On Thu, 5 Jul 2001, petro pulled this right out of his ass...
The disparity in numbers is largely due to the way we treat the mentally ill. "They" (Russia, and most of europe) don't count the numbers of people forcebly institutionalized for "mental illness" as part of their prisoner counts, and here in the US the government *usually* doesn't forcibly institutionalize someone until after they've committed a crime, or at least been convicted of a crime of some sort, whether it really should be a crime.
Total, unequivocal bullshit. You have anything to back up these absurd statements? (1) "Forcibly institutionalized" patients are *NOT* [legally] "prisoners", and therefore are not included in prisoner counts. Obviously, this statement excludes those persons committed to institutions by a court as "unfit to stand trial" - a microscopic percentage of the "patient" population in the U.S. (2) The "2-P.C." [2 Psychiatrist Committal] laws do NOT apply to someone *after* they have committed a crime. After they commit a crime, they are under the jurisdiction of a *court*, and they are no longer patients (and only _patients_ get 2-P.C.'d). (3) The 2.P.C. laws are in EVERY state specifically allow for, and in fact, REQUIRE, that a person be involuntarily committed if "they present an immenent danger to themselves or others". This is clearly not the same as "have committed a crime". First you claim that "nobody has ever survived a shot to the head with a .32", and now *this* -- Where do you get this shit from??? -- Yours, J.A. Terranson sysadmin@mfn.org If Governments really want us to behave like civilized human beings, they should give serious consideration towards setting a better example: Ruling by force, rather than consensus; the unrestrained application of unjust laws (which the victim-populations were never allowed input on in the first place); the State policy of justice only for the rich and elected; the intentional abuse and occassionally destruction of entire populations merely to distract an already apathetic and numb electorate... This type of demogoguery must surely wipe out the fascist United States as surely as it wiped out the fascist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The views expressed here are mine, and NOT those of my employers, associates, or others. Besides, if it *were* the opinion of all of those people, I doubt there would be a problem to bitch about in the first place... --------------------------------------------------------------------