As someone we live din German for many years and knows something about the criminal justice system there, I must say that I trust a German judge to decide who gets loose and a German police force who will not ignore those who get loose. The irony is that even during the Nazi period, where ordinary crimes are concerned, the system worked better than ours does, The policemen are better trained, and the judges better trained in the law.
"As someone we live din German for many years and knows something about the criminal justice system there, I must say that I trust a German judge to decide who gets loose and a German police force who will not ignore those who get loose."
But that really wasn't what you originally said. You said:
“It works rather well in Germany, which has no death penalty , but keeps murderers locked up.”
But that's not quite true. Murderers are commonly paroled between 15 - 23 years. It's unclear whether German law even has a sentence of "life without the possibility of parole." All sentences for the top charge of murder are life in prison, but as I pointed out, folks generally are released after 15 - 23 years.
Because most murderers are prosecuted and imprisoned at the state level, it's hard to get comparable statistics, but I'd bet the US is roughly comparable. Especially because the German charge of murder seems closer to our charge of first degree murder, or at least something a little beyond second degree murder. From what I read, the German charge of “murder” requires a more than intent. Apparently, it requires some aggravating factor. In many states, even second degree murder often requires a minimum sentence of about 20 years. I found one reference to an average sentence served for murder in the US of 18 years served.
In Florida, in recent years, sentencing reform has increased how long folks stay in prison for violent crimes. For first degree murder, the average prison stay is about 26 years. For second degree murder, it's about 20 years.
But Florida isn't the whole country, and I'm betting Florida is a little harsher than average.
It appears that the punishment for murder is generally similar between the two countries, except when various states execute a murderer, or when murderers in various states in the US are sentenced to life with no possibility of parole, in which case, US sentencing is tougher.
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