"Thanks. First off, I'll tell you what I _do_ know--get my own knowledge of the background straight, so to speak. Now, as I understand it, the courts have agreed--temporarily, at least--that any person convicted of certain types of crimes must undergo a psychiatric examination before sentencing. Right?" "That's right." "Then, depending on the result of that examination, the magistrate of the court may sentence the offender to undertake psychiatric therapy instead of sending him to a penal institution, such time in therapy not to exceed the maximum time of imprisonment originally provided for the offense under the law. "His sentence is suspended, in other words, if he will agree to the therapy. If, after he is released by the psychiatrists, he behaves himself, he is not imprisoned. If he misbehaves, he must serve out the original sentence, plus any new sentence that may be imposed. Have I got it straight so far?" "Perfectly." "As I understand it, you've had astounding success." He looked, in spite of what he had said about skepticism, as though he thought the reports he'd heard were exaggerated. "So far," I said evenly, "not a single one of our 'patients' has failed us." He looked amazed, but he didn't doubt me. "And you've been in operation for how long?" "A little over a year since the first case. But I think the record will stand the same way five, ten, fifty years from now. "You see, Your Grace, we don't _dare_ lose a man. If one of our tame zanies goes haywire again, the courts will stop this pilot project _fast_. There's a lot of pressure against us. "In the first place, we only work with repeaters. You know the type. The world is full of them. The boys that are picked up over and over again for the same kind of crime." He nodded. "They're the ones we wait for. The ones we catch, convict, and send to prison--and then wait until they get out, and then wait some more until they commit their next crime, so that we can catch them and start the whole cycle over again." "That's them," I said. "When they're out, they're just between crimes, that's all. And that puts the police in a hell of a position, doesn't it? You _know_ they're going to fall again; you know that they're going to rob, or hurt, or kill someone. But there's nothing you can do about it. You're helpless. No police force has enough men to enable a cop to be assigned to every known repeater and follow him night and day. "In this state, if a man is convicted of a felony for a fourth time, a life sentence is mandatory. _But that means that at least four victims have to be sacrificed before the dangerous man is removed from society!_" The Duke nodded thoughtfully. "'Sacrifice' is the word. Go on."