>>But the U.S. already has one of the punitive criminal justice systems in the western world and there doesn't seem to be much evidence to show that it results in a lessening of violent crime?
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>>I don't see tougher sentencing being a deterrent to the mentally unbalanced, people who kill in a 'fit of rage', or accidental killings. That only leaves those who use a gun for pre-planned criminal attacks - do you think tougher laws would radically change their behaviour? Would they stop carrying guns? Or carry but have no intention of using?
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>I don't agree with the punitive punishment style Charles is advocating to effectively break people. But I do agree that violent criminals should be removed from society for a very long time.
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>I don't think custodial sentencing should be used at all for most crimes. We would have a much smaller prison population of mainly very long term inmates. Son of a friend is a prison officer and one of his complaints is that short prison sentences don't give you long enough to work with the criminal on changing their behaviour.

No argument there. In this country reducing jail sentences and using the savings to improve funding to the probation service would be a better approach....