I do not object to the punishment, but I do wonder what is the goal of my punishment: reformation or retribution/revenge?
I want to tell people that I do not think things are working quite the way they think they should. Handing out years like they are peanuts may break more people than are truly reformed and a certain sort of bitter meanness permeates many, and that probably does not bode well for re-entry.
We have been told bang them up in prison. If they come back, bang them harder and longer. What we have are meaner people for whom prison is a refreshment from the chaos of the real world. That class expands as we expand the criminal laws and require people to stay in prison for a minimum time period. Again, how does that minimum time period serve the public? And has anyone thought about the cost-benefit analysis for minimum prison sentences? And when asking these questions, remember this is prison time and not probation or in-home detention, or work release. Prison time meaning these sentences are your tax dollars at work.
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