>>"Penology", putting criminals in prisons and trying to rehabilitate them. Rehabilitating them has been an utter failure. Locking them up has certainly helped. <<
Depends on the criminal. According to a judge I respect, there are three basic varieties of criminals, Norps, Slicks, and Slugs.
Norps are Normal Ordinary Respectable People who Screwed up on Saturday night. Any punishment you give them will work, whether it's a fine, probation, community service, what have you, they will never do it again.
Slicks are career criminals. No matter what you do, you can't change them, so you may as well sentence them for the maximum, to keep them from preying on the rest of us.
The challenge is how to sentence Slugs. They have no backbone. When they are with good people, they are good. When they are with bad people, they are bad. The challenge is figuring out a way to keep them with good people, and away from bad people. You need to motivate them.
As a lawyer, I find that structure helps. It certainly helps me. I think it probably helps most of us. |
