Romanian Communist prison commander gets 20-year final jail sentence for crimes against humanity - Polidicks

[quote]Romania’s High Court of Cassation and Justice has sentenced Communist-era prison commander Alexandru Visinescu to 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity. He is the first Romanian Communist torturer sent to trial in such a case. Alexandru Visinescu was the commander of Ramnicu Sarat prison between 1956 and 1963. In that period, under his command, the prisoners were subjected to beatings, hunger, and a lack of medical treatment. The regime imposed by Visinescu in this prison was not ensuring the minimum conditions for long-term survival, giving that most of the prisoners had sentences of more than ten years. “Thus, the prisoners’ death occurred after a slow but efficient process, in which they were tortured both physically and mentally,” according to the prosecutors. Romania had about 500,000 political prisoners under the Communist regime.[/quote] [URL="http://www.romania-insider.com/romanian-communist-torturer-to-spend-20-years-in-prison-for-crimes-against-humanity/164799/"]Source[/URL] [IMG]http://www.dailybusiness.ro/imgs/uploads/articles/35/51f1033924656.jpg[/IMG] The gulag he ran. Dunno how soon he'll die, but glad his last years of life are gonna be shit.

91 years old. What's the point? [quote]Visinescu, 91, currently lives in Bucharest and has a pension of RON 3,200 (some EUR 720), which is more than the average net wage in Romania.[/quote] Could review his pension i guess.

[QUOTE=MatheusMCardoso;49711675]91 years old. What's the point?[/QUOTE] He'll die in a prison. That's good enough for all the political prisoners he beat/starved to death in his gulag.

[QUOTE=Fantastical;49711701]He'll die in a prison. That's good enough for all the political prisoners he beat/starved to death in his gulag.[/QUOTE] Oh yeah, revenge. Forgot about that.

[QUOTE=MatheusMCardoso;49711675]91 years old. What's the point? Could review his pension i guess.[/QUOTE] The classic post about how age should somehow stop you being punished for a crime you committed.

[QUOTE=MatheusMCardoso;49711675]91 years old. What's the point?[/QUOTE] Should have happened sooner, but it's still better than nothing.

[QUOTE=Complifusedv2;49711763]The classic post about how age should somehow stop you being punished for a crime you committed.[/QUOTE] There's a difference in social culture and norms between now and 50 years ago, let alone 70. Yeah, this guy committed atrocities, but during the USSR era, this was kind of the norm of Goulags - terrible forced labor with barely any living facilities. You can't just expect him to have made it a fun camp where everyone was well fed and had nice beds, this just wasn't how things operated back then. He's 91, killing him off in a prison is a vindictive act with almost no value whatsoever. He isn't a danger to humanity anymore, nor is he still running prisons. I mean, sure, you can keep a narrow-sighted view and call a Nazi sympathizer in the 40s a nazi today, but don't you think that would be stretching it?

[QUOTE=MatheusMCardoso;49711675]91 years old. What's the point?[/QUOTE] I will never fucking understand this pants-on-head retarded argument. "He's old now so he's automatically absolved of all of his crimes", good god, what kind of line of thinking is that? So I'll go out and kill someone, and just wait a heck of a long time, and then when I'm super old they'll go "aww shoot looks like he's too old!".

[QUOTE=MatheusMCardoso;49711675]91 years old. What's the point?[/QUOTE] People want justice to be indiscriminate but get upset about older people falling "victim" to it.

Auschwitz guard? "He is so old, what is the point? He didn't have a choice then!" But Communist Commander? "Age does not matter, throw him in a cell!"

[QUOTE=EdvardSchnitz;49711846]Auschwitz guard? "He is so old, what is the point? He didn't have a choice then!" But Communist Commander? "Age does not matter, throw him in a cell!"[/QUOTE] I don't care about age for either of them. Crime does not go away with the years.

[QUOTE=EdvardSchnitz;49711846]Auschwitz guard? "He is so old, what is the point? He didn't have a choice then!" But Communist Commander? "Age does not matter, throw him in a cell!"[/QUOTE] There's a difference between a guard and a commander, you know. Especially since you don't become a labor camp commander by only being a nice and loyal member of the party.

Criminal justice systems aren't about revenge. Clearly in the decades since he hasn't proven to be a threat to society. Incarceration serves zero purpose.

Just feel justice already failed here. They're wasting money and time trying to fix it, but it's no use locking up someone who's already locked up by their own body and just waiting to die. But go ahead, waste some money keeping this shadow of a person inside a cell as a token of justice.

[QUOTE=GunFox;49711905]Criminal justice systems aren't about revenge. Clearly in the decades since he hasn't proven to be a threat to society. Incarceration serves zero purpose.[/QUOTE] Our justice system took time to be reformed and our society to change from communism. He couldn't be charged properly until now. Better late than never [QUOTE=MatheusMCardoso;49711911]But go ahead, waste some money keeping this shadow of a person inside a cell as a token of justice.[/QUOTE] You quoted his pension earlier, no money wasted. Don't worry about that.

[QUOTE=MatheusMCardoso;49711710]Oh yeah, revenge. Forgot about that.[/QUOTE] You reap what you sow. Tis only fair.

[QUOTE=Fantastical;49711933]You quoted his pension earlier, no money wasted. Don't worry about that.[/QUOTE] Does he or any of his family work to pay the prison's resources? He'll probably spend all of his time in the infirmary and then die.

[QUOTE=MatheusMCardoso;49712102]He'll probably spend all of his time in the infirmary and then die.[/QUOTE] Who gives a shit, he'll get the punishment he deserves.

[QUOTE=MatheusMCardoso;49712102]Does he or any of his family work to pay the prison's resources? He'll probably spend all of his time in the infirmary and then die.[/QUOTE] I don't really understand your question. Work to pay the prison? What?

