X-Message-Number: 20345
From: 
Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2002 15:17:41 +0100
Subject: freezing criminals

> Message #20292
> Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2002 11:04:50 -0500
> From: "Kansas City Homes - " <>
> Subject: Contractual Cryonic Suspension for Criminals/Criminally
> Insane?

> a convicted murderer is sentenced to death and is signed up for
> cryonics. 


In the future, if cryonics is the shown to work, the sign up would be over-ruled
by the 
execution sentence. The sentence and the death would be absolute, the body 
probably destroyed. Hopefully though, there won't be death sentences by then.


Also - cryonics would be a poor punishment according to today's justifications. 
No 

subjective time would pass for the convicted. The idea behind prisons is that 
the 
convicted spends time behind bars where s/he can be reformed. The magnitude of 
the crime informs the time required for successful rehab. 


The practice is entirely different, and is more about tormenting the convicted, 
more 
about revenge. 


However, cryonics could be used as a punishment, informed by the *real* reasons

for prison (torment, revenge), as the convicted would wake in a world where all

loved ones were dead. Though having the legal system admit that its punishments
weren't about rehab. would take some doing.

It might make good rehab. in that "criminality" might be "cured", but the 
cryonaut/prisoner would have no wealth and probably not a relevant education 
(assuming sh/e had one in the first place). 

Anton

---------------------------------------
http://www.noumenal.net/exiles

Bush's close ties with bin Laden: 
http://www.observer.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,738196,00.html
American Terrorism: http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=14016

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=20345