Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another country.

[Smeagol]

Good or bad idea? Most of us are familiar with the colonization of Australia. England used it as a huge prison where they sent prisoners to be permanently exiled. I think the same was done in the Americas to a smaller extent.

Here's the idea. Lets classify a select number of Americans criminals to be eligible for a voluntary exile program. What criteria to use on who's eligible, I'm not sure but certainly to include those who are in and out of jail on the regular and/or those who are serving three strike and you're out type sentences. In exchange for their freedom:

1. They renounce their US citizenship
2. Agree never to return even for a visit or if caught it back to jail the remainder of their sentence plus time overseas
3. They find a host country willing to voluntarily accept them
4. They agree to turn over a new leaf in their new country or face that's county's justice, which might not be as kind to criminals as the US justice system and without US intervention.

A win, win, win. The criminal gets a get out of jail card and a chance to start over. The US tax-payers are off the hook for the high expense of incarceration from food to housing to medical to security costs. The host country benefits economically as its likely the exile's family will wire their loved one money regularly boosting the host county's economy with an influx of higher valued US dollars. Plus its likely the criminal's family will regularly visit their loved one creating an interesting tourism economy of new American travel to places they probably would never dream of visiting. As much as the criminal has disappointed us, they will still see America as home and will likely promote pro-American ideals in their new country, especially their decendants just as today Australia is pro-British.

Which countries would be interested? I think it would be limited to cash strapped third world countries mostly in Africa, some of Eastern Europe, Haiti, some of Oceania and possibly Asia. It would be completely voluntary by all parties and if they screw up in Swaziland or Mongolia, they face Swazi or Mongolian justice.

 

[jamesrage]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

I say no.Prison is for punishment, not to get criminals out of our site or to save tax payers a few bucks.

 

[lizzie]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

I personally kind of liked the "Escape from New York" idea.

 

[wolfman24]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

Good or bad idea? Most of us are familiar with the colonization of Australia. England used it as a huge prison where they sent prisoners to be permanently exiled. I think the same was done in the Americas to a smaller extent.

Here's the idea. Lets classify a select number of Americans criminals to be eligible for a voluntary exile program. What criteria to use on who's eligible, I'm not sure but certainly to include those who are in and out of jail on the regular and/or those who are serving three strike and you're out type sentences. In exchange for their freedom:

1. They renounce their US citizenship
2. Agree never to return even for a visit or if caught it back to jail the remainder of their sentence plus time overseas
3. They find a host country willing to voluntarily accept them
4. They agree to turn over a new leaf in their new country or face that's county's justice, which might not be as kind to criminals as the US justice system and without US intervention.

A win, win, win. The criminal gets a get out of jail card and a chance to start over. The US tax-payers are off the hook for the high expense of incarceration from food to housing to medical to security costs. The host country benefits economically as its likely the exile's family will wire their loved one money regularly boosting the host county's economy with an influx of higher valued US dollars. Plus its likely the criminal's family will regularly visit their loved one creating an interesting tourism economy of new American travel to places they probably would never dream of visiting. As much as the criminal has disappointed us, they will still see America as home and will likely promote pro-American ideals in their new country, especially their decendants just as today Australia is pro-British.

Which countries would be interested? I think it would be limited to cash strapped third world countries mostly in Africa, some of Eastern Europe, Haiti, some of Oceania and possibly Asia. It would be completely voluntary by all parties and if they screw up in Swaziland or Mongolia, they face Swazi or Mongolian justice.

This has been discussed in another thread regarding prisons. I posted that the gangs and violent criminals be removed from the crime universities we call prisons and sent to remote "facilities" were the guards are on the outside and the cons are on the inside. They would have to learn how to survive on the materials and supplies given them prior to their arrival.
Apparently they have something like this in Brazil.
the only place I know of that the US has control over and would be isolated to meet what I understand as the OP's needs are the uninhabitated islands of Hawaii.
As far as a host country. Yeah the ones who train terrorists other than that. Good luck with that.

 

[haymarket]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

Perhaps some areas in Montana and North Dakota could be made available for such a test?

 

[Federalist]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

I also say no. I would rather see criminals made to compensate their victims. In both our current system and in your proposed system, it is the victims of crime that end up with nothing and holding the bag.

 

[Smeagol]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

I say no.Prison is for punishment, not to get criminals out of our site or to save tax payers a few bucks.

