On Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:01:47 +0000, Steve Walker
wrote:

They fequently say that prison doesn't work and doesn't deter
re-offending. I've always wondered that even if prison doesn't work for
many of those incarcerated, do long sentences deter those that have
never been in trouble from getting into a life of crime in the first place?

Not significantly, no. In the first place, the average person who has
never been in trouble with the law is unlikely to have any idea what
the sentence is likely to be should he break a particular law. In the
second place, for anyone who is willing in principle to break a
particular (non-trivial) law, the decision whether or not to do so
will almost completely depend on how likely that person believes it is
that they will be caught.

--
Cynic