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dlthomas comments on Holden's Objection 1: Friendliness is dangerous - LessWrong
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Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" discusses the death penalty imposed on a violent child rapist/murder. The narrator says there are two possibilities:
1) The killer was so deranged he didn't know right from wrong. In that case, killing (or imprisoning him) is the only safe solution for the rest. Or,
2) The killer knew right from wrong, but couldn't stop himself. Wouldn't killing (or stopping) him be a favor, something he would want?
Why can't that type of reasoning exist behind the veil of ignorance? Doesn't it completely justify certain kinds of oppression? That said, there's also an empirical question whether the argument applies to the particular group being oppressed.
As long as we're using sci-fi to inform our thinking on criminality and corrections, The Demolished Man is an interesting read.