> People could (or may) have been killed over his greed for money.
Yes, but according to the OP, noone was injured. This is not Minority Report.
> That being said, I have no problems with the notion of helping ex-cons try to turn their lives around, after they've paid their debt to society
The thing is: he hasn't! We was locked up, so we could not pay for anything. The only thing that he lost was time, and society gained nothing - and incurred in even greater expenses.
If he was instead forced to pay his debt by working off, then we could say that the debt was repaid.
And, from his point of view, his debt will never be repaid, as he is now unemployable because of his police record.
I have never been convicted, arrested or even questioned by the police (US or otherwise), but the system horrifies me.
Yes, but according to the OP, noone was injured. This is not Minority Report.
> That being said, I have no problems with the notion of helping ex-cons try to turn their lives around, after they've paid their debt to society
The thing is: he hasn't! We was locked up, so we could not pay for anything. The only thing that he lost was time, and society gained nothing - and incurred in even greater expenses.
If he was instead forced to pay his debt by working off, then we could say that the debt was repaid.
And, from his point of view, his debt will never be repaid, as he is now unemployable because of his police record.
I have never been convicted, arrested or even questioned by the police (US or otherwise), but the system horrifies me.