Soft on Drugs. Hard on Violence.
Two-track justice: lenient on non-violent offenses, zero tolerance on violent predators. The system protects the innocent — including future victims.
The Current System Is Backwards
America's criminal justice system has it exactly wrong:
Non-Violent Offenses
Currently: Too Harsh
- Drug possession → years in prison
- Property crime → felony record for life
- First-time offenders → thrown in with hardened criminals
- Poverty-driven crimes → no addressing root causes
- Millions incarcerated for victimless crimes
Violent Offenses
Currently: Too Lenient
- Child rapists → out in 5-7 years
- Murderers → "life" means 15-20 with parole
- Repeat violent offenders → endless second chances
- "Good behavior" → early release for predators
- Victims forgotten, criminals coddled
We fill our prisons with drug users while letting rapists walk early for "good behavior." We destroy lives over marijuana while violent repeat offenders get chance after chance after chance.
This is insane. We're going to fix it.
The Two-Track System
The Autonomist approach is simple: match the response to the crime.
Soft Track: Non-Violent Offenses
- Drug possession/use: Legal at 25+ (see Drug Policy)
- Property crimes: Restitution to victims, not cages
- First-time non-violent offenders: Rehabilitation focus, second chances
- Poverty-driven crimes: Address root causes, diversion programs
- Goal: Restore the victim, reform the offender, return to society
Hard Track: Violent Offenses
- Crimes against children: One strike — done forever
- Rape and sexual violence: One strike — you've proven who you are
- Murder (premeditated): Life means life, or death
- Violent repeat offenders: You had your chance — permanent removal
- Goal: Protect the innocent, including future victims
One Strike: Zero Tolerance for Predators
Some crimes are so heinous, so destructive, that one is enough. You don't get a second chance to rape a child. You've answered the question of who you are.
| Crime | Current Problem | Autonomist Position |
|---|---|---|
| Child sexual abuse | Light sentences, early release, constant reoffending | One strike. Done. No parole. Ever. |
| Rape | Pathetic sentences, "good behavior" release | One strike. You've proven who you are. |
| Murder (premeditated) | Sometimes out in 15-20 years | Life means life. Or death. |
| Human trafficking | Insufficient penalties, hard to prosecute | One strike. Slave traders don't reform. |
| Violent repeat offenders | Given "breaks," go on to hurt more people | Second violent offense = permanent removal. |
You had your break. You chose violence again. You're done.
The "Given a Break" Problem
How many times have you seen these headlines?
Headlines That Shouldn't Exist
Every one of those headlines represents a failure. A victim who shouldn't exist. A crime that was preventable.
Someone decided to show mercy to a violent offender. That mercy became cruelty to the next victim.
Mercy for the offender cannot mean cruelty to the next victim.
The purpose of the justice system isn't revenge — it's protection of the innocent. Some people have demonstrated, through their actions, that they cannot exist in society without harming others. Keeping them out isn't cruelty. It's responsibility.
Death and Exile
For the worst crimes — premeditated murder, rape, child sexual abuse, human trafficking — the sentence is death.
But we recognize that the death penalty is irreversible. Mistakes happen. Wrongful convictions occur. Once someone is executed, there's no correcting the error.
That's why we offer an alternative: exile.
The Exile Option
For those sentenced to death, there exists the possibility of commutation to permanent exile:
- What it is: Removal to a Federal Exile Territory — fenced federal land with perimeter security, no services, no governance inside
- What it isn't: A reward. A comfortable alternative. A lesser punishment you can game for.
- The reality: No guards inside. No rules inside. No food provided. No housing. No medical care. You survive — or don't — by your own effort and cooperation with other exiles.
- Why it exists: Because if you were wrongfully convicted, you can be extracted, exonerated, and compensated. The dead cannot be unexecuted.
Exile is not the sentence. Death is the sentence.
Exile is the mercy you petition for.
You rejected the social contract. You preyed on the innocent. You proved you cannot exist among civilized people.
Fine. Here is a place with no contract. No civilization. No protections. Build your own society — or don't. That's your problem now.
Exile Rules
- Eligibility: Only those sentenced to death may petition for exile commutation
- Not a choice: The court decides whether to grant exile, not the convict
- Wrongful conviction: If new evidence proves innocence, extraction, exoneration, and compensation
- Escape or return: The original death sentence is immediately carried out
- No gaming the system: You don't commit brutal crimes to "earn" exile — you commit brutal crimes, you get death. Exile is the lesser punishment you beg for.
Accountability for the System
If citizens face consequences for their actions, so should the system.
Accountability for Officials
- End qualified immunity: Police who violate rights face civil liability like everyone else
- Prosecutorial accountability: Prosecutors who hide evidence, overcharge to coerce pleas, or show patterns of misconduct face consequences — including disbarment and criminal charges
- Parole board transparency: When someone released early reoffends violently, the release decision is reviewed. Patterns of bad judgment have consequences.
- Judicial review: Judges who consistently issue sentences far outside norms face review
- Harsher penalties for officials: Crimes committed by police, prosecutors, and judges carry enhanced penalties, not immunity
The people we trust to enforce the law should be held to a higher standard, not exempted from it.
Systemic Reforms
Beyond the two-track approach, the system itself needs fixing:
The Logic
This isn't about vengeance. It's about protection and proportion.
For non-violent offenders: The goal is restoration. Restore the victim through restitution. Restore the offender through rehabilitation. Return them to society as productive citizens. Prison should be the last resort, not the first response.
For violent predators: The goal is protection. Some people have demonstrated — through rape, murder, child abuse, repeated violence — that they cannot exist in society without destroying others. Removing them isn't cruelty. It's the basic responsibility of any society: protect the innocent.
When you give a violent offender a second chance, you're gambling with someone else's life. The next victim didn't get a vote on that mercy.
The Autonomist Justice Principles
- Soft on drugs, hard on violence. What you put in your body is your business. What you do to other people is society's business.
- One strike for predators. Rape a child, you're done. No second chances. No parole. You've answered who you are.
- Life means life. For premeditated murder, "life sentence" is not 15 years with good behavior. It's life.
- You had your break. First violent offense gets prison and a chance at reform. Second violent offense? You chose this. Permanent removal.
- Restitution over cages. For property crimes, make the victim whole. Prison doesn't give them their stuff back.
- Accountability applies to government. No qualified immunity. No prosecutorial immunity. Officials face consequences like everyone else — or harsher.
- Death is the sentence; exile is the mercy. For the worst crimes, death. Exile exists only to correct wrongful convictions and because some don't deserve the finality of death.
- Protect the innocent — including future victims. Every repeat offender has a trail of people who showed mercy. Those future victims matter too.
The justice system exists to protect the innocent.
That includes the next victim.
And the one after that.
And the child who hasn't been born yet.
We protect them by removing those who've proven they will harm.