[QUOTE=Fantastical;49711701]He'll die in a prison. That's good enough for all the political prisoners he beat/starved to death in his gulag.[/QUOTE] No, this is literally a 'feel good'-sentence to satisfy the hateful feelings people have (50 years after the facts).

[QUOTE=Flumbooze;49712134]No, this is literally a 'feel good'-sentence to satisfy the hateful feelings people have (50 years after the facts).[/QUOTE] ...Okay? And how is that bad. He still deserves the sentence.

[QUOTE=Fantastical;49712141]...Okay? And how is that bad. He still deserves the sentence.[/QUOTE] Because the system shouldn't work like that. Punishments shouldn't be given out just to satisfy someones need for revenge. Besides, I know he did horrible things but let's not pretend he did this all by himself. He was just part of the system so I personally find it a bit pointless to prosecute one 91-year old guy. EDIT: If they gave him a punishment to offer some sort of repair to the victims, then I'd be all for it (as far as that is possible). But this... It doesn't help the victims at all.

[QUOTE=Flumbooze;49712165]Because the system shouldn't work like that. Punishments shouldn't be given out just to satisfy someones need for revenge. Besides, I know he did horrible things but let's not pretend he did this all by himself. He was just part of the system so I personally find it a bit pointless to prosecute one 91-year old guy. EDIT: If they gave him a punishment to offer some sort of repair to the victims, then I'd be all for it (as far as that is possible). But this... It doesn't help the victims at all.[/QUOTE] I swear to god, Facepunchers have some weird logic. Why the hell does it matter if it's for revenge or not? He was given the punishment according to the Code of Law, for the crimes he did. Are you making all these arguments just because he's old? He should be let free, right? And what makes you think the victims don't want revenge?

[QUOTE=Fantastical;49712267]I swear to god, Facepunchers have some weird logic. Why the hell does it matter if it's for revenge or not? He was given the punishment according to the Code of Law, for the crimes he did. Are you making all these arguments just because he's old? He should be let free, right? And what makes you think the victims don't want revenge?[/QUOTE] So there's no expiry in your code of law then? And yes, he's old. The system failed and since prosecuting him serves no purpose anymore, I don't really see the point. Besides, you're talking about the code of law but surely that code was written after the crimes he commit? (As he couldn't get punished before). And I'm sure the victims want revenge, I just don't think that should matter when sentencing someone.

[QUOTE=Fantastical;49712267]I swear to god, Facepunchers have some weird logic. Why the hell does it matter if it's for revenge or not? He was given the punishment according to the Code of Law, for the crimes he did. Are you making all these arguments just because he's old? He should be let free, right? And what makes you think the victims don't want revenge?[/QUOTE] Sly strawman there. People are not making arguments for the reason that he's old, but because by extension punishments would not benefit anyone. "He was punished according to law" doesn't really mean anything. The law is not absolute. Judges and juries interpret it case by case and likewise we can debate whether we agree with it or not. The post you quoted did not claim people don't want revenge. Whether people want revenge or not is irrelevant because justice isn't, or should not be about revenge, because revenge benefits nobody and overall causes harm to society. edit: nice ninja :P

Isn't the entire point of prison to protect innocent citizens from the convicted, and hopefully rehabilitate them so they can become productive members of society again? This isn't really accomplishing either

[QUOTE=Flumbooze;49712776]So there's no expiry in your code of law then? And yes, he's old. The system failed and since prosecuting him serves no purpose anymore, I don't really see the point. Besides, you're talking about the code of law but surely that code was written after the crimes he commit? (As he couldn't get punished before). And I'm sure the victims want revenge, I just don't think that should matter when sentencing someone.[/QUOTE] If you let someone get away scott-free because they're old, what that's telling future perpetrators is that if they can make it to 70-80 without getting caught, they're golden. Punishment without regards to their age or the time elapsed after the crime tells possible violators that if they are ever found out, they [I]will[/I] be punished, that the crime will hang over their heads for the remainder of their lives. Justice is about prevention and rehabilitation, I agree. Unfortunately, prevention and vengeance sometimes look alike.

[QUOTE=GunFox;49711905]Criminal justice systems aren't about revenge. Clearly in the decades since he hasn't proven to be a threat to society. Incarceration serves zero purpose.[/QUOTE] People who commit crimes against humanity aren't a threat to society. They are, more often then not, officers or politicians or just people in power in general, with often cushy jobs where they get to make decisions that cause untold suffering and terror. Does that mean they shouldn't be thrown in jail? I mean, obviously they won't be doing more crimes against humanity once not in power, and they have no interest in regular crimes either, [I]clearly[/I] being disbarred from holding any public office or position of power should be sufficient, and then they can go on living their comfortable lives, right? Because that's the message I'm getting from you.

[QUOTE=coyote93;49712924]I always thought the point of prisons were to rehab people to some day be able to function out in normal life again? [/QUOTE] Imagine me killing a person (without any other reason), out of the blue, then continue on living my life as if nothing happened and not doing anything remotely criminal for the rest of my life Do I deserve jail time? I mean, I function pretty normally in every day life, why should I go to jail then? [editline]10th February 2016[/editline] People heavily miss the point of prisons. They serve as punishment first, rehabilitation second, not exclusively the latter, and preferably not exlusively the former.

[QUOTE=Dark RaveN;49713039]Imagine me killing a person (without any other reason), out of the blue, then continue on living my life as if nothing happened and not doing anything remotely criminal for the rest of my life Do I deserve jail time? I mean, I function pretty normally in every day life, why should I go to jail then?[/QUOTE] Because in order to intentionally kill someone for no reason you must be pretty fucked in the head and should get rehabilitated so you hopefully wont do it again. Preferably you should be getting some kind of psychological treatment as well as the jail sentence.