well I wasn't actually serious... capital punishment I only reserve for murder. Emotionally I wish they would suffer but no amount of suffering will ever make up for the horror of being raped by an adult.
Indentured Servitude & Penitence
I don't even know if I agree with a life sentence, but I support a form of Indentured Servitude as the ancient Jews had -- of course they just killed the child molester, but if we're going to imprison them, we as well make it worth it. To throw someone away in prison and forget about them is of any benefit to those who were hurt, how?
1.) They should work off in prison the wages it would take to put that child through 4 years of college, and 2 years worth of salaries, and 100,000 dollars towards the therapy of that child. That tuition will be around for the lifetime of the child if they ever choose to pursuit a college education, or vocational training of some sort.
2.) They also owe every child who has ever been raped because their habit of consuming child pornography drives that market of horror that currently exists, so they should also work off 300,000 dollars in that cause to end child pornography.
3.) They owe another 300,000 to help open cases that haven't been resolved wherein the adult raped the child and then murdered it to keep anyone from knowing. They should not be forgotten, and their death should not be in vain -- rapists will help catch other rapists in bring them to justice.
4.) I also think there should be some kind of faith ministries outreach program for them as well. I know here in Portland, even atheists have outreach programs, but something is better then nothing. If we are not going to kill them, we have to have some kind of redemption program.
5.) They should also have the ability to trade extra hours they work for access to some basic media, and the option of education in prison.
So about 30 years is a good amount, earning between 30 to 40 grand a year, for somewhere around 1,000,000 dollars earned towards the victim(s) of child molestation. Most of them come out of prison and go right into retirement. We are not going to harvest their organs, which could pay the imprisonment costs of another inmate for 3-5 years, so we might as well make it worth imprisoning them and make it meaningful instead of just throwing them in the cell and forgetting about them.
Alternative: Isolation
They will have no option but work, unless it is time they have earned through you work to attend faith-baesd activities, a rest to maybe enjoy a television show or read a book, or, to take classes in a subject they are interested in. The alternative for not working is total isolation -- no human contact in a closed off chamber, and the more you don't work or be a nuisance, the longer the duration you will serve in the isolation chamber, increasing your mental and physical health complications, and reducing your years on earth.
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It is not up to you to finish the task, nor are you free to desist from trying.