I'd think being exiled to a strange country where lot of people don't even have electricity and indoor plumbing is also punishment.

 

[Smeagol]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

Perhaps some areas in Montana and North Dakota could be made available for such a test?

Yeah, but I was think completely out of America.

 

[lizzie]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

I'd think being exiled to a strange country where lot of people don't even have electricity and indoor plumbing is also punishment.

In that case, you'd want to make sure that the prison population was entirely isolated, so that other people living there wouldn't have to fear what we placed there.

 

[jamesrage]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

I'd think being exiled to a strange country where lot of people don't even have electricity and indoor plumbing is also punishment.

If you are some spoiled rich who thinks they can't live without electronic devices and indoor plumbing yeah it might be a punishment. But a lot of inmates are not spoiled rich kids would rather have freedom in a 3rd would country than be imprisoned in a wealthy nation.

 

[Smeagol]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

In that case, you'd want to make sure that the prison population was entirely isolated, so that other people living there wouldn't have to fear what we placed there.

Every exile would have been screen by the host country and deemed at least by them to be safe enough to live there. If they engage in crimes there, they face their justice.

I'm not suggesting every criminal in an American prison would qualify for the program. If an habitual violent criminal who is a physical danger to others, probably not. If its a multiple conviction drug dealer or burglar who has maxed out the 3 strikes law and already served 10 years at home and shows signs of rehabilitation, maybe. Then once in Tanzania, they watch him like a hawk and if he screws up after given a fresh start there they don't recognize rights against cruel and unusual punishment. Provided he lives a clean life, family back home wires money occasionally providing a boost to the Tanzanian economy.

We already offer things like house arrest, ankle brackets, parole, early release, etc. I can't see why this shouldn't qualify as another prison alternative.

 

[wolfman24]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

Perhaps some areas in Montana and North Dakota could be made available for such a test?

There are places in Utah and Nevada which have plenty of groundwater available and they are Very flat.

 

[specklebang]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

I've always been a "fan" of France's Devils Island strategy. After they serve their hard labor punishment period, let them live on the is;land, build homes, open little businesses, get jobs etc. They can not return to America and they can not leave Specklebang Island. But they can build something of a life for themselves and be good citizens of Specklebania.

Violent criminals should be put in a clean, quiet cage and left there for eternity.

 

[haymarket]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

There are places in Utah and Nevada which have plenty of groundwater available and they are Very flat.

I would think there are vast areas of the Western part of the USA where the population is fairly minimal and we could take a decent sized area and use it for this sort of penal experiment.

 

[wolfman24]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

I would think there are vast areas of the Western part of the USA where the population is fairly minimal and we could take a decent sized area and use it for this sort of penal experiment.

The issue would be the availablitiy of water above or below which would be sufficient to support the number of cons in each complex.

 

[Manc Skipper]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

We started off transporting 1000 criminals a year to the American colonies from 1700 until 1776. Then Australia became the preferred option as the West Indies didn't have the capacity.

 

[radcen]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

What countries would take them? Realistically.

 

[the_recruit]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

Yes, why would any country want our serious criminal offenders?

Besides, the penal colonization of Australia was a very nasty affair. Definitely not an episode from history we should be looking to emulate.

 

[wolfman24]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

Yes, why would any country want our serious criminal offenders?

Besides, the penal colonization of Australia was a very nasty affair. Definitely not an episode from history we should be looking to emulate.

as I said before this is the part of the OP that is not realistic. I doubt whether any country on any continent would want our "bad guys" the answer IMHO is to find someplace for them here where they can learn what life is really like.

 

[radcen]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

as I said before this is the part of the OP that is not realistic. I doubt whether any country on any continent would want our "bad guys" the answer IMHO is to find someplace for them here where they can learn what life is really like.

*IF* something like that were done, it would have to be within US territory. No country is going to willingly take all our criminals in such a manner, and "open/unclaimed" places like like Australia was in that era no longer exist.

 

[wolfman24]

Re: Bringing back an old idea in dealing with criminals. Send them to another countr

*IF* something like that were done, it would have to be within US territory. No country is going to willingly take all our criminals in such a manner, and "open/unclaimed" places like like Australia was in that era no longer exist.

Thats what I said in my previous posts and in this one. Read after IMHO