In response to the magistrates reports we posted today involving drugs and violence that occurred during the disaster recovery, a reader posted this:
“They should pass a law…that make it 3x the penalty for committing crimes during and after typhoon and must serve FULL term.”
What are your thoughts on a law that increases penalties for people who are convicted of creating mischief and perpetrating violence against others during a disaster and in its aftermath?
4 Comments
Mabel Doge Luhan
06/08/2023 at 11:08 PM
What a great example of why we have due process and not mob rule. We ostensibly have judges, people we literally pay to consider and apply the specifics of each case to each sentencing. Why not trust them to apply the correct punishment? If you don’t trust your judges, elect new ones.
As a thought exercise, it would be interesting to tell the story of one of these alleged crimes from the alleged criminal’s perspective. After a typhoon, they were likely experiencing the all too common trifecta of economic loss, emotional trauma, and substance withdrawal. Maybe their psych meds were lost in the storm. Maybe they had hungry kids at home. And then you can pose the question if we maybe actually we should have reduced sentences for alleged crimes committed during the upheaval of a typhoon? Emotionally, at least, there are always two sides to the story.
It would also be interesting to hear how Mr. Takai plans to build triple prison space and pay for triple incarceration costs during a typhoon recovery. Right, right, “Just stop feeding and medicating them” is the usual answer. The armchair authoritarians fantasize about the criminal justice system’s Glock comfortably in their hand — not the barrel at their head.
Jofish
06/09/2023 at 10:56 AM
Here’s a law that should be passed, “ any elected public servants (politicians) and their cronies they appoint to run these government agencies that fail to plan ahead, mitigate future disasters, property manage these agencies, with preventive and periodic maintenance, safe guard tax payers money against both government and private sector corruption and kickbacks, that during a disaster the people suffer because of their incompetence and corruption, shall serve no less than 10 years of hard labor”! Why do they always want to enact laws for the poor or middle class but never for the upper and elite class, politicians and their cronies!!! We are not a democracy, We are a constitutional republic! These people are not kings, queens or royalty! They are “PUBLIC SERVANTS”!!!
Russ Mason
06/09/2023 at 11:52 AM
In March, 2011, a horrible tsunami wrecked Fukushima, Japan. There wasn’t a single incident of theft or of looting. We can take an important lesson from the Japanese: basic respect for others and their possessions.
Justin Case
06/11/2023 at 9:08 AM
Compare to how people were raised i dont think this will work out. But its not too late to start.