Because they feel people don't do things because of who they are, but what they have experienced. It's not the criminal's fault that they broke the law, it is the home they grew up in or the lack of parental support or anything else other than personal responsibility. So, all you have to do is prove to the criminal that they don't have to be criminals and they'll turn the corner.

I steal a TV. Maybe I'm buying drugs, maybe I'm bored, maybe I'm selling it and feeding my family, maybe I just don't have a TV of my own. I go to prison for 6 months. I come out, I'm still bored/hungry/TV-less/on drugs, still with no way of remedying this. I go to prison with a program to help me get my GED and maybe train me to type, or fix the prison toilets, or what have you (and drug treatment, if applicable). Now when I get out, I can get a TV of my own, feed my family, work, be clean. Yes, if someone is a repeat offender, it's possible that they honestly care so little that they fall into "people we're afraid of" instead of "people we're angry with." But one cock-up does not mean a person is a hardened criminal.

well im not sure why you have to generalize this question towards liberals... but to answer the question I'd say some people feel punishment should be more of a learning experience because they belive in second chances.... and yea not everyone will take the second chance but many people will and learn from the experience.

Well, let's see here. Has punishment for punishments sake solved anything? Not really, it's definitely cost us more in terms of building and staffing prisons though. On the other hand, if instead of locking up say petty drug users, we try to rehabilitate them, does it cost anything more than just pure incarceration without any rehabilitation? So, with rehabilitation, we have the potential to turn an individual around into a productive citizen. I concede it is only potential, but at least as a society we try. I'm not saying crime should go unpunished. I'm not saying the punishment shouldn't suck. I am saying that by not trying to rehabilitate criminals, we allow the system to harden them further. Education is key to change. Whether that change is for ourselves, our society, or our outcasts, education is key.

We do?!?!? Thanks for telling me what I think and not allowing me to speak as an individual! On that note, why are conservatives "pro-life" and "pro-death penalty" at the same time? You have to admit, that was a loaded question.

Because it's the humane and "right" thing to do. Often, so-called liberals have empathy for others and would like to leave the world a better place than to which they came.

Because it's the humane and "right" thing to do. Many so-called liberals endeavor to leave the world a better place through their efforts rather than putting all their efforts into their bank account.

good question + given. Sorry I have no answer except that I wouldn't label them as simply "liberal" as alike thinking folks exist where liberals don't really exist.

As we have developed as a species, humans formed cultures (groups based on a group of people's tools, skills, customs, arts, and ideas [behavior]) to societies (refers to a group of people who share the same culture, use the same tools, speak the same language, and share ideas[relationships]) and civilizations ( refers to complex cultures that have division of labor, systems of writing, advanced technical skills, and cities with some form of government, usually have developed a calendar, and share common beliefs[systems of culture and society]) for the protection, proliferation and benefit of the species. Liberals believe “punishment should be an educational tool and simply not a consequence of illegal actions” because we live in societies that are interdependent and require that we “re-educate” people who offend the group, so that the group can continue to grow and sustain life. This is the same reason that liberals don’t want to “nuke” people and “wipe them off the map”. We understand that “the map” is actually a planet that we all live on. And nuking your own planet doesn’t make sense nor does punishing people without then attempting to correct the behavior that jeopardizes the good of the group.

In my opinion, as a "liberal", the function of the justice system is to prevent or deter future crimes. Punishing people just because you want to is simple sadism. You punish people because you have set up a system which says "good actions get rewards, bad actions get punishments", and if you wish it to be credible, you have to deliver on both halves. But the motivation is not to be nasty to people, it is to deter people from committing crimes in the first case. So when the deterrence has failed, and you have to deliver on your threats, you want to use the power you have over the convicted idiot to maximise your primary aim: preventing future crimes. Punishment is a means to an end (less crime in future), not an end in its own right. If you can achieve that end by education, it would be wrong not to do so.