Protectorate Penal System
The Protectorate Penal System (PPS) is the penal arm of the Cobalt Protectorate legal apparatus. A cultural heritage of space travel, resistance to tyrants, resource scarcity, and vigorous self-defense has had a profound effect on the way in which the Protectorate (at least in the Protectorate Core) adjudicates criminal offenses and prevents recidivism.
History
Because of the Evermornans' early enslavement by the chitiquish, the Protectorate they created has a cultural distaste for the outward appearances of bondage or servitude. At the same time, because working aboard a ship or in the often harsh environmental conditions of the frosty Planet Evermorn requires a degree of group cooperation, every member of society is expected to work or otherwise be productive so as to not to be a drag on group resources at a minimum. This has created a strong dichotomy between the types of punishment offered, with long-term confinement being rare in comparison to restitution or transportation on the one hand and execution for capitol offenses on the other.
Execution
The Cobalt Protectorate's legal doctrine focusses on making things right and preventing repeat behaviors over confinement. While those awaiting trial, likely to flee, or presenting an immediate danger will be held in jailhouses for a time, this is not generally the final destination for a convicted criminal.
Crime & Punishment
Protectorate law generally only criminalizes activities which, whether immediately or in the long-term, have the effect of depriving others (whether individually or as a group) of life, health, freedoms, or property; convicts are required to make full amends for both this deprivation and any additional costs stemming from prosecution or justice administration. This restitution comes in the form of public declarations of apology, income garnishments to support the victims for losses or services required, and house arrest with restricted movement and apparel for as long as this period of restitution takes place.Recidivism
Recidivism is controlled through various means relating to the causes and offenses involved. If a convict is believed to have committed their crime as a result of social influences, they will be transported far from their original home and forbidden to associate with people from there or in connection with the original crime; this status is permanent and creates a new class of crime for which the convict may later be charged. The clan takes care of this housing move, taking any net profit generated by the change in residence as a payment towards restitution. In general, the worse and more repeated the offense, the further the criminal will be moved and the more onerous the intrusions on their ability to move and speak privately will become for the duration of the punishment. The goal of this transportation is to surround the convict with different social influences, breaking up any geographic 'hubs' of criminal activity and preventing the kind of 'criminal college' formed in institutional environments. If a lack of education - or downstream effects, such as povery - is deemed to be a factor in the original offense, then occupational training may be provided for free or reduced cost by the individual's own Clan. This serves to provide a useful skill which may be used to gain employment so the convict can pay down their restitution and have an income once their sentence is complete. The extranet, aside from revolutionizing communications, has significantly reduced the price of attaining accredited technical or academic training on Evermorn. Convicts do not always lose degrees or certificates upon conviction, but, in the case of crimes of negligence in relation to these fields, they may be required to complete a practicum to retain them. This last part has bearing on the Merit Score used to determine the weight of an ex-convict's votes on politcal matters; the Code exalts those who accrue achievements, service, education, and the wisdom of age, but criminal negligence can cast ones education and experience into doubt. If the original criminal act is deemed to stem from organic factors - such as substance abuse or mental illness - the offender has no right to refuse whatever treatment is required for this. Institutional confinement is sometimes used if required to facilitate this treatment. The advent of psychiatric cybernetic prosthesis has greatly advanced the treatment (and thus correctional) process.Completion
The restricted clothing and movement conditions of conviction impose a degree of social stigma on a convict in punishment, with most Protectorate citizens being more watchful (and more aggressive) should an obvious convict start acting suspiciously. Once one's restitution is paid in full, however, the convict is permitted to rejoin society with a mostly clean slate. Former convicts will be watched by local security forces and they will not generally be hired to positions that make them likely to reoffend (depending on their original crimes), but they otherwise regain almost all citizen rights. This restoration of rights and removal of stigma is meant to incentivize former convicts to leave criminality behind; attaching a permanent outcast status for impermanent infractions would, in the eyes of the PPS, create solidarity among criminals instead of encouraging reconnection with the broader society.Capital Punishment
Protectorate citizens have both an enshrined right to self-defense (up to and including lethal force) and a legal duty to act (within one's own ability) when a threat to life is percieved. This duty comes from the Protectorate's history of space travel, where failing to act on a matter of maintenance or public safety can spell death for everyone, including bystanders. As a result, there is a strong possibility that violent or sexual offenders will die or be maimed in the course of their crimes. Should they reach trial, however, those who present a serious risk to others and for whom treatment (see Recidivism) is not an option may face execution. As the name implies, the Protectorate's first duty is to protect the public from both foreign and domestic threats, and this may be determined at trial to require removing the convict from public on a permanent basis. The PPS does not hand out life sentences, as the Protectorate's legal doctrine holds that this would be a strain on public resources and, ultimately, simply a death sentence via prolonged means. Generally, execution is reserved only for cases where the threats presented by the convicted are serious, intentional, and ongoing, as in the case of murder (including by gross negligence). However, the other crimes for which execution is indicated are treason, enslavement, coup, and atrocity, as these place the perpetrator outside the protections of the Code.Participants
Tribunals are drawn by sortition from the population of legal professionals in a similar manner to that of Clan Lords. Every Protectorate citizen accused of a crime is entitled to a trial by a tribunal at the lowest level of jusrisdiction germane to the crime - local (including arcology or planetary colony), clan, or planet-wide. The communication latency times imposed by the speed of light generally prevent appeals to High Tribunal (at the level of the whole Protectorate) except for cases taking place within the Evermorn-Armoa Binary System. The accused individual's own clan must provide counsel unless the accused can secure the services of private counsel. Appeals to higher levels should a question of law and rights under the Code of Evermorn arise.
Crimes are adjudicated based on testimony and empirical evidence, requiring the presence of citizen experts in the relevant fields on both prosecution and defense teams. Local and Clan security forces gather evidence and provide it to all parties at the tribunal so that cases may be properly made for and against conviction. While trials are a matter of public record, their transcripts are not posted to the public until after the conclusion of the trial to help reduce efforts at intimidation, biasing, or destruction of evidence in relation to ongoing crimes.
The Penal System itself is comprised of special detatchements of the various Clan-level security forces, as the administration costs alone in carrying out tribunal sentences seldom fall within the economic means of individual municipalities. Information is shared among the security forces of the various Clans at this level to prevent convicts under restitution orders from successfully absconding to other Clans' holdings.
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