Slashdot Mirror
EU Strikes Down French "3 Strikes" Copyright Infringement Law
Erris writes "Opendotdotdot has good news about laws in the EU: 'EU culture ministers yesterday (20 November) rejected French proposals to curb online piracy through compulsory measures against free downloading ... [and instead pushed] for "a fair balance between the various fundamental rights" while fighting online piracy, first listing "the right to personal data protection," then "the freedom of information" and only lastly "the protection of intellectual property." [This] indicates that the culture ministers and their advisers are beginning to understand the dynamics of the Net, that throttling its use through crude instruments like the "three strikes and you're out" is exactly the wrong thing to do.'"
there's no such thing as innocent people. most people have broken a law at some point in their life whether they know it or not. it could be littering, jaywalking, speeding, driving without a license, underage drinking, possession of stolen goods, removing the tag from a bed mattress (only illegal if you sell the mattress afterwards), etc.
even if someone is guilty of a stereotypical "criminal act" like robbery, theft, drug dealing/possession, etc. that doesn't mean they should be locked up for life. even if you don't care about civility or human rights, a criminal justice system should be designed with public good in mind. and, generally speaking, keeping 10% of the population locked up is not good for any society.
it's both, more cost-effective and societally beneficial, to implement of system of treatment/corrections in conjunction with restorative justice or reparations whereby the victim is paid restitution in some way by the offender.
that bastard Nixon and bastard Regan and bastard Bush, and the other Bush all get states (ie not their money) to house bazillions of inmates on MANDATORY minimum sentences. Mandatory minimums give power to legistators that they are not meant to have and prevent judges from deciding what punishment matches the crimes, regardless of any argument of weather these things should be illegal.