"Thirty Days": The continuance of severely antiquated punishment?

[Ragitsu]

Good afternoon.

Upon rewatching "Thirty Days", something struck me while Janeway was meting out Tom's sentence.

JANEWAY: Lieutenant Thomas Eugene Paris. I hereby reduce you to the rank of Ensign, and I sentence you to thirty days solitary confinement. Take Ensign Paris to the brig.

Solitary confinement is barbaric in the here and now. Why does Starfleet of all organizations still use such a draconian measure ? How can the death penalty be abolished ("Meld") while this remains a part of their legal system?

 

[Kor]

Because as a military organization, Starfleet has a more stern and stringent code of justice than the Federation's civilian legal system.

Kor

 

[Ragitsu]

Because as a military organization, Starfleet has a more stern and stringent code of justice than the Federation's civilian legal system.

Kor

I don't agree with the "military organization" opinion. However, putting that aside, how do you square that perceived relative harshness with their lack of the death penalty? It seems as though someone wanted to impress upon the audience the severity of Tom's actions without taking into account how The Federation/Starfleet/humanity as a whole have grown centuries later.

 

[Oddish]

Because the writer of the episode probably didn't know how emotionally destructive a month of solitary confinement can be. I didn't, until I watched a commentary on the episode by someone who had knowledge of the subject.

 

[at Quark's]

How can the death penalty be abolished ("Meld") while this remains a part of their legal system?

In my country we haven't had a death penalty execution for a long time (depending on whether you count punishments for war crimes during WW2 or not, either not for 69, or not for 171 years), yet we still have solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure within the prison system, up to a maximum of 14 days. (Not saying that's a good thing!)

 

[Ragitsu]

It could be that what - precisely - constitutes "solitary confinement" in the future is far more lenient than today's punishment.

 

[dupersuper]

It could be that what - precisely - constitutes "solitary confinement" in the future is far more lenient than today's punishment.

I mean, we see Neelix coming by with food...

Isn't that long in solitary literally a violation of the Geneva Convention? Or am I confusing an SFDebris joke with reality again?

 

[at Quark's]

It could be that what - precisely - constitutes "solitary confinement" in the future is far more lenient than today's punishment.

I mean, we see Neelix coming by with food...

Yes, but only basic food, and he's not allowed to talk with the prisoner about non-essentials. Still, Tom gets a few minutes of it per day, and the fact that he at least can see his guard (rather than just a closed prison door) must make some difference.

 

[Oddish]

His emotional and mental health is undoubtedly being monitored carefully. But still, Janeway could simply have reduced his rank and sentenced him to 30 days confinement, without the "solitary".

 

[suarezguy]

She wasn't going to put other people in the brig too to be with him .

Tom did major illegality and its consequences could have gone worse and by the end he wasn't really sorry about it, I think she did best to both be reasonable and try to change his future behavior.

 

[Farscape One]

And she did let Harry have some time with him. It was Tom who told him to leave when Harry said the wrong thing that pushed his buttons.

 

[Oddish]

In light of this, maybe Janeway's dialogue in "Scientific Method" should have been something like:

TUVOK: "Shall I flog them as well?"
JANEWAY: "DO IT!"

 

[Ragitsu]

Yes, but only basic food

Hold on: basic replicated food or basic Neelix food? The devil is in the details.

 

[at Quark's]

Hold on: basic replicated food or basic Neelix food? The devil is in the details.

Well.... he gets Leola root stew for the third time that week ...

 

[somebuddyX]

I think it's just an oversight by the writer. They probably just thought, like me, that the worst thing that could happen to Tom is boredom, sitting on that bunk staring at the ceiling. It's a visual counterpoint to all the action in the flashbacks and gives him the impetus to start writing to his dad. They could have given him some crap job like scrubbing the whatever in the whatever systems probably, but I get why the didn't.