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Nick O'Connor's avatar

There's also the mental torture of the extended criminal investigation and trial process; frequently years long, and one that multiple people have described to me (both victims and accused) as being worse than the original crime (in the case of victims) or the supposed punishment (in that of those accused). Exposing victims to torture takes things further even than the medieval Chinese. And I find it difficult to explain, or justify.

It serves to dissuade people from putting themselves in risky situations, I suppose. Maybe it also slakes the thirst to hurt and control people that motivates some to seek employment as police officers, prosecutors or judges - and which changes in the judicial process have made difficult to quench in more old fashioned ways. Sadism will find a way.

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Alephwyr's avatar

Traditional western societies have an additional perverse incentive in that if you die immediately after repentance you have a better chance of going to heaven. Justice systems have always been the primary manufacturers of criminals, whether it's in terms of who is punished or who is not punished. Similar dynamics exist around the right to remain silent, which is more likely to be exercised by someone savvy than someone naive and innocent. The amount of information you get from an innocent person will tend to exceed that you get from a guilty one, and from there it's just a matter of hallucination, confusion, or malice to punish the innocent.

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