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Working on databases from prison

(turso.tech)
849 points dvektor | 24 comments | 16 Jun 25 12:32 UTC | HN request time: 2.468s | source | bottom
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mlissner ◴[16 Jun 25 14:28 UTC] No.44289885[source]▶
Maine's remote work program is an incredibly promising development to prevent recidivism. The amazing thing about it is that it gives real jobs to prisoners that they can seamlessly continue after they get out of prison. Normally when you get out, it's impossible to get a job, and the clock is ticking. This leads to desperation, which leads to bad behavior.

There is a real risk of exploitation, but if it's properly managed, remote work for prisoners is one of the most hopeful things I've heard about the prison system. It gives people purpose while there and an avenue to success once they're out.

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antihero ◴[16 Jun 25 17:24 UTC] No.44291513[source]▶
It's amazing. Absolutely insane that people are incarcerated so long for non-violent drug crimes, though.

Turso also looks really neat for small Payload sites.

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badc0ffee ◴[16 Jun 25 18:37 UTC] No.44292193[source]▶
"Non-violent drug crimes" brings to mind hippies selling weed or mushrooms. But this guy was selling carfentanil. I'm not saying he's to blame for the opioid crisis turning street people into shambling zombies, clogging emergency services with overdoses, and causing death, but he certainly played a part.
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1. cortesoft ◴[16 Jun 25 18:49 UTC] No.44292326[source]▶
He played a lot smaller part than the Sackler family, who ran Purdue Pharma and pushed their drugs into communities. They killed a lot more people than this guy, and yet none of them are in jail.
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2. tux3 ◴[16 Jun 25 19:06 UTC] No.44292476[source]▶
The Sacklers are comfortably above the law and that's a bad thing, but that doesn't make small time carfentanyl operations any less bad

Evil is a threshold, it's not a competition with limited spots

Sometimes big crime families or notorious serial killers get away with it, but it doesn't lower the threshold for anyone else

It doesn't make it any better that someone else is doing even worse. You don't get to do a little crime, as a treat

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3. BeetleB ◴[16 Jun 25 19:13 UTC] No.44292531[source]▶
Bush and his cronies resulted in the death of far more innocent people than your typical murderer. But we don't stop sending murderers to prison just because Bush/Cheney are not in prison.

I've voted for drug legalization (including possession). However, that doesn't mean that I condone all drug dealing behavior.

4. e40 ◴[16 Jun 25 19:37 UTC] No.44292717[source]▶
Whataboutism. Selling the drug he was peddling kills people. Lots of people. This is not a “no victims” crime.

EDIT: another commentor found that it was MDMA and weed, so this discussion is purely theoretical and doesn’t apply to OP.

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5. cess11 ◴[16 Jun 25 19:48 UTC] No.44292817[source]▶
"You don't get to do a little crime, as a treat"

Why not? I much prefer a society in which I can get away with some crimes to one where every crime is prosecuted.

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6. dfxm12 ◴[16 Jun 25 20:08 UTC] No.44292956[source]▶
Focus on the bad thing, not piling on the guy who is serving his sentence (while also making a new life for himself).
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7. rafaelmn ◴[16 Jun 25 20:59 UTC] No.44293344{3}[source]▶
I wouldn't say he's piling on him, just replying to the guy aboowho made it sound like this guy is in jail for smoking weed.
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8. nkrisc ◴[16 Jun 25 21:01 UTC] No.44293364[source]▶
Yes, they should be in jail for longer than he is.
9. ipaddr ◴[16 Jun 25 21:33 UTC] No.44293605[source]▶
Evil is a religious concept.

Selling drugs isn't evil. Not selling drug doesn't make you good. People take drugs for various reasons. If a doctor sells them they are good but if someone else sells them they are evil?

The person buying could have been fired and can't afford Doctors prescription so the person selling could be an angel.

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10. ipaddr ◴[16 Jun 25 21:36 UTC] No.44293627{4}[source]▶
A few years ago they would have been in jail. Pick the wrong state you still could end up in jail.

Punishing is always a recipe for they punishment going back to society

11. e40 ◴[16 Jun 25 21:43 UTC] No.44293671{3}[source]▶
A doctor that over-prescribes them would be arrested, too. Or one that prescribed it to someone for a non-medical reason. (There are many of those latter docs.)

People that sell fentanyl (or similar) are very bad for society, to avoid the triggering "evil". Look how many people have died in the last 10 years. It's insane.

EDIT: I personally know a young man that died from a fent overdose and it's likely he didn't know what he took had fent in it. 22 years old and the whole world ahead him. Completely destroyed his family.

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12. Reasoning ◴[16 Jun 25 21:51 UTC] No.44293731[source]▶
MDMA and weed was his initial sentence. He's in prison now for selling synthetic opioids.
13. rangestransform ◴[16 Jun 25 21:59 UTC] No.44293790{3}[source]▶
Discretionary enforcement is just used as a way to disguise discrimination

Perhaps our laws would be fairer and simpler if enforcement were draconian and uniform

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14. theoreticalmal ◴[16 Jun 25 22:28 UTC] No.44293962{4}[source]▶
Very interesting spectrum you’re suggesting
15. badc0ffee ◴[16 Jun 25 22:36 UTC] No.44294020{4}[source]▶
The Singapore way
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16. cortesoft ◴[16 Jun 25 22:47 UTC] No.44294089[source]▶
> Evil is a threshold, it's not a competition with limited spots

No, but our enforcement has limited resources. We can't arrest and jail every offender of every crime, so we pick and choose where to spend our enforcement resources. All the money spent pursuing, arresting, trying, and imprisoning this guy could have been spent going after people like the Sacklers.

17. tptacek ◴[16 Jun 25 23:20 UTC] No.44294264[source]▶
It took something like a decade to put Capone away. We still locked up murderers during that period.

The whole thread is silly. I don't think a lot of people here are going to stick up for a 15 year stretch for a 24 year old for selling opiates. Probably don't need to pull the Sacklers into it.

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18. squircle ◴[16 Jun 25 23:55 UTC] No.44294427{4}[source]▶
They would be arrested for over prescribing now. If you look at the state of the world 20 years ago or more it looks much different from here.
19. evidencetamper ◴[16 Jun 25 23:55 UTC] No.44294434{3}[source]▶
Evil is a moral concept, which is less tied to religion these days.

Drugs are an anti-social drain on society, that sickens its buyers, turning them into zombies or criminals, and turns the sellers into greedy, violent people who corrupt law enforcement.

Your edge case of an angel doesn't translate to the actual realities of drug trafficking and addiction.

20. cortesoft ◴[17 Jun 25 00:48 UTC] No.44294699[source]▶
I don't think it is silly to be reminded of the inequalities of our penal system.
21. rustcleaner ◴[17 Jun 25 02:07 UTC] No.44295150{4}[source]▶
Better a potentially discriminatory society I'm the ingroup in, than a totalitarian utopia where every criminal rule is enforced mercilessly.
22. imtringued ◴[17 Jun 25 06:11 UTC] No.44296161{3}[source]▶
Fentanyl takes the fun out of drugs and since its laced in every street drug these days it means that no drug is safe anymore.

It cannot be understated how harmful fentanyl is and how low quality of a drug it is. Low quality as in the high sucks.

(I've never taken drugs and I don't drink)

23. cess11 ◴[17 Jun 25 06:56 UTC] No.44296367{4}[source]▶
Only a minuscule portion of actual crime comes to the attention of the state.
24. ◴[17 Jun 25 17:19 UTC] No.44301436{5}[source]▶