> it is not about repairing damages. it is about the feeling that his/her actions had tangible, long lasting consequences.
How would that help me? Is there any evidence at all that this actually helps victims?
> i feel the big differentiator is if you yourself have ever been victim of a crime. once you have experienced the feeling of utter helplesness your perspective changes.
This is too easy a dismissal. Even if it does change your perspective, that does not determine whether or not harsher punishment of the criminal will help you - people often wish things that has different effect than they believe it will have. There is also to my knowledge little indication that e.g. most Norwegian victims of crime cry out for drastically harsher punishments, despite sentences that in the US would often be slammed as slaps on the wrist, so it is by no means given that victims of crime will feel an urge for harsh punishment; that seems to be more culturally specific.
> practically all young parents i know turned around their stance on punishment once they thought about someone maiming/hurting their kids.
I have a four year old son, and though the thought of anyone harming him is one of the worst things I could imagine, it has not changed my stance on punishment at all. I am sure I would feel an urge to kill someone who harmed him; at the same time I am very much aware how little my urges reflect my long term emotions, and how often they will temporarily be out of step with what I consider moral once I have had a chance to calm down.
There is a reason why we do not let the victims judge or sentence.
How would that help me? Is there any evidence at all that this actually helps victims?
> i feel the big differentiator is if you yourself have ever been victim of a crime. once you have experienced the feeling of utter helplesness your perspective changes.
This is too easy a dismissal. Even if it does change your perspective, that does not determine whether or not harsher punishment of the criminal will help you - people often wish things that has different effect than they believe it will have. There is also to my knowledge little indication that e.g. most Norwegian victims of crime cry out for drastically harsher punishments, despite sentences that in the US would often be slammed as slaps on the wrist, so it is by no means given that victims of crime will feel an urge for harsh punishment; that seems to be more culturally specific.
> practically all young parents i know turned around their stance on punishment once they thought about someone maiming/hurting their kids.
I have a four year old son, and though the thought of anyone harming him is one of the worst things I could imagine, it has not changed my stance on punishment at all. I am sure I would feel an urge to kill someone who harmed him; at the same time I am very much aware how little my urges reflect my long term emotions, and how often they will temporarily be out of step with what I consider moral once I have had a chance to calm down.
There is a reason why we do not let the victims judge or sentence.