I feel like one common assumption we really need to fucking kill is the assumption that suffering somehow improves people, or like is either morally redemptive or improving. The fact that we talk about punitive “justice” as paying for a crime, or paying your “debt to society”? How does imprisonment or punishment or suffering “pay” anyone ANYTHING?

Like there are two things you can do to deal with people who do damage to other people 1. You can take evidence based steps to rehabilitate them and make it so they’re not likely to be a danger 2. If you can’t rehabilitate them which y’ know we can’t with some people yet (the Charles Mansons of the world) you can get them into a situation where they can’t cause further harm.

Punishment does nothing but indulge our worst impulses