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'The district attorney offered him 20 years if he pled guilty, but Jelani refused.' 'The violence changed him. "My experience on Rikers Island, that’s when I h

'The district attorney offered him 20 years if he pled guilty, but Jelani refused.' 'The violence changed him. "My experience on Rikers Island, that’s when I had to show, like not just be myself," he says. "I had to turn into a beast."' 'Henry said he struggled at times to avoid taking the guilty plea.' 'Four months later, with no move by the DA to proceed, his case was finally dismissed, almost two years to the day it began. The DA has refused to share the document that outlines the reason for dismissing Jelani’s case with him or his lawyer. To day, there has been no explanation and no apology for Jelani’s detention.'' 'Unfortunately, Henry’s troubles from the arrest aren’t over. He is now facing assault charges stemming from a fight in prison. "He was innocent when he went in there, and now he might come out with a charge for defending himself," says Alethia.' That, taken together, is one of the best (worst) indictments of our penal system. It is clearly designed not to rehabilitate, not even to penalize, but to oppress, and to self-perpetuate itself by creating 'criminals', either those who have been turned criminal by the penal system itself, or those who have been given plea deals with the deck stacked against them, regardless of their innocence. We need reform, very, very badly.

valleyer 12y ago
There’s a difference between being designed to oppress and being designed to rehabilitate but extremely poorly so and oppressing as an unintended side effect. I suspect the latter is more likely.
- deciplex 12y ago
  Even more likely, is that it isn't 'designed' at all, but rather cobbled together by disparate interests that are variously trying to appear tough on crime, scam the system of as much money as possible, advance their careers, etc. None of these interests probably give a shit if the system ends up rehabilitating anyone, nor if it creates criminals, because neither outcome affects them in any material way (that is readily apparent to them, anyway).
- lostcolony 12y ago
  Yes yes, Hanlon's razor. My choice of words there was perhaps poor; the point is clear, the system does not (X), but instead (Y)s, and my attribution to malice in doing so was incorrect phrasing.
  - WorldWideWayne 12y ago
    The point is clear, but Hanlon's razor is just a bullshit adage that people invoke when they want to stop thinking about something. It's a proverb, not a hard scientific fact and it certainly doesn't apply to all situations. Malice indeed exists everywhere and on a spectrum just like ignorance. People are generally self-centered and they act on their self-centeredness all the time. The amount of corruption in our institutions is truly staggering and playing stupid is such an obvious and common criminal tactic that three year olds can and do utilize it...So I wouldn't be so quick to apply Hanlon's razor.

valleyer 12y ago

There’s a difference between being designed to oppress and being designed to rehabilitate but extremely poorly so and oppressing as an unintended side effect. I suspect the latter is more likely.

deciplex 12y ago
Even more likely, is that it isn't 'designed' at all, but rather cobbled together by disparate interests that are variously trying to appear tough on crime, scam the system of as much money as possible, advance their careers, etc. None of these interests probably give a shit if the system ends up rehabilitating anyone, nor if it creates criminals, because neither outcome affects them in any material way (that is readily apparent to them, anyway).
lostcolony 12y ago
Yes yes, Hanlon's razor. My choice of words there was perhaps poor; the point is clear, the system does not (X), but instead (Y)s, and my attribution to malice in doing so was incorrect phrasing.
- WorldWideWayne 12y ago
  The point is clear, but Hanlon's razor is just a bullshit adage that people invoke when they want to stop thinking about something. It's a proverb, not a hard scientific fact and it certainly doesn't apply to all situations. Malice indeed exists everywhere and on a spectrum just like ignorance. People are generally self-centered and they act on their self-centeredness all the time. The amount of corruption in our institutions is truly staggering and playing stupid is such an obvious and common criminal tactic that three year olds can and do utilize it...So I wouldn't be so quick to apply Hanlon's razor.