have you considered that imprisonment is in an of itself punishment
few 'corrective' system actually try to prepare convicts for life outside of prison
as for those that commit violent acts upon society (i think that fraud should be placed in the violent crime category considering the impact such crimes have on their victims) is there a 'cure' - i do not know
i do know that despite the above, the u s of a has the highest % of its population in prison than any other nation in the 'free' world
how effective is our penal system
do released violent offenders repeat and if so how many
how many of those in prison are there for violent offenses and how many for drug related crimes
have you ever been in prison? - i have and it sucks
the crowding in ca prisons is unconscionable - fights break out from shear crowding and inmates inability to escape each other
we want law and order but are unwilling to pay for it
plea bargains occur because rules of evidence require better forensics and investigations that we are willing to pay for and the system is just over crowded - once more we are not willing to pay for a system that works better than what we have
Yes, imprisonment itself is punishment. But then we reduce the impact of the imprisonment by making it as comfortable as possible. It is not SUPPOSED to be comfortable.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 56% of violent felons in prison are repeat offenders. Also, 72% of violent crimes committed are committed by repeat offenders. The obvious conclusion is if we were to keep violent criminals in prison, it would reduce violent crime by 72%.
Of course, life without parole as an automatic sentence for any violent crime would not be just. But many states are passing three strikes laws, which is, IMO, reasonable for lesser violent crimes. Major violent crimes (Murder, rape) should not be given a second chance, let alone a third.
I have never been a prisoner, but I have been called in to guard state prisons under emergency conditions, so I have seen what goes on. Crowding is a serious issue in most prisons I have seen. But much of that could be relieved by reducing the ridiculous "war on drugs".
Have you ever been a victim of a violent crime? If not, been close to someone who was a victim? I ask, because if you had, I seriously doubt you would compare the impact a crime of fraud has on the victims to the impact a violent crime has on the victims. My (extended) family has been victim to both murder (husband of my cousin) and rape (one of my nieces). We'd take fraud any day of the week over that.
Making prisons more self sufficient would have many benefits, not only reducing the cost of criminals on society, but for the prisoners as well. First, they would have something to do other than stew most of the time. Productive time is much better for the ego than idle time. (working out in the gym and playing in the game room, etc. are essentially idle time.)
Second, it would more reflect the world outside in that they would need to work for what they have. The more they work, the more they have. Start with the basics, and make the prisoner earn that. (But don't set the bar so high it takes 60 hours/week just to stay even on the basics - set it up so about 20 hours/week will cover that.)
Then if they work more, they start being able to afford privileges. An extra 2 hours a week gets them a TV. 3 more hours and they get cable service. Set a minimum for exercise to be included in the basics, but allow them to purchase more time in the gym. Recreational areas such as pool halls and game rooms are also available at a cost which the prisoner must work to pay for. In short, it's a microcosm resembling how the outside works - you work more, you get more. And the work the prisoners do in order to earn more than the basics goes to operating the prison, thus reducing its cost to society.
Additionally, the work experience can be transferred to the outside. An experienced sheet metal worker can make damned good money. Ditto wood workers, electronics assemblers, etc. The prison teaches them a trade, and the sale of the products made by prison workers helps run the prison.
Criminals benefit because they come out (the non-violent and low-end violent ones anyway - let the bad ones rot working the laundry) with jobs skills and a realistic attitude about self sufficiency. (ie: work gets you what you want, while crime gets you back in to pokey where you're gonna have to work anyway.) Society as a whole benefits by the fact that the correctional facility is actually functioning as a correctional facility, reducing repeat offenders. And the reduction in costs of the penal system could be pumped into the law enforcement and justice sectors of the CJ system as a whole.
As for the serious violent offenders and repeat violent offenders, by minimizing the cost of their imprisonment to society, we would be more free to keep them where they belong.
what you would rather do?
