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OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 3/21/10

Brutal Prisons Are Hurting Us All

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Message Stephen Unger
The specific ideas discussed above are not new or original. All have been, or are, applied in various places, but almost always minimally [15]. The problem is that token, often half-hearted, efforts will not be effective in dealing with the thorny problem of rehabilitating criminals. There must be a serious commitment, adequately funded, Success is heavily dependent on the quality and dedication of those staffing the programs. But, even under the best conditions, perfection in such matters in not achievable. If, for example, some convict in a fire fighting group escapes and commits a horrendous crime, there will undoubtedly be angry demands by opponents of reform that the program be terminated. These must be resisted.

Our barbaric prisons and the criminal justice system that populates them so lavishly, in addition to being a national disgrace, are imposing penalties on all of us. They are a self-perpetuating generator of criminals, and a growing burden on tax payers. It won't be easy to fix, but it doesn't have to be that way.

References
  1. Bipartisan Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons"U.S. Prisons Overcrowded and Violent, Recidivism High", Infoplease, June 2006
  2. Stephen H. Unger, "The Drug War: Stuck in the Tunnel" Ends and Means, December 2, 2008
  3. Caitlin Sullivan, " Punishing OxyContin's Maker", Time, Jul. 20, 2007
  4. Caleb Groos, "Sentenced to Write a Book: Fibbing Former Pharmaceutical Executive Must Pen His Tale", FindLaw Blotter, June 10, 2009
  5. Deborah Davies"Torture Inc. Americas Brutal Prisons", BBC Documentary, March 28, 2005
  6. "Mr. Churchill's Prison Reform", NY Times, August 7, 1910
  7. Paul Leighton, "Punishing Repeat Offenders", Paul's Justice Page
  8. M. Keith Chen and Jesse M. Shapiro, "Does Prison Harden Inmates? A Discontinuity-based Approach", Cowles Foundation Discussion Paper No. 1450, January 2004
  9. "Ankle Monitor", Wikipedia
  10. Jerome G. Miller, "The Debate on Rehabilitating Criminals: Is It True that Nothing Works?", Washington Post, March 1989
  11. Stephen H. Unger, "Jobs", Ends and Means, August 4, 2007
  12. Janet Currie, Erdal Tekin, "Does Child Abuse Cause Crime?", Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, April, 2006
  13. Ben Arnoldy, "Battling California fires, inmates find a chance at better role, " The Christian Science Monitor, July 11, 2008
  14. David Leonhardt, "As Prison Labor Grows, So Does the Debate", New York Times, March 19, 2000
  15. Michael Frantz, "What's New with the Second Chance Act?", PR Log, Mar 10, 2009

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I am an engineer. My degrees are in electrical engineering and my work has been in the digital systems area, mainly digital logic, but also computer organization, software and theory. I am a Professor, Emeritus, Computer Science and Electrical (more...)
 

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