriving at those numbers - they could be pulled from two totally different sets of data for all we know. In a clearer statement, "data collected by the FBI show that firearms were used in 68 percent of murders" in 2011.

http://www.nij.gov/topics/crim...

That is the failure of a criminal justice system based upon punishment and not rehabilitation. With a system based purely on rehabilitation, with specific crimes where risk of server consequence is high, no rehabilitation, no release. That becomes much more feasible where detention conditions are much more humane and the concern is protecting the public, whilst still endeavouring to achieve rehabilitation.

Recidivism rates, as of 2014, http://www.nij.gov/topics/corr...

One year: 56.7%
Three year: 67.8%
Five year: 76.6%

Percentage of adult resident population in prison: 0.97%

Perhaps we could rehabilitate them with some reasonable expectation of being able to be reintegrated into society, by giving them blue collar factory jobs, if we hadn't shipped all those jobs offshore.

We all know prison rapes don't count. After all, only evil people are in prison to begin with.

It's an urban legend. Studies find that prison rape is actually rare:

http://nij.gov/topics/correcti...

You do realize that automatic firearms are much more than slightly difficult to get in the US and are in fact illegal here, right? Most firearm homicides, and defensive uses (which usually don't end in homicide), are with handguns and not automatic weapons.

Aside from impressions you apparently got from Hollywood movies, automatic firearms are almost non-existent in civilian life in the US. Their possession is limited primarily to collectors as they are rare, outrageously expensive, and very highly regulated.

A huge percentage of the guns owned in the US are small caliber (.22s) and/or long guns not suitable for crime (the .22 rifle is the most commonly owned firearm by caliber/type [its uses are primarily hunting rabbit and soda cans]). This makes the number of guns in the US look high, but it doesn't translate to "armed to the teeth". Removing these firearms from the population isn't going to translate into lower numbers of homicides. Indeed, only 34% of guns owned in the US are handguns.

Most legally owned guns are never involved in a crime. Unsecured guns are stolen, though, which doesn't help the issue and guns should be secured when in storage. This would reduce criminal access to guns. The solution to the crime issue in the US need not involve the disarmament of the population. It is a social issue, first and foremost.

...Except for the fact that going to prison is going to surround you with nothing but bad influences (at least in the US). What ends up happening in the US is:

A) Person is convicted for a rather minor crime

B) That person makes connections in prison with other inmates

C) When that person is released X months later, they are understandably going to have lost a lot of respect of their peers and friendships/relationships will be strained

D) With a lack of pre-prison relationships, that person connects with the people they had connections with in prison that have already been released

E) Eventually, the person gets involved in criminal activity with their new friendships

F) The criminal activity results in them being convicted again and sent back to prison and so the cycle starts over again.

It is no wonder that nearly 63% of all those who are released from prison are arrested again within 3 years in the US. ( http://www.nij.gov/topics/corrections/recidivism/welcome.htm )

It's not presumptuous. I think we'll all agree that shooting someone is a helluva lot easier than stabbling/clubbing/strangling them (or shooting a bow and arrow or whatever). Also, check the stats:

http://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/gun-violence/

In 2006, firearms were used in 68 percent of murders, 42 percent of robbery offenses and 22 percent of aggravated assaults nationwide.