ABSTRACT
Imagine it’s about a year after your present sentence, and you’re in trouble again. You’ve been found guilty of yet another offence exactly similar in nature to those you’ve already committed in the past. Imagine also that I’m the Judge you’re eventually brought in front of, and I then have the unavoidable duty of dealing with you. But when you appear in court I say ‘I’ve no idea what to do with you at all: I can’t see much point in sending you back to prison yet again, but on the other hand I can’t think of any suitable alternative. So what I’m going to do is remand you in custody for forty-eight hours; in that time I’d like you to think about the situation, and tell me yourself what you suggest I ought to do.
