so, thank you to everyone who responded to my last blog post, it's inspired me to write something kind of short, but i want to pose a question to you all before i get started.
How important would it be to you to see a criminal punished versus one rehabilitated? The idea I have involves turning criminals into children, where tehy are then re-raised to adulthood. Though this can take longer than others for...reasons.
But personally, I believe that the punishment should end there; the focus being on rehabilitating a criminal. But if you were a victim of a crime, let's use something red button: let's say you were raped by them. Would you want them punished further and if so, in what way? Please bear in mind that they would become a child first before anything else, this is non-negotiable.
I just want to get some feedback and maybe some emotional response before i really bite into this thing.
Comments
Interesting concept
I've read some stories where this is done. There are some things to consider too. Is the criminal placed in a home that would be productive in teaching the young so that he/she briefs up to be a good citizen. Will gender and or race be changed during the age regression as part of the punishment/reanimation? And last, what do you do with a repeat criminal that uses the system as a means to prolong life?
We the willing, led by the unsure. Have been doing so much with so little for so long,
We are now qualified to do anything with nothing.
very good points, i'll be
very good points, i'll be sure to address those.
Good point
though, age regression as a rehabilitation doesn't matter method of change magic or technology based, as it is a punishment I would make it one use only and also and once finalised the only change that can be made is reversal if the person is found not guilty at appeal.
What I mean by one time only is that when you have a repeat offender they cannot use it to stave off Death. Also if found not guilty after appeal the same punishment can not be used if tried again for a similar crime.
Gender change as punishment, I think that should be reversible as you'd be essentially be making them transgender, so could be considered torture if there is no way out.
that is more for me to
that is more for me to consider. I think though that repeat offenders would be dealt with a bit differently. As for making them trans, certain parts of their brain would be changed so over time they no longer identify as their birth gender. The only comfortableness would come from those memories but they would have plenty of therapists.
Miscarriage of justice
You might like to consider how the system would deal with someone who was wrongly convicted and changed.
of course, I was thinking of
of course, I was thinking of a few ways to tackle this.
I once read an interesting publication...
Where it was said that criminals are actualy a nature's way to preserve genes not required by current generation. Look at Cortes as an example. He was a herow in his time. But by current standards he would serve life sentence without parole. Or Copernic. He was criminal in his time. But now he would have being a prominent scientist with huge grants and world wide fame...
So... The major issue is what kind of criminals? For what reasons? As was said in an anecdote by KGB operative: "There are no innocent people. There are people we were not interested in."
PS: in USSR there was a famous serial killer. Chikatillo. At least 3 innocent guys were convicted and executed for his crimes... So... Me personally... I am very careful about declaring anybody as an abomination and/or guilty...
PPS: I am uneasy about "crime punishment" stories... Since about 1980... When I was 10. When I encountered a concept of wrongful accusation. The fact that you are accused of a crime, tried for the said crime, and sentenced for that crime does not by itself mean that you are guilty of the said crime.
PPPS: even rape... There are too many cases when pregnant girls declare it was rape... Even when at the time of the sex both parties had no qualms about having unprotected sex... I heard about some caces of "rape" when "rapist" was declaring unduing love and offering to marry "raped" girl...
About PPS...
One of our teachers was sentensed to serve 4 years in prison becuse he got in fight defending a girl. But as he was teacher his involvement in the fight was considered reason enough to incarcerate him...
The punishment IS being made a child again.
The powers that be, presuming they will a second time around grow up to be a better person. But for some crimes if you could change their sex, for someone who has raped or been violent or murdered in what was regarded as a sex crime. Then that could be the punishment: to grow up as a female and therefore know the fears a women might have of being raped as they are now one, would be a just punishment.
Some ideas about it
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_Experiment
I imagine a story where everyone, or almost everyone finds themselves in a situation similar to this experiment. For example:
- a girl that made sex, got pregnant despite taking some precautions, and is pressed by her parents to declare it as a rape.
- her boyfriend who is pressed by his parents (and maybe teachers, and maybe friends) to confess that he raped her. (Maybe also he was slightly drunk and is not sure if he didn't really forced her.)
- both sets of parents who are pressed by the society customs to behave this way. (Maybe they are decent people with a sense of honor. Maybe even they know each other and are good friends.)
