> Why not get something out of the condemned by fixing them and studying them and making them better I understand your point--prisons can be rehabilitative or

> Why not get something out of the condemned by fixing them and studying them and making them better I understand your point--prisons can be rehabilitative or educational institutions rather than fulfilling a purely retributive function--but your language is setting off some alarm bells for me. We ought to shift from using the language of "fixing" people to helping people or, in many cases, fixing the system.