4 ms·
> prison for punishment, not rehab. Prisons are already an idealistic institution, in the interest of being more humane. The alternative before was capital pu
by commonlisp94 3y ago
> prison for punishment, not rehab.
Prisons are already an idealistic institution, in the interest of being more humane. The alternative before was capital punishment, work camps, or slavery (including in war). That's not to say prisons are ok in their current state, or can't be improvement. I just don't think rehab was historically the primary intent.
- qingcharles 3y agoPrisons on the scale we have now are a very modern invention. In history the vast majority of crimes were punished with fines (good for the government), expulsion or fairly petty physical punishments. This is one of the best researched books on the subject, IMO: https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Prison-Practice-Punishment/dp/0195118146 https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Prison-Practice-Punish...