A few (not necessarily connected) thoughts on legal systems in the face of the Norway tragedy.

[LadyLeigh]

People have pointed out that low recidivism rates of the Norwegian system in contrast to the American one.

First of all: I suppose there are more than one way to get a low recidivism rate. Effective rehabilitation is one.
Another is simply not letting criminals out.

I think the main problem with the American system is not that it is harsh, it is that it is injust. It disproportionally
targets people from lower classes and minorities with harsh sentences for minor offenses, while letting those off the hook who can
pay for expensive lawyers.

I could picture myself supporting the death penalty, for instance, if Bush and Cheney had received it.

That said, I do not think having flat screen TVs in prisons necessarily makes a 21+ sentence "soft". Taking ones freedom
away is punishment.

I think there is something to be said for rehabilitation for property crimes and "mistakes of the youth" type of things. However, I think attempts to rehabilitate someone are wasted when faced with a true sociopath. I think there are certain people to whom normal standards simply don't apply to. People who possess empathy normally view such issues through a "how would I feel if I had committed this crime" lens. The problem is
that there are certainly some people who simply do not possess empathy. They will never "feel bad" about what they did and always see compassion
towards them as a display of weakness that needs to be exploited.

[Warren Stupidity]

1. the american system is massively harsh,unjust, racist and corrupt.

We have built us a Prison Industrial Complex linked like a co-joined twin to our War on Drugs and its Drug Enforcement Industry that has devoured two entire generations now of our urban male non-white population with an incarceration rate unrivaled even by China.

Perhaps a change in course is called for?

[bemildred]

2. +1.

And bankrupt too.