4 ms·

> The thing is from what I've read of reconviction rates in US, France and other countries, the prison system isn't working. It's expensive and doesn't rehabili

> The thing is from what I've read of reconviction rates in US, France and other countries, the prison system isn't working. It's expensive and doesn't rehabilitate prisoners very well and from the percentage of the population who is convicted in the US, I'm not sure it even works well as a deterrent. I agree completely with you here. Prisons do not rehabilitate, and they are a poor deterrent. Especially longer stints in prison tends to damage the inmate rather than improve. There's a enormous difference between what "prison" is in France, US, Sweden, Russia or Thailand. I wish the world would at least move towards the "best practice" of prisons, because there are such things. Prisons are terrible but honestly does anyone believe the world would be better without them.

song 12y ago
> Prisons are terrible but honestly does anyone believe the world would be better without them. I completely agree that they're a necessary evil and that there's a need for a type of prison. I think rehabilitation is really what the focus should be since this is what will bring the biggest benefits to society. There's also an argument to be made (and made by a lot of people) that there are too many people incarcerated in the US when it's not necessarily in the country's best interest for those people to go to prison (war on drug, ...). It was interesting discussing with you and if you have any good references on "best practices" I'd be interested in reading them.
erikpukinskis 12y ago
> honestly does anyone believe the world would be better without them. That's needlessly turning this into an either/or proposition. Prisons are a tool. In many contexts (drugs) that tool is being overused. In some (rape) it is underused.