Can all people be "saved"? Probably not, but I don't know that that's a valid excuse to get into this scary nightmare of "we can do whatever we want with these people".
First off, people are wrongly convicted of crimes, even heinous ones like rape and murder. Fortunately, it's not as common nowadays since DNA is pretty cool, but it still happens, and I don't know that I feel comfortable doing something like waterboarding to someone that might be innocent.
But honestly, even if we could somehow guarantee that we never have an innocent person in jail, I still think it's wrong to mistreat a human more than a certain level of punishment. Whether or not we can "save" them is sort of irrelevant in my mind.
Admittedly this is a more "feels-based" argument, but I think that the more dignity that we treat our prisoners with, the less apologetics we'll have to deal with to future generations. I genuinely can't see history looking kindly on the conditions of current private prisons.
I like to think more in terms of wasted money. Imprisonment is a waste. For the murderers take a hand or arm. If they repeat take the other, eventually they won't have the physical apertures to commit the crime in the first place. Maybe also exile them to Mexico or something. Make them not our problem. For everyone else who's non-violent I think community service and house arrest plus the public shame of being a convict should be enough.
Maybe forced education along-side community service, so they are forced to become better via becoming smarter...
I say this tongue in cheek (a little) as a staunch progressive and bleeding heart liberal. I know it's not humane to 'take an appendage', and I'm against the death penalty, but also as a pragmatist that would much rather see tax-payer dollars spent on single-payer healthcare than incarceration - we need to ensure public safety from those who may not be able to be fixed. I'd like to honestly find something that is streamlined, cost effective, and has zero incarceration time involved, is humane as possible and benefits the most people in society. Murderers and violent thieves (with a deadly weapon) lose varying 'lengths' of their appendages. There should be a line drawn at things like bar fights, and maybe leniency for first-timers. Could be as small as 'take a pinky'.
If we could completely end private prisons, and insurance in the country we'd save a ton of money per capita to use for other much more worthy endeavors.
I do agree that the last option (forced labor camps for 'monsters') - should only be used as an utter last resort to help be a relief on the local population financially from having to pay for it all via taxes.
If someone does murder a fellow human but has done nothing wrong prior, everyone does deserve a second chance and should go to the Norway style of rehabilitation.
Only after someone fails this path say 3 times (3 strikes and your out seems to be common) then they are stuck paying off their debt to society via being a work horse.
Warning - beyond this point there is graphic wording.
Also for clarification when I mention 'monsters' are unable to be saved this is referring to the extreme of the extreme. An example would be a video in which a cartel member cut open an individual while they were still alive, nailed their intestines to a tree and forced them to run around the tree or various other groups who practice extreme terror in this manner. (although I realize these groups tend to go back and forth attacking each other and rarely do this to innocent people)
Can all people be "saved"? Probably not, but I don't know that that's a valid excuse to get into this scary nightmare of "we can do whatever we want with these people".
First off, people are wrongly convicted of crimes, even heinous ones like rape and murder. Fortunately, it's not as common nowadays since DNA is pretty cool, but it still happens, and I don't know that I feel comfortable doing something like waterboarding to someone that might be innocent.
But honestly, even if we could somehow guarantee that we never have an innocent person in jail, I still think it's wrong to mistreat a human more than a certain level of punishment. Whether or not we can "save" them is sort of irrelevant in my mind.
Admittedly this is a more "feels-based" argument, but I think that the more dignity that we treat our prisoners with, the less apologetics we'll have to deal with to future generations. I genuinely can't see history looking kindly on the conditions of current private prisons.