SR #1202 -Hillary Clinton Cancels Her $100,000-a-plate Lunch in NC -Hillary Clinton Jail Prison – YouTube
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Is This Prison Food Cruel And Unusual?
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Investing in Education Rather than Correction
Once the US emerges from its current financial circumstances, and strives once more for economic prosperity, the hope remains that its government can carry with them the lessons learned from their experiences. As negotiations continue to stall and fail reach a budget resolution for 2012, the law makers and politicians of the country must resolve to never let such a state of affairs develop again, and create an expenditure plan that is both considered and reflects the best interests of society.
Interestingly, there are certain factors of government who are looking to do this at present, by attempting to reduce the funding for prison and correctional facilities and reinvesting this