People really are fans of harsh punishment, but I am always uncomfortable with it because the justice system gets it wrong. However, in a place like El Salvador, the overall impact of locking up a ton of people has been popular, made it safer, and is considered a net good, even if a couple innocents get dragged into it. In the US, innocent until proven guilty is the standard, and I am averse to the death penalty or castration for pedos and murderers because what if we make a mistake, but maybe that's impractical. What do you guys think?
Discussion
It’s complicated, because in El Salvador the gangs have had a run of the place for so long that a lot of people there can’t remember what life was like before them. Young men were often forced to join gangs for survival. If some of them can emerge from this as productive members of society as the economy improves it will benefit everyone. I hope their government is up to the task.