A 17 year old kicked, raped and murdered a 16 year old girl. Why? Well, apparently she said something…
So the Swedish court decided to punish this guy with 3 years of closed youth care.
How about that? This isn’t jail and the 3 years aren’t really actually 3 years, most of them get out much sooner. And since the normal thing within this system seem to be to send juveniles abroad to learn to hug each other, have a couple of sessions with a psychiatrist and play Nintendo, you cannot really call this a punishment.
In a ‘related’ case two teens, a 16 year old boy and a 16 year old girl, have been found guilty of having killed a 15 year old girl. The boy was found guilty of murder and the girl of instigation of murder. The court confirmed that the two teenagers should serve 20 months in institutional juvenile care.
This is scary shit. Well, not the murders although gruesome in their own right, no I’m talking about the so called sentences. The first case should render the death penalty, maybe also the second, but at least one could demand real punishments like reoccurring Waterboarding or being staked to a peg and having their skin on the back torn off in addition to having an executioner hammering a stake through the criminal’s lubricated anuses.
I do believe in giving people another chance, I do not, however, believe in cuddling murderers. This wasn’t someone hitting another in a bar or a temporarily insanity thingy, these are premeditated planned ghastly murders whereas the criminals known exactly what they were doing.
As long as real crimes aren’t punished, how the hell do we expect people to restrain from committing murders and such?
You write "As long as real crimes aren’t punished, how the hell do we expect people to restrain from committing murders and such?"
ReplyDeleteWell, does torture or the death penalty work? Show me one well-controlled study that supports your blood-thirsty guessing about something you seem to know nothing about.
Justice is not the same as punishment or revenge. The goal of the system is to prevent crimes, and Sweden keeps a low number of people imprisoned and at the same time keeps crime rates low.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous 1:
ReplyDeleteI do overdo it in my writing; it is a blog after all. However, no sane person can regard any of these so called “punishments” as actual punishments. My point is that these people knew what they were doing and they should be sentence thereafter.
I’m not actually a proponent of capital punishment, I am however a believer in actual justice – something that isn’t present in these cases.
@Anonymous 2:
The goal of the system SHOULD BE to punish. The police or the judge cannot stop the actual crime, that’s impossible. A referee cannot see the tackle beforehand, but he can hand out the card or penalty afterwards. This is the same principle.
Sweden has too many imprisoned today thanks to unjust laws that punish people for victimless crimes at the same time as we cuddle with murderers, rapists and thieves. That the crime rate is “low” can also be explained with the lack of actual charges, not sentences. I’ve been a victim for crimes many times, don’t think I’ve reported a single one. There’s no point.
But they are minors, we do not punish minors, they get CARE. The point of the care, is not to let them suffer, the point is to protect the society and give the offenders a chance to come back to it as good citizens. If it would show that they r still dangerous, then their sentence should increase.
ReplyDeleteIf you are old enough to plan and execute a murder with rape and torture involved, you're old enough to get a real punishment. They know what they were doing and should be sentenced thereafter. Taking another life in this way should be punished. Who cares if they come back as citizens? Look 'em up and throw away the key.
ReplyDeleteIf you think a day in prison is not a penalty then it doesn't matter if it's 18 or 200 months in jail.
ReplyDeleteI think the penalty was low (4 years is maximum for youth and why it's not 4 i don't understand) but rather soft punishment than the total blustlust of say american court. That's a hopeless case of lost perspective.
But I do understand that people are pissed, like they got of easy. I do.
anon: In Sweden we have social politics and social wellfare to keep crime rates low. The legal system is about giving the population a sense of righteousness when a crime is commited. Social politics is the tool for precautions and keeping crime rates low - not the punishments or legal system as such.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate
ReplyDeleteUSA is at 5.4 murders per 100.000 inhabitants and they have borderline draconic punishments for their criminals.
Sweden has had on average 1.83 the last 9 years. Clearly being tough on crime doesn't stop crime, so why be tough on crime?
Jacob: that is absolutely no proof that it is the punishments themselves that account for the difference in crime rates. The US also happen to have much lower taxes and (also) really sucky social benefits for those worst off. I am myself convinced that most of all, spending money on social politics is important to keep crime rates low. It is well known that those worst off in society tend to run a much larger risk of becoming criminals.
ReplyDeleteI am an Old Testament guy - an eye for an eye, etc. These killers have consumed their right to live. It is as simple as that.
