Let's presume that Mr. Lopez in your video was arrested for assaulting a police officer who was called to a disturbance on a street near a restaurant. Mr. Lopez was not considered insane after an evaluation by a psychiatrist but the doctor diagnosed him as having a serious mental illness. Given these circumstances, what are your thoughts about the appropriateness of placing someone with a serious mental illness like Mr. Lopez in jail to serve a sentence proportional to the seriousness of the crimes for which he was convicted. 

Consider these issues: 

1) Should we focus on the victim in this case in selecting an appropriate punishment rather than the needs of the offender? 

2) The extent to which a placement in jail is primarily for safety considerations versus principles associated with just deserts. 

3) Whether or not a jail sentence for purposes of safety, deterrence, or retribution is inappropriate given the unequal impact that the sentence will have on Mr. Lopez and whether such a consideration is justified?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqdLDLiyiwQ