I really do think that rehabilitation of habitual and serious criminals is mostly a useless endeavor. (I am removing purely drug offenses from this convo, which I am happy to discuss elsewhere). Especially as practiced. I think that things like three strikes laws (tbh, you can increase this to five strikes or eight strikes) mostly capture that population and that while inevitably it wonât be perfect, it will be better than leniency at removing the most disruptive and predatory elements from society.
And yesâ white collar predators, I lump in with this. My bit of Texas lore is that I am related to Billy Sol Estes. Not like a core relative, but he did appear at some family events. He was incorrigible. He had no other way of life, no conception of existence, other than via scamming and stealing from people. He was a con artist to the end and belonged in jail for life.
Iâm very interested in age-based data, because I think it will show that people donât rehabilitatedâ they age out of certain behaviors. Releasing that population with support I can get behind.
For certain serious violent and sexual crimes I am one hundred percent fine with âone strike.â I think all convicted rapists should go away for life. I think if you kill a cop or a child, you should never walk free. I am uninterested in the circumstances that led you there.