ReplyDeleteIf a relative of mine was murdered brutally like in these cases, and the society fails in punishing the murder, I would then do justice myself (and accept my own punishment, but I would at least be at peace).
Just check out Japan... A country with even lower homicide rate than Sweden. They have had capital punisment and the death penalty for a very long time. Clearly tough penaltys do not necessarily yield high murder rates.
ReplyDelete@Gastlind
ReplyDeleteWell the socialist country of USA isn’t really a good indication of what you talk about. Sky-high taxation, welfare system equal to most others and so on. The crime-rate also varies a lot between states. You can also find poor countries with lower amount of social system around the globe that has lower crime-rate than Sweden. Those things do not necessarily go together, just as harsher penalties don’t necessarily go together with lower or higher crime-rate. Things are more complicated than that.
For me though it does not matter. A crime should be punished; a severe crime demands a severe punishment. If you rape, torture and murder someone that should render the harshest penalty. It is about justice, peace of mind to the victim’s family and it is about sending a message so all knows what happens if you commit such a crime. I don’t care about making murderers etc into better people, that’s their problem. Lock ‘em up and throw away the key.
When a guy kills a woman, and especially a young woman, I don't ever want to see him on the streets again. The society should not try to "cure" him (which they cannot annyway, psychopathy is not curable) society should do what the majority of it's people think is right, and for these crimes it is true lifetime or death according to several polls.
ReplyDeleteIf you ask me - take away the murderers and those who brutelly assault women their juridic rights and let the people take care of them!
@Shimmeringblade:
ReplyDeleteI mostly agree with you, however there are a couple of things. Firstly we need to legalize self-defense i.e. allow people to own and carry guns. A couple of would-be rapists dead would discurage many others.
Secondly, we do need a justice system, not mob-rule as you seem to suggest. However, sooner or later people will have had enough and string people up because our legal system don't do its job.
apocalypse nowish: I don't know if I'd call the USA a very 'socialist' country, it's a continuum of course, not just '100% socialist' or '100% capitalist' and it also depends on which countries you compare it to and what taxation levels you are used to. Surely the crime rate as well as taxation varies a lot between different states. I just considered some "average" US. I believe that we should have a system which lower the penalties of users of 'self defense' where violence clearly is inevitable and especially in those cases when it can be shown that the police/legal system has failed. ( well, who would be to judge if the police and legal system ceases to work?.. )
ReplyDeleteI don't things rape rates or murder rates would decline with harsher punishments ( some people simply can't control their emotions in certain situations ). It would simply be more fair with harder punishments for monstrous crimes. I can't believe I could ever be content with a few-year prison penalty for the murder or rape of any relative or close friend to me. And that is ( as you state ) the most important part of a legal system.
I would like to add that crime rates in sweden are low since, juvinile crimminals even when causght arent trialed for crimes, they are sent/ refered to the social services. The police then dismisses the crimminal investigation.
ReplyDeleteThe Swedish Police organisation are more intrested in beeing Fee collectors, like balifs than work as a crimminal deterent.
Death penalty efficient at prevent multiple offences, reducing cost of lodging, transport, etc. (depending on how long death row lasts)
but can cause people to do crime as a means of suicide.
Beeing to lenient against crimes, can cause the victims to become crimminals themselfs when feeling the need for vengance
(increasing the offenders)
or make it into a socially acceptable custom due to its low cost
-destabelising the country, and respect of the law
Deth penalty= end of line period
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the last anon. If "cost" (the penalty) for revenge is low enough, surely friends and relatives to victims of violent crimes can try to get revenge by resorting to violent crimes themselves.
ReplyDeleteThese sentences are an affront to the victims and their families, as well as an affront to the understanding of a legal society.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me both sad and angry that the Sweedish state are giving in to murder and violence, and at the same time think they are vere wise. Shame on you!
You think most people on earth are brainless and stupid. How about looking over your own beliefs? If you honestly believe in increased gun ownership, harsher punishments and that society should "Lock ‘em up and throw away the key" you are no better than the average idiot.
ReplyDeleteGun ownership has been shown to increase fatal shootings of innocents, locking up every criminal for long times is extremely expensive and rehabilitation for young criminals is a sign of a openminded and intelligent society.
Locking everyone up and owning more weapons is just going back to what didn't work decades ago. The western world has LESS crime now than 20 years ago due to increased wealth and the fact that a criminal can get back to living a productive life after rehabilitation.