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TheAncientGeek comments on What are your contrarian views? - Less Wrong Discussion

10 Post author: Metus 15 September 2014 09:17AM

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Comment author: TheAncientGeek 20 September 2014 04:11:03PM -1 points [-]

False dichotomy, It's about sentence length, eg three strikes.

Comment author: Azathoth123 20 September 2014 06:57:06PM *  1 point [-]

So if we reduced sentences what effect do you think that would have on crime rates? Remember three strikes was passed in response to crime rates being too high.

Comment author: TheAncientGeek 20 September 2014 09:03:27PM *  0 points [-]

Drastically increasing sentences didn't drastically reduce crime, so...

Comparable countries have lower crime rates and lower prison populations, so they must be doing something right.

You don't have to keep moving the big lever up and down: you can get Smart on Crime.

Comment author: Azathoth123 20 September 2014 10:15:57PM 0 points [-]

Drastically increasing sentences didn't drastically reduce crime, so...

Well, the crime did fall. Whether it was due to increased sentences or something else is still being debated.

Comparable countries have lower crime rates and lower prison populations,

They also have fewer people from populations with high predisposition to violence (and yes, I mean blacks).

Comment author: TheAncientGeek 20 September 2014 11:02:12PM 1 point [-]

The last was disappointingly predictable.