Okay, unconventional thinking.  For violent rapists (not the he-said she-said variety), I would support surgical removal of male organs rather than long jail sentences.  Armed robbers especially should be given relatively short sentences so that there remains a very substantial margin between shooting and not shooting someone.  If the potential shooter knows that pulling the trigger costs a great deal (in terms of sentence), we win through lives saved. Drugs should be legalized.  The damage to society of locking up so many involved in drugs and engendering disrespect for the law is likely worst than that which would be associated with legalizing drugs .  While it may feel good to lock folks up for long terms, we pay for the good feeling.  Giving long sentences for simple property crimes, sex abusers, etc. removes the great divide between killing, the ultimate crime, and recoverable events.  With murder and sex abuse sentences similar, it is logical to kill the witness.  Sad consequence