- the prosecution who is not really convinced that this was rape, but is pressed by their superiors to report solved crimes
- the jurors who aren't really convinced too, but are pressed by the society (imagine a small town where people are big about morale)
- the judge who is not convinced too, but once the jurors have declared the boy guilty has no much choice
- someone (maybe again the girl), who after the sentence is tasked (as per law) to decide the exact punishment of the boy
Other players can be in such a situation too. A story might use only some, or even only one of these positions.
In each situation, the deciding person might be faced with the choices you describe, or similar by degree ones.
In each situation, the role of "the authority" might be played by an actual superior, or by social rules, or by internal principles, etc. It might be interesting to show how the different "authorities" relate, between different people or within the same person, and to display their perceived and their real similarities and differences...
Another idea that comes to mind
... is of a sociopath - not an evil guy, just unable to connect with the other people feelings - who is dragged down by his condition into raping someone. He (or she - that might be interesting too) might even avoid the gender change, but be given the ability s/he missed and an age regression in order to gain the needed social experience while growing. Kinda like A Clockwork Orange, but in a positive way.
I wouldn't wonder if that person will not be able to avoid the feeling of guilt, due to particular details in the sentence. (Those who have sentenced him/her might have been warned by an expert that this is a likely result, but might have ignored or downplayed the warning.) So, the person might eventually decide that the only one way to live with this is to kill his/her old identity. (Sometimes stupid ideas do work.) Part of that killing might be a gender change away from the original gender. If the person is very cis, the change might be very traumatic to him/her, and for a long time, but they might brave it despite knowing how hard it will be... And then those who have given this sentence in the name of the justice might have to gather again, this time to give justice to themselves for their mistake.
Just an idea.
Interesting
Okay, I'm not seeing any real rehab with this. Part of the punishment/rehabilitation process is the idea that the criminal knows what he did and he is atoning (sic?) for his/her actions. If the criminal is "reset" then there is no chance for the person to make amends. And for all our vaunted beliefs, the current legal system is designed to punish. How else can you describe a verdict that gives the perp three life sentences plus 100+ years?
I can see your idea being applied to the prisoners who currently receive the death penalty. In fact, there is a similiar idea in a sci-fi novel. I don't remember the name or the author, sorry. If a grown up commits a serious enough crime and is found to be of a less than sane mind, their memories are wiped and replaced with a fictional background. The novel takes the idea that a strong enough ego/mind can overwhelm the fabricated person, putting a psychpath on the streets with a clean slate.
I went outside once. The graphics weren' that great.
A very interesting thought.
A very interesting thought. But, rather than for capital crimes, how about a sex change for rapists? also an age regression
To a starting age of 16. That way,if innocent on appeal, they can change back, or stay the opposite gender.
Bank robbers or murderers can be female. Just a WAG.
Karen
It's An Idea With Lots Of Potential
There was an interesting TV series a couple of years ago called 'Intruders'. It's about a secret society who have found a way to cheat death by taking over other people's younger, fitter bodies. John Simm plays a burnt-out LA cop whose wife turns out to be one of the victims.
Some of the show's best moments feature serial killer Marcus Fox, now inhabiting the body of a 9 year old girl. If I remember correctly the society did this to him deliberately as a kind of punishment, and it backfires horribly. Who would believe that this cute little angel was responsible for the deaths that seem to follow her around?
Trailer: https://youtu.be/pbRbU5sMlH0
Sort of a Classic Nature vs Nurture, I Guess...
One of Prudence Walker's tales -- I think it's Polly Merman, on Sapphire's -- ends with the (male) villain, sincerely repentant, agreeing to become a preschool girl and grow up as the daughter of the heroine -- a very merciful sort -- and her husband. The new, accidentally-discovered technology that's been the focus of the story makes this possible, so the story's SF rather than fantasy. (It's been years since I read it; please excuse any botched details, here and below.)
It's rehab, not punishment: the idea is to grow up again in better surroundings with a better mindset. He/she starts out her new life knowing exactly what the situation is; I think the idea is that she doesn't have to lose that memory because it'll fade into background as she grows and her new experiences come to the fore. There's an assumption that she'll remain sufficiently motivated to avoid previous mistakes, and won't require "tough love" or extreme discipline.
Eric