1/21/2011

Paying a debt to society

...is supposedly one of the ideas behind the criminal justice system (the others being punishment, rehabilitation and protection), but prisoners are typically a drain on society(1). Not to mention the risk of prisoners coming out addicted to new drugs increasing their chance of re-offending. I'm going to propose a prison reform inspired by an SF concept not seriously, but more as an exercise in thinking through the practical and moral implications.

The concept(2): A world where there is no death penalty as such: your mind is "uploaded" to await a (poorly defined) point when you stand a chance of being resurrected. Your body now being vacant it is broken down for the "organ banks".

Clearly there are a few technological gaps between this world and that: uploading is practically fantasy rather than sci fi; we can't keep organs alive very long outside of a human. However I think that adds to the benefits rather than reducing them.

Proposal:
A set of tarriff equivalencies is established for various donor needs (blood, bone marrow, kidneys etc) - and rules established about the maximum impact they can have on someones sentence.
Anyone served a custodial sentence is blood and tissue typed.

For things that can be collected on a regular basis and stored (I believe only blood(3), but I'm keeping this open) regular collections are made, each for a small benefit. For larger items, it becomes almost a lottery, with people being offered a (substantial) reduction in their sentence if they are willing to give up some bone marrow or a liver lobe when someone requires it.

I think this has a few benefits: reduction of waiting lists/blood shortages - increased health of prductive citizens; reduction of drug use in prison populations (a high or a chance at a year off your sentence?); possibility of screening the prison population.

And a few downsides: cost - secure medial facilities are likely more expensive than a secure facility and a medical facility put together; privacy/risk - there is alrady a black market in organs, so organs with a high tissue match might be "stolen to order"; ethics - can a typically poorly educated prison population give informed consent?; ick/ reflxive moral outrage.

So, what do you think(4)? Let me know below.

(1) If I'm wrong and there is a prison somewhere using prisoner labouor to raise more money than the prison costs to run I'd be interested to know.
(2) If anyone can remember where this is from, please let me know.
(3) Okay and sperm/eggs, but I can't see this being popular regardless of genetic theories.
(4) I think I starte out intrigued but found I couldn't write this without sounding like some corporate dictator, which doesn't say good things about it...

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