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It's worth noting that the right response probably isn't locking either of them up. There are a couple of different basic theories of imprisonment, and the US

by wheels 6y ago

It's worth noting that the right response probably isn't locking either of them up. There are a couple of different basic theories of imprisonment, and the US is on the extreme end of the spectrum philosophically (which is part of why it has the world's largest per capita prison population). Most western countries don't put people in jail to punish them, but either to rehabilitate them, or in the case that that's impossible, to protect society from them. For both individuals there are more effective solutions than imprisonment: Davila should be banned from being a corporate executive, and a person robbing a convenience store would probably needs a social worker and stronger welfare benefits. (I'm assuming a person doing it out of need rather than, say, being a kleptomaniac.)

throwaway894345 6y ago
I certainly agree that the US has a lot of room for improvement, but the US's policy on imprisonment is largely based on protecting society and deterring future crime (whether it succeeds in those aims is a separate question). Rehabilitation is part of protecting society, and while I agree that the US should invest more in proactive rehabilitation, it would be a mistake to ignore all of the great work we're doing toward rehabilitation (there are a lot of educational opportunities available to prisoners) even if the investment isn't yet world-class. Further, I want to ephasize your point that the disinvestment in rehabilitation is only part of the reason that the US has so many prisoners--the much more significant reason is that the US has distinct systemic issues on the front-end that create more criminals than many other wealthy western countries. "Rehabilitation" on the backend is probably not a feasible solution to closing this gap, but rather we need to focus on preventative causes that address the problem at its root--probably focusing on issues like inequality and poverty.

by wheels 6y ago

throwaway894345 6y ago

I certainly agree that the US has a lot of room for improvement, but the US's policy on imprisonment is largely based on protecting society and deterring future crime (whether it succeeds in those aims is a separate question). Rehabilitation is part of protecting society, and while I agree that the US should invest more in proactive rehabilitation, it would be a mistake to ignore all of the great work we're doing toward rehabilitation (there are a lot of educational opportunities available to prisoners) even if the investment isn't yet world-class. Further, I want to ephasize your point that the disinvestment in rehabilitation is only part of the reason that the US has so many prisoners--the much more significant reason is that the US has distinct systemic issues on the front-end that create more criminals than many other wealthy western countries. "Rehabilitation" on the backend is probably not a feasible solution to closing this gap, but rather we need to focus on preventative causes that address the problem at its root--probably focusing on issues like inequality and poverty.