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Bill: Lex de Carceribus
Details
Submitted by[?]: Factio Unitatis Patriae
Status[?]: defeated
Votes: This is an ordinary bill. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: August 4473
Description[?]:
| Senators, This is a direct appeal to the Justice Minister. The prison service is in dire need of an overhaul. This must start with the way in which the incarcerated are treated. Many people believe that the punishment does not fit the crime and that many prisoners are serving sentences in relative luxury. The most heinous situation that has been alowed to develop is that prisoners are allowed to vote from behind bars. I call for an immediate suspension of these rights for all felons serving a custodial sentence. Voting is a right and privilege that criminals have foregone when they commit illlegal acts and it should only be reinstated when they have demonstrated they are ready to be lawful members of society. Secondly, I call for a wide ranging community works programme involving all prisoners. No longer should prisoners decide if they wish to work it should be made mandatory. Prisoners should be paid a prison wage rate (to be set by the Ministry of Justice) to carry out those jobs which are unfilled by citizens and which benefit the public good. I ask the Minster to seriously consider these proposals. Quintus Viridius Fabianus Senator |
Proposals
Article 1
Proposal[?] to change Voting rights of criminals.
Old value:: Criminals are always allowed to vote, regardless of whether they are in jail or not.
Current: Criminals released from jail are allowed to vote after a certain period of time.
Proposed: Criminals released from jail are allowed to vote after a certain period of time.
Article 2
Proposal[?] to change Prison policy concerning prisoner labor.
Old value:: Prisoners can do certain jobs in prison, voluntarily, for a small wage.
Current: Prisoners can do certain jobs in prison, voluntarily, for a small wage.
Proposed: Able-bodied prisoners have to work during the day.
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 15:58:53, October 20, 2018 CET | From | Factio Republicana Socialistica | To | Debating the Lex de Carceribus |
| Message | Senators, Senator Fabianus seems to have been infected with the disease of liberal individualism. His call for the punishment to fit the crime is a textbook example of the discredited "just deserts" theory of criminal justice, a form of liberal retributism premised on the view that an offender is one who violates the rights of an innocent and as a consequence must be punished because they deserve it. This view of isolated individuals crashing into each other is outdated and unatural and, thankfully, our criminal system has moved beyond it. In the Republic we don't care what the "appropriate" punishment is; what we care about is the future consequences of the punishment. Incarceration, for this reason, is not something we favor. Not only does it fail to prevent recidivism, but, by cutting off individuals from society and by making criminals live together in the same place, prison causes and exacerbates social problems. The goal of our justice system is not individual punishment; the goal is the moral perfection of individual citizens and of society. In the Republic criminal law is justified on the idea that we not only live beside each other but we live together, and as a result there are mutual duties and obligations we impose on each other in order to secure the common good and flourish as social beings. Depriving individuals of living together is thus one of the most horrible forms of torture, which is why, decades ago, our party has pursued the abolition of imprisonment and its voluntary replacement with judicial corporal punishment. So I cannot find the Senator's suggestions as fitting with the Republican framework of our criminal system. Whether or not we increase punishments, the only thing we should bear in mind is not whether the individual criminal "deserves" it, but rather what the social and political consequences of these punishments are. In what concerns prisoner labor, current policy is designed to assist inmates in maintaining or gaining job skills, so that they have the possibility of employment after release and do not fall back into a life of crime. The Senator's mandatory community works program is not designed to assist social reintegration, it is merely designed to punish, without considering the consequences of establishing a prison-industrial complex that would drive wages down and unfairly compete with our businesses through cheap exploited labor. Slavery is bad for everyone, not just slaves. Establishing penal servitude would cause tremendous harm to society and can only be justified through an individualist thirst for punishment. And the right to vote is designed to prevent the civil death of inmates, highlighting that our civic bonds with the criminal offenders do not vanish with punishment. Whatever their crimes, we continue being part of the same self-governing community, and a concern with keeping the ballot "pure" from being tainted by criminals displays a shocking lack of civic concern for those punished, betraying nothing more than the naive liberal impulse to punish the "bad guys". Instead of trying to find harsher punishments, we should instead make sure that our criminal law system does not disproportionately target the poor, the black and brown, does not hollow our neighborhoods, and does not return people to society without adequate tools necessary to contribute to a flourishing community. Iovita Luna Senatrix |
| Date | 23:59:59, October 20, 2018 CET | From | Optimates | To | Debating the Lex de Carceribus |
| Message | Senators, Senator Fabianus has certainly taken important steps towards more constructive and sensible dialogue regarding our criminal justice system. For the sake of the trust the people place in the institutions of this Republic, we must make it abundantly clear: prison works. A criminal has forfeited their right to their own freedom, and to the freedom of civil society. It must be made equally clear that prison can only work if the government strikes a fair balance between punishment and rehabilitation: we want convicts to reintegrate and to leave prison equipped with the right skills and the right attitude to build a better life for themselves, but equally we must instil in criminals and the dregs of society a certain fear of prison. We can ensure that such a balance is struck by adopting the proposals brought forward by Senator Fabianus. By withdrawing for a certain time an ex-convict's right to take part in the democratic process, we send a very clear message: if you abandon your responsibilities as a citizen, then you must also forfeit the rights afforded to you. Likewise, if you find yourself in prison, then you are given every opportunity to rehabilitate: prisoners are both afforded a small wage, which shall prove invaluable once said prisoner has been released, and are taught the importance of hard-work within ordinary society. Should the senator bring forward these proposals, the Optimates shall willingly support such a bill and I myself, as the minister responsible, would gladly offer appropriate support in seeing these reforms implemented. Amulius Herminius Candidianus Minister of Justice |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | ||
| yes |
Total Seats: 105 | ||
| no |
Total Seats: 364 | ||
| abstain | Total Seats: 281 |
| Random fact: Zardugal is a nation based on the old Byzantine Empire, with a modern twist and the Esperanto language. Zardugal is located on the continent of Majatra. |
| Random quote: "When we're unemployed, we're called lazy; when the whites are unemployed it's called a depression." - Jesse Jackson |