meanwhile on the outside the person he would have murdered next, or the scores of people he would have mugged, or the hundreds of property owners he would have robbed all got to live long, peaceful lives without fear.
If this cartoon is a general observation, i.e., unless it refers to a specific cast that has escaped my attention, Mr. Breen seems to suggest that the primary, maybe sole, goal of incarceration is( a ) rehabilitation..There are also at least 3 more: ( b ) Retribution, ( c ) Warning to others, &( d ) Public Safety..And one not well served by our system:( e ) Restitution..Restitution or Reconciliation, causing the criminal to make the victim as whole as possible, is theoretically a just goal of punishment, but poorly served by the one-size-fits-all habit of punishing by prison. Furthermore, our system leaves that to the civil tort procedure, rather than folding it into the criminal system. And then compounding the problem, the state’s successful imposition of imprisonment generally works against a criminal’s ability to restore the victim..Indentured servitude has, throughout history, been one means to attempt Restitution. At least one of my own ancestors arrived in America that way..Indentured servitude is not absolute, is temporary, & is not hereditary. But the grim US history of Chattel Slavery has removed that from our list of options.
The fact is the vast majority of kids in jail/prison are there, just like adults, for non-violent “drug” crimes, mostly marijuana. “Three strikes” making holding a joint worth life in prison, is just weird, and both political parties share the blame for this mess.
The Guantanamo effect isn’t just seen in a jail in Cuba. “Charges, I don’t need no stinking charges.”
Flash Gordon over 7 years ago
Just one step less bad than ussr under stalin and beria.
johngregor Premium Member over 7 years ago
meanwhile on the outside the person he would have murdered next, or the scores of people he would have mugged, or the hundreds of property owners he would have robbed all got to live long, peaceful lives without fear.
nos.nevets over 7 years ago
If this cartoon is a general observation, i.e., unless it refers to a specific cast that has escaped my attention, Mr. Breen seems to suggest that the primary, maybe sole, goal of incarceration is( a ) rehabilitation..There are also at least 3 more: ( b ) Retribution, ( c ) Warning to others, &( d ) Public Safety..And one not well served by our system:( e ) Restitution..Restitution or Reconciliation, causing the criminal to make the victim as whole as possible, is theoretically a just goal of punishment, but poorly served by the one-size-fits-all habit of punishing by prison. Furthermore, our system leaves that to the civil tort procedure, rather than folding it into the criminal system. And then compounding the problem, the state’s successful imposition of imprisonment generally works against a criminal’s ability to restore the victim..Indentured servitude has, throughout history, been one means to attempt Restitution. At least one of my own ancestors arrived in America that way..Indentured servitude is not absolute, is temporary, & is not hereditary. But the grim US history of Chattel Slavery has removed that from our list of options.
Dtroutma over 7 years ago
The fact is the vast majority of kids in jail/prison are there, just like adults, for non-violent “drug” crimes, mostly marijuana. “Three strikes” making holding a joint worth life in prison, is just weird, and both political parties share the blame for this mess.
The Guantanamo effect isn’t just seen in a jail in Cuba. “Charges, I don’t need no stinking charges.”