When I tell people that there are prisons in European countries that do not look or feel like prisons at all, people often look at me strangely, like I must be confused. In this country, going to prison means being dehumanized - being put in a cage or cement cell and treated worse than an animal. Thats the whole point of prison. The person is supposed to be broken and perpetually ashamed. But in many European countries, people who commit crimes are held accountable - punished - but the goal of the system is to ensure that people will return to society better able to contribute to their families and communities. Rather than preventing people from voting or getting work and housing, all efforts are made to ensure that people can reintegrate as smoothly as possible and with no stigma. Skills are taught in prison, independence is encouraged, voting occurs in prison and is expected upon release. This is not rocket science, people. If we want safe, caring communities, we need to ensure that people who commit crimes are actually better able to live productive lives when they come back to society than when they were removed. Duh. Very glad to see that some Americans are finally taking interest in approaches that are humane and in the best interests of all concerned.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 19:39:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015