Do you think it is possible for someone to be rehabilitated?

[D]

I was watching the movie "The Woodsman" last night which stars Kevin Bacon as a convicted child molester who is set free after 12 years in prison.

while out he struggles with his demons but fights so hard to be normal.

It is a very powerful, very wicked and disturbing movie.

I mean no one will give him a 2nd chance, which he probably doesnt deserve, he didnt kill the girls he molested or hurt them physically, he didnt penetrate them either.*which doesnt make it any better i dont guess.

but i was wondering, whether it be a rapist,murderer,child molester,child abuser, woman beater, just whatever

is it possible to be rehabilitated? or do u think it is programmed so tightly within someone's makeup that they cant unravel it no matter how much couseling or prison time?

[McGann]

I think maybe 5% of criminals can be rehabilitated.  The others should be pretty much shot/sterilized.
The question is, which ones are the 5%?
My answer is that it doesn't matter.  The punishment of the guilty is primary to me.
Keep in mind, this would result in the permanent imprisonment or even execution of family members who I love dearly...but acts they commit are about them, not me or my feelings.

Tough world, huh?

/Mike

[Doc Emmett Brown]

I was watching the movie "The Woodsman" last night which stars Kevin Bacon as a convicted child molester who is set free after 12 years in prison.

that was a really painful movie, D.   I thought he played the role very powerfully.   I dont know if sheer determination or will alone can rehabilitate someone.  What if it's a chemical imbalance in the brain or something you cant control? 

I think until we find out more about the brain, we'll just have to lock them up in prison.  Then they get released and commit the same old crime again...  But imprisonment is expensive - maybe we're just better off without them? 

[SLCPUNK]

Rehabbed from drugs and booze? Yes

Rehabbed from molesting kids? I just don't believe it's possible for these people to get 'better'.

The few times (when younger) that I had the (dis) pleaure of being in jail... I came to a conclusion of people in jail. That is, that there were many people in their for mistakes, usually poor choices paired with booze or drugs. Then there was another smaller group of people who should never, ever, be allowed outside of jail again.

[matt88]

I do think it's possible to be rehabilitated from drugs or alcohol but i doubt u'll ever lose the craving for it. It will always play on the mind and the weak will get sucked back in.

[SLCPUNK]

I do think it's possible to be rehabilitated from drugs or alcohol but i doubt u'll ever lose the craving for it. It will always play on the mind and the weak will get sucked back in.

You lose the craving over time. You have to learn what triggers cravings: hungry, angry, lonely, tired etc etc. Then you can avoid being "weak".

Only people who are willing to listen can keep clean, those who don't...use. Assuming the physical part of addiction is over.

[SLCPUNK]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MISSING_GIRL?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

I'm sure this guy said he was all better too, before he got out...

[Doc Emmett Brown]

yeesh...

There's this thing called 'Megan's Law'  which allows the public to know if a registered sex offender lives in your neighborhood.  It doesnt give the actual address, just the approx. whereabouts.

This is the one for California: http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/homepage.htm

"Megan's Law is named after seven-year-old Megan Kanka, a New Jersey girl who was raped and killed by a known child molester who had moved across the street from the family without their knowledge. In the wake of the tragedy, the Kankas sought to have local communities warned about sex offenders in the area. All states now have a form of Megan's Law."

Rehabbed from drugs and booze? Yes

Rehabbed from molesting kids? I just don't believe it's possible for these people to get 'better'.

good point - does that mean some people are fundamentally evil?  This reminds me of something I watched on the Sci-fi channel a while back.  A scientist had invented a time machine for the sole purpose of going back in time to kill a known rapist/molester/etc before they actually commited the crime.  The reasoning was that the criminal was gonna do it anyway, so might as well save the victim and kill the guy beforehand.

[SLCPUNK]

good point - does that mean some people are fundamentally evil?  This reminds me of something I watched on the Sci-fi channel a while back.  A scientist had invented a time machine for the sole purpose of going back in time to kill a known rapist/molester/etc before they actually commited the crime.  The reasoning was that the criminal was gonna do it anyway, so might as well save the victim and kill the guy beforehand.

I do believe some people are just evil. Next step is to define evil. Which may vary, but I think that somebody who kills for pleasure, is evil. People kill kids and leave their bodies to be discovered to shock another person of their act, is evil. Their pleasure is other people's suffering.

Why? Hell if I know, but these people are void of caring and feeling. It's really scary to think of people like that.

I saw a trial of the guy who took a girl out of her house, raped then murdered her. She was like 9 yrs old. The father probably already had tremendous guilt for what happened, and had to listen to this monster on the stand. In his last attempt to hurt the father he said the little girl said "Please don't do me like my father does"....fuckin' EVIL. Of course the father broke down and had to leave, but the monster got pleasure out of killing this guys daughter, then breaking down the man again the first chance he had. Horrible and many more of him just like that. For people like that you can only wish there was a hell...or a time machine.