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tropical vacation - forever!

use uninhabited islands as prisons
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This idea came from a professor I once had. He was very serious about this:

Put violent, recidivist criminals on an islands with no outside contact. Apparently, there are all kinds of uninhabited islands off the coast of California. The Coast Guard could patrol the islands (because they don't have anything else to do - according to Prof.). This would solve the Death Penalty dilemma as well as save the taxpayers lots of money.

This has already been done (Australia - USA) but maybe it's time to try it again?

juloe, Jun 29 2000

Escape from New York http://www.movie-pa...e_From_New_York.txt
Same idea, but with Manhattan instead of a tropical island. Classic. "Adrienne Barbeau: your guarantee of quality cinematic entertainment." Plus Isaac Hayes as the Duke of New York. [rmutt, Jun 29 2000]

No Escape http://us.imdb.com/Title?0110678
Same idea. Not a classic, but not that bad. Island monitored by IR satellites to make sure no one leaves (departing heat sources are bombed, IIRC). [centauri, Jun 29 2000]

[link]






       Would you supply them with food? Would the islands be equipped with sanitary facilities? What about medical care?   

       If you don't supply them with the basic necessities, then this would never pass the "cruel and unusual" test. If you did, then you need to guard the facilities and the people operating them, and then you've basically got a prison yard on an island, which is probably even more expensive than the regular kind.
egnor, Jun 29 2000
  

       There would be no food supply and no sanitary facilities. They would be given some survival tools, (knives, flints, some rations) but that would be it. I suppose you'd have to make sure the island could support life with enough water and food. The whole point is that this wouldn't be like a regular prison. I think the Prof. mentioned that we could give people an option, spend your life in prison, be executed, or live on this island.   

       I suppose this would fall under the "cruel and unusual" punishment and that's prpbably why we don't do this.   

       I just had a thought, there could be a show like "Survivor" using these islands. The government could make money to support regular prisons. It would be scary to watch though.
juloe, Jun 29 2000
  

       It does sort of play on the whole "social contract" idea, though. If you choose to live in America, you obey the laws and act like a good citizen, otherwise, bam! You're outta here.
ElectraSteph, Jul 19 2000
  

       I don't think it could be classified as "cruel and unusual"... maybe unusual, but not cruel. It's not even that unusual... There are PLENTY of people living off of much less in this world, and doing it quite happily (tribes in the rain forests, etc.). I don't see why it would be cruel.. we're giving them a place to live freely, with the exception that they can't leave. Sounds much nicer than prison to me. An Eye for an Eye.
pixel, Sep 05 2000
  

       Let's just hope that juloe's professor, nor any other, was ever incarcerated on this island. Certainly, as evidenced on the documentary "Gilligan's Island," this person would spend years crafting methods of escape. So we would need to guard the island (to some extent) ... leading up to egnor's final points.
toomuchmike, May 18 2001
  

       How about airdropping them in the middle of Australia? The place is huge, it'd be years before they caught on! ;)
dare99, Jan 09 2002
  

       Shades of Alpha exile from Huxley's 'Brave New World'
zardoz, Jan 09 2002
  
      
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