I hope that he likes the booty pen.

It's not something I lean towards myself, but I've never understood why we so quickly dismiss the idea that the subjective experience of those harmed should matter in punishing someone.

Who has this man wronged? His wife and child, and society as a whole to a lesser extent. Anyone who's at all retributivist when it comes to these things thinks that more harm should be inflicted upon him than he inflicted upon others. We need a way of measuring equivalence. Now, we could go with our general intuitions of how grave the act is, which is what is being assumed in this thread. I don't see how this is particularly rational, though. It's not like we have a reliable way of calculating how much evil he's done in any objective sense.

On the other hand, we could look at hypothetical choices that we could have presented to those actually harmed. Would the wife have rather this happened or would she have rather spent five to ten years in jail? Will the daughter be better off than she would have been had this not happened and she had been otherwise wronged instead?

This strikes me as a borderline case, and I think they go too far, but there's nothing about the way the "castrate him and string him up" crowd is thinking that makes them less rational than the rest of you.

The thing to realize is that the admonition to let justice always be rational can be taken two ways in this context. It could mean that actions outside of the law are illegitimate, but it could also mean that the law must be structured so as to satisfy those wronged. The point that the hardliners are making here is that the law itself isn't just in this case, and I doubt that anyone here really thinks that the law is necessarily just, and most of us are in favor of civil disobedience in some cases, so the disagreement is more about where to draw the line than about whether a line exists.

I mean, the position Ghaude is taking is really nothing more than a natural extension of Rawlsian thinking to punishment. We should set the proper punishment for acts to what we would want to see happen to someone who wronged us in that way.

I don't know why anyone would choose to defend this individual. Whether you like it or not, to try and explain his behavior as being "a natural attraction", I would have to call into question your reasoning. Just being honest, but anyone that tries to sympathize with these people, or to "understand" them is probably some scumbag pedofile themselves. Pedofiles have wiring wrong in their heads. They cannot be cured. Every one of them that abuses a child for their own or others gratification should be put down like the sick animal that they are. The world won't miss them.

And remember. The psychological problem will carry on. People that were abused as a child often grew up... messed up, in some way. That problem carry on in the society and spread.
It could stop if lucky. Otherwise, the problem moves on to different people... like some sort of inheritance.

There are exceptions where victims grow up to be nice people, but would you rather be one of those exceptions who experience such horrors as a child?

Victims are also most vengeful. If vengeance cannot be returned, it will be displaced to someone else, usually family and/or those who truly care for the victim.

It is a natural attraction - a paraphila. To deny that is to deny scientific knowledge in preference of an opinion to justify your hate. Also accusing members of this forum who are merely stating that he needs help as well of being 'scumbag pedofiles' is beyond rude and completely unneeded.

Also pedophilia doesn't nessecarily need to be cured but merely kept at bay by medical treatments such as 'chemical castration' or lowering the testosterone levels of the offenders so that they no longer get the urges.

@Gotcha. While that method could be used it would lead to a whole new slew of punishments. Everybody who commits murder of any degree (even manslaughter) would get the death penalty, everybody who rapes somebody would have to be caused severe psychological damage - probably by being raped themselves, everybody who assaults somebody would have to be tortured.  Essentially the entire criminal justice system would be back to what it was 300 years ago and people would be being hanged drawn and quatered. I doubt many people actually want that.

The reason I accuse people of being irrational is because they would not be asking for the same punishments for a person who offended an adult in a similar way even though a similar degree of psychological damage is caused. 

I have to agree for the most part with Rath... Some of your comments are terrible.

What the man has done is despicable (to a point where i hardly read any of the OP) and i would think a life sentence (25 years is one life sentence) or at least 20 years, but saying that the man should be put to death or mutilated is awful too. I thought the Worlds community had progressed further than this.

I agree that the behavior is natural. In fact, I would think you could derive that from my past post. What I am saying is that these people have a problem that cannot be cured. If someone is attracted to small children, or children in general for that matter, there is something wrong with that person. It would be terrible enough if he was just molesting his four year old daughter, but this guy is inviting others to take part! That is sick upon sick! There are those in this world that cannot be helped. I don't care if they were molested as a child. I don't care if they came from a poor background. I don't care if their fathers locked them in broom closets. What happened to this wreched person is in the past. It cannot be taken away. What you are suggesting is that this guy be treated and put back into society. Why the hell should I have my children subjected to this piece of garbage. I am as liberal as they come, but one thing that I cannot stand, is someone who is in denile. I find no compulsion in giving these people a second chance. There are crimes of passion that I can understand to a point. I can understand people stealing because they are hooked on drugs, or poor, or hungry. I can understand people dealing Crack because they are too lazy and pathetic to get a real job. What I cannot understand, is why a person would violate the innocence of a child? Rapist fit under this same heading but that is a different rant for a different day. I hates me a rapist too. They need a bullet in the brain stem too.

I hate reading stuff like this. It simultaneously grosses me out and pisses me off. The bastard should be taken out and shot. If anybody ever did this to any of my nieces or nephews...

Things like this happen hundreds of times in one second...