Why isn't exile a legal punishment anymore?

Why?

Good luck finding another country that will take the criminal.

Travel is also significantly more expensive.

Exile to where? Dumping your criminals into another country is similar to emptying your trashbin into a neighbour's backyard - not a polite this to do.

Though it would make sense to make people move if what they've done is illegal in their own country but legal in the one they are moved to. Actually, it would be very humane and very fair.

edited 3rd Nov '10 6:53:27 AM by Beholderess

Easy, ask other countries if they want em. If not, cart them out to international waters and kick them off the boat.

How is that any more or less humane than throwing them in jail? If they die of starvation or exposure on some deserted island, it's morally equivalent to a death sentence. And if they get picked up by a passing boat, well then what was the point of jailing them?

Exile/shunning only work within a very close community that a person cannot reasonably expect to survive or prosper outside of. It also completely fails to deal with violent criminals if they have any means whatsoever of getting back into society.

Once upon a time, there was a punishment known as infamy, that is, the State recognised you as criminal and on all territories under the State's jurisdiction your rights as a citizen and a person in general were nullified. Technically it wasn't an exile, since you could stay if you and your buddies believed in Refuge in Audacity strongly enough, but if not, you just fled.

"Easy, ask other countries if they want em. If not, cart them out to international waters and kick them off the boat. "

Couldn't say it better myself.

Not as a default sentence. Make it an offer.

Removing a dangerous criminal from the watch of the justice system doesn't seem like a smart move to me.

Exile is simply the government saying "If you won't follow the rules here, go find someplace where you aren't subject to them". It worked best when there were other places that the exile could go to, where the rules were different. It doesn't work if the rules they don't want to follow are nearly universal, like rules against murder or theft or rape.

"Once upon a time, there was a punishment known as infamy, that is, the State recognised you as criminal and on all territories under the State's jurisdiction your rights as a citizen and a person in general were nullified."

Many Norse sagas describe their heros getting 'outlawed', which sounds like the same thing. It was a common sentence in Scandanavian countries, and meant people could legally kill you, but if you were Bad Ass enough, there's no real incentive for you not to kill them instead. Which is probably why they got rid of the rule.

In middle ages Germany that was called "Vogelfrei". Usually a sign that one should GTFO of town and move to another German state. Luckyly there were many to chose from.

Exile is simply the government saying "If you won't follow the rules here, go find someplace where you aren't subject to them". It worked best when there were other places that the exile could go to, where the rules were different. It doesn't work if the rules they don't want to follow are nearly universal, like rules against murder or theft or rape.

Exactly. It would work in case of rules which are not universal, such as certain property rights (especially intellectual property), light narcotics use, censorship laws, religion-related laws and so on.

Outlawry was a great concept in theory. "You don't get to pick and choose which laws apply to you. If you don't want to follow the ones that hinder your desire to hurt someone else, you don't get the protection of the ones that hinder other people from hurting you."

In most societies, that was basically a death sentence, unless you could hook up with others who were also outlaw and form a protective group.

And I now have a great idea for my science-fiction game.

Really Yami? Does it take place on Planet Sherwood and involve the redistribution of photodiode based currency from the optically active to the robotic underclass?

No, more like wacky space pirates. There is a killer robot though. And lizards with guns strapped to their backs. And a ridiculously evil human empire.

But this is on-topic conversations >.>

While we're at it, why do civil rights exist?

Ideally, to provide people with protections from others infringing on their safety and freedom.

Which I guess is the basis behind modern law in general.

The UK has a fair few remote territories where criminals could be dumped and left to freeze or starve to death until their time is up. Stupid human rights laws get in the way of justice, unfortunately.

edited 3rd Nov '10 7:54:55 PM by Shichibukai

Send em to Antarctica?

^ Excellent, just as long as they are parachuted well away from research stations. Anyone care to volunteer?

edited 3rd Nov '10 8:02:47 PM by Shichibukai

Well there is that one peninsula west of the Ross Ice Shelf opposite Tierra Del Fuego that is relatively habitable. (It gets warm enough for rain in the summer. Cold rain, but rain nonetheless.)

edited 3rd Nov '10 8:04:34 PM by MajorTom

That seems like one of the best parts, and someone might want to colonise that. Why waste it on criminals? Although there could be a use for convict labour in mining natural resources. Funnily enough, I still fantasise about colonising Antarctica and turning it into its own country.

edited 3rd Nov '10 8:09:19 PM by Shichibukai