Jury Duty

Sometime ago I was summoned to Jury Duty. I submitted a letter that I thought would be an adequate reason not to serve. In essence it amounted to a conscienscious objection. Eugene Debs, who is among the few that I admire stated that, "as long as there is a soul in prison I am not free." This is part of a quote that I keep on my smartphone. Some people are completely against our penal system. They see it as fraught with brutality and corruption and based on inhumane punishment that does no good. I agree with them. Instead of a system of punishment, we should have a system of rehabilitation based on education, love, compassion, and accountability. This system would replace the prison system with social, psychological, and health care facilities.

Now, a deeper question is: Where do I stand on morality? Let's say that John murdered Mike. Did John do it out of his own free will or did a set of events force John to do it. If John does not have free will then how can we hold him responsible? Firstly, I believe that everyone should be held responsible for their actions whether we have free will or not. But secondly, I think that it is not as simple as a "free will/no free will" dichotomy. I believe that free will is a matter of degree. It is related to health, wealth, and education. The better your health, wealth, and education then the more free will you have. There seems to be a pattern here. Third world countries tend to be poorer and have more crime. Of course, since I do not believe in the current system of punishment then I do not believe in the death penalty. <<Writings>>