Muhammad Hassam Ali, 17, was killed by stranger after a four-minute conversation in city centre
Summary
A 15-year-old boy was sentenced to life in prison for fatally stabbing a stranger, Muhammad Hassam Ali, after a brief conversation in Birmingham city center. The second boy, who stood by, was sentenced to five years in secure accommodation. Ali’s family expressed their grief, describing him as a budding engineer whose life was tragically cut short.
If your goal is to act as a deterrent then harsher sentences do not work, at least according to research.
At this point, we think it is fair to say that we know of no reputable criminologist who has looked carefully at the overall body of research literature on “deterrence through sentencing” who believes that crime rates will be reduced, through deterrence, by raising the severity of sentences handed down in criminal courts.
So basically I should punish these people who imprison everyone?
Literally nobody is looking at this and thinking "damn, I guess I shouldn't stab people." There is no example. This bit of news will disappear and everyone will forget about it in a few hours while that kid is just gonna be miserable until dead.