3 ms·

Yeah it does seem like the system worked pretty well in this case, in so far as you want to see a rapid escalation of charges in response to violent or potentia

Yeah it does seem like the system worked pretty well in this case, in so far as you want to see a rapid escalation of charges in response to violent or potentially violent crimes. Brandishing a firearm in any context is very serious, and when you're downright using it to intimidate and rob people when you've committed an act which not infrequently leads to death or at least serious injury. Worse you are using that for the violence and you know it, so this guy is about as far from the victim as possible. By contrast the kid who was shot after allegedly robbing someone in a convenience store without a weapon was a very very different story. There are many issues with how the system treats minorities especially black people, and poor people in general, but this article doesn't seem like it's describing one of them.

28mm 9y ago
I think it's a stretch to say the system worked well in this case. Even if you accept the charges and sentencing, the correctional system clearly fails in its goal of rehabilitation. Michael (the subject of the article) has only limited access to books, while in prison. education is shown to reduce recidivism, but Michael is limited to courses that don't require hardcover books. (Not many courses, in my experience.) Few employers will seriously consider felons for jobs, and it is hard not to see this as a contributing factor to his recidivism and death. I don't think the system worked here, very well, at all.
- deleted 9y ago
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- thereisnospork 9y ago
  How much can one reasonably expect of the system though? The young man in the article walked out of prison to a job, a co-signed apartment, and a college admission* -- and he still threw his life away. Is there no point where his failure to coexist with society is his own responsibility? *Not that the system gave these things to him, but clearly it wouldn't have mattered if they had.

28mm 9y ago

I think it's a stretch to say the system worked well in this case. Even if you accept the charges and sentencing, the correctional system clearly fails in its goal of rehabilitation. Michael (the subject of the article) has only limited access to books, while in prison. education is shown to reduce recidivism, but Michael is limited to courses that don't require hardcover books. (Not many courses, in my experience.) Few employers will seriously consider felons for jobs, and it is hard not to see this as a contributing factor to his recidivism and death. I don't think the system worked here, very well, at all.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
thereisnospork 9y ago
How much can one reasonably expect of the system though? The young man in the article walked out of prison to a job, a co-signed apartment, and a college admission* -- and he still threw his life away. Is there no point where his failure to coexist with society is his own responsibility? *Not that the system gave these things to him, but clearly it wouldn't have mattered if they had.