That last part is a totally kick-ass idea. However, I am not so sure about it at the same time. If they were to be locked up and forced to work off the cost of imprisonment, aren’t we essentially giving them shelter, food, and a job? I say leave the later three for hard-working, good-hearted people. They most likely need it more.
I totally agree on the point that it would be too nice to just off them.
For one, some of those people are so sick and twisted they probably want nothing more then to die. I definitely don’t want to give them what they want. They don’t deserve the satisfaction.
For two, I cannot bring myself down to their level, as in the “eye for an eye” idea. I understand that this is a very favorable concept. I admit that there have been times where I wanted vengence against someone who had wronged me. Even the Old Testament preaches the “eye for an eye” ideals at every chance it can. (Leviticus 24:19-21 "If a man injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so it shall be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so it shall be inflicted on him. Thus the one who kills an animal shall make it good, but the one who kills a man shall be put to death”)
My personal belief is that if everyone followed this way of dealing with their problems all we would have left would be a bunch of blind people unable to see the error of their ways.
My solution = Put all convicted of previously stated crimes on a deserted island. This idea incorporates all good aspects of punishment. They are completely isolated from society. The only people they will come in contact with are criminals that are as equally demented as themselves. Similar to a prison environment. However, there will be no guards, no wardens, no guns, and no cells.
Also, provisions will not be given to them. They must work to survive. They must find food, shelter, and potable water all on their own. Being an island with limited supply of all of these, this means that they must also compete with each other for survival. Let good ol’ Darwin decide who deserves to live or die. And don't forget, these absolutely hideous crimes, I am truly sorry to say, will continue to happen over time. So, therefore more people will be continually added to the island, creating even more competition.
You never know, they may just start killing each other.
Of course, precautions must be taken before this plan can be put into action. The island must be made “escape-proof.” We wouldn’t want them making their way back to civilization.
((Please inform me if I am just a moron))