This attitude that "criminals deserve no justice" that is pervasive nearly everywhere amazes me. I cannot understand why people really think any system is so foolproof as to charge only those guilty.
A cynical observer might make a connection between the people who think that and the inability of the system to charge only those guilty.
An old saying says judge a society bynhownit treatsnits worst-off people. When I think about what I've had to hear from otherwise sane, well-educated, and well-travelled people makes me wonder if there's any hope for humanity at all.
I ask them two questions to get them to reconsider their position:
1. Do prisoners deserve to be raped as a form of punishment?
2. So you believe that women should be raped as punishment?
I believe that a just and fair society should never allow sexual assault to be used as a punishment. This is true whether someone in prison is guilty or innocent.
I am a strong believer in second chances, and giving people the benefit of the doubt (or innocent until proven guilty). Sadly though, many offenders never get a second chance simply because society places a scarlet letter on their chest for life.
Society is at a point in time where many forget the reasoning for principles of the judicial system. The presumption of innocence in particular is critically important and written into most modern democracies constitution.
The alternative of being presumed guilty can lead to a lot more corruption and injustice.