Lurking Dragon's Rejuve Universe is an intriguing thought-experiment on how society would affected if it were possible to turn adults back into children, both physically and psychological. In my opinion LD succeeds in creating a complex society which is deeply impacted by the technology of rejuvenation.
In particular LD has done a good deal in working out the reasons why people are rejuvenated: for medical reasons, as punishment or as a method for life extension. And how these different reasons of rejuvenation result in different types of children and the consequent hierarchy among rejuves.
But let me look deeper into the issue of penitas (those who are rejuvenated as a punishment). In the Rejuve Universe serious criminals will spend one or more cycles as a prepubescent child and once they have completed their sentence they are allowed to grow up to adults again, but until their "21st" birthday they are still considered as minors.
In LD's own Rejuve story, Melody's stories, the protagonist, Melody, has been sentenced to three cycles as a child between 6 and 12 years for the crime of embezzlement. This is a 18 year sentence, to which we should add another 9 years Melody would have to spent as a completas. So Melody has to spent 27 years as a child for her crime.
I know that during the completas stage Melody won't technically be a convict, but she will still be a minor - till she turn 21 again - and hence be required to have a legal guardian who are allowed to spank her as they see fit.
Personally I find the combination of the duration of her sentence (up to 27 years) and the very frequent corporal punishment she will be subjected to during this period, far too harsh for just embezzlement.
For comparison in the country where I live, the Netherlands, in order to get a sentence between 18 and 27 years, one need to commit very serious crimes such as multiple counts of child rape, the combination of murder and rape or multiple murders. And then the Netherlands is only second to England in harsh sentencing in West-Europe.
Also I am doubtful whether such punishment would in any way effective both in terms of deterrence and rehabilitation. It's generally accepted that the probability of getting caught is more important as deterrence than the actual punishment one will get.
Nevertheless I believe the Rejuve Universe is a great as a literary setting.
See also
The Rejuve Universe Explored - here Mordanicus explores whether rejuvenation as described by Lurking Dragon is a plausible concept
