55% of GOP Say Sexual Assault shouldn't bar a SCOTUS nominee

[Cacotopia]

Crime isn't a debt, it's a mental defect. "Repaying the debt" is unlikely to fix it.

then make all crime punishable by death, problem solved.

 

[Epic Beard Man]

Open question because I don’t know the answer; If he had been convicted of that kind of offence, given he was a minor at the time, could the record have been accessed by the committee considering his position now?

Depends if he was charged, and if he was charged it would depend if it was expunged from his records.

 

[Epic Beard Man]

Ethics has never been much of factor here. Its victory by hook or crook and then whitewashing of history by the victor.

I agree.

 

[Epic Beard Man]

Crimes towards society are debts that must be paid, but they should not bar anyone from contributing further towards society. Otherwise you are creating a fundamentally flawed system that encourages criminal behavior due debts being paid but never forgiven.

But he never paid his debt even as a minor (assuming he is guilty). But crimes are not necessarily against everyone (unless the actual crime itself effects a mass group of people) but often it is against one or a few. To get away from a crime even as a minor could potentially lead to a bigger issue.

 

[Revoltingest]

Politicians don't let ethics get in the way of their agendas. They only pretend to care when it's their political opponents who are under scrutiny.

Ethics is like a cudgel....used on one's foes, not on oneself.

 

[Epic Beard Man]

Crime isn't a debt, it's a mental defect. "Repaying the debt" is unlikely to fix it.

How is crime a mental defect? Haven't you ever take a pen that wasn't yours? Or gotten into a fight? Crime is the result of many factors but hardly a mental defect.

 

[Quintessence]

How is crime a mental defect? Haven't you ever take a pen that wasn't yours? Or gotten into a fight? Crime is the result of many factors but hardly a mental defect.

We like to demonize criminals in my country, it seems. On top of that, we demonize mental health and then conflate criminal activity with mental illness. This in spite of the fact that those suffering from mental health problems are more likely to be victims of crimes than perpetrators. But folks have all sorts of ideas running around in their heads that aren't supported by the facts. Usually it's benign, but in these case it's harmful.

At any rate, for something like the supreme court, I expect a record that is beyond reproach and a particular sort of character. The candidate already failed to demonstrate said character during this process, whether or not they are also guilty of perhaps the most heinous crime of all.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

It looks like the GOP will decriminalize Sex Trafficking.

Yea-- but ONLY if you are a white, rich male. All Others Need Not Apply.

 

[Cacotopia]

then

But he never paid his debt even as a minor (assuming he is guilty). But crimes are not necessarily against everyone (unless the actual crime itself effects a mass group of people) but often it is against one or a few. To get away from a crime even as a minor could potentially lead to a bigger issue.

he needs to pay for that "debt" in order to move on within society.

 

[Shad]

Depends if he was charged, and if he was charged it would depend if it was expunged from his records.

That is the public record. Law enforcement still has private records including juvenile. The FBI would have accessed those records on the his first investigation decades ago. Alarm bells would have been going off just for him to become a judge let alone SCOTUS. Depending on the charges made by police, not Ford's opinion, Kav may not be employable by the federal government at all. The Fed website for employment has a list of convictions which make one ineligible for employment by the Fed. State and local will have their own standards.

(Granting the argument)

I do not remember the list in details. Just knowledge there is one.

 

[TheBannerofHomuraAkemi]

The day that the right actually stand for what is right is the day when pigs fly.

 

[Valjean]

When it comes to those who make decisions regarding our rights and liberties, virtue is pretty damn important.

Depends on what virtues we're talking about, I'd say. One can be passionate about rights and liberties and still be a lecherous horn-dog.

How is crime a mental defect? Haven't you ever take a pen that wasn't yours? Or gotten into a fight? Crime is the result of many factors but hardly a mental defect.

Isn't all behavior psychologically mediated? Wouldn't harmful or anti-social behavior be products of neurological or psychological factors?

What are these "other factors" that can bypass the brain yet affect behavior?

then
he needs to pay for that "debt" in order to move on within society.

But payment of a debt is a contract -- with both parties exchanging something of value to each.
Imprisonment isn't an exchange, and nothing was contracted.
The individual or social harm caused by the crime isn't corrected by the "payment," nor is the defect that enabled the crime in the first place.

Our justice system isn't designed for either psychotherapy or 'correction'. It's designed for orderly, controlled retribution to prevent vigilantism and vendetta.

 

[Father Heathen]

One can be passionate about rights and liberties and still be a lecherous horn-dog.

A "lecherous horn-dog", sure. A deceitful, dishonest hypocrite or a sexual predator, nope.

 

[Cacotopia]

Depends on what virtues we're talking about, I'd say. One can be passionate about rights and liberties and still be a lecherous horn-dog.
Isn't all behavior psychologically mediated? Wouldn't harmful or anti-social behavior be products of neurological or psychological factors?

What are these "other factors" that can bypass the brain yet affect behavior?
But payment of a debt is a contract -- with both parties exchanging something of value to each.
Imprisonment isn't an exchange, and nothing was contracted.
The individual or social harm caused by the crime isn't corrected by the "payment," nor is the defect that enabled the crime in the first place.

Our justice system isn't designed for either psychotherapy or 'correction'. It's designed for orderly, controlled retribution to prevent vigilantism and vendetta.

how would you then redesign the prison system to make it where you rehabilitate people to reenter society?

The American model doesn't work. at all.

 

[Valjean]

how would you then redesign the prison system to make it where you rehabilitate people to reenter society?

The American model doesn't work. at all.

So stop being so insular and look for other, more effective models: