If you or I got even 6 months in jail for stealing a wallet, I am pretty sure it would feel like "a long time."
This business of decades or life imprisonment for property crimes is draconian, we have just collectively lost perspective.
IMHO.
I'd also hope that after your "long time of 6 months in jail for stealing a wallet" you'd realize that it was a poor choice and not do it again. Certainly after the 2nd time you were convicted and sent to jail it should sink in right? If 3 times isn't enough, where do we draw the line?
This phrase is repeated often in this thread, "draw the line," but some people will not conform, some people will commit petty criminal acts, for a lifetime. IMHO that is no justification for locking them up indefinitely.
Think of marijuana legislation, one minute you can be locked up for life, the next minute it is legal. No matter what the crime, there is an element of subjectivity, fashion, culture, in what punishments we apply. Yes, some people may not rehabilitate. But that fact alone doesn't justify life in prison. Or even a severe sentence.
Compassion is real. It is important, even when it is inconvenient, even for people who suck.
At least, that's how I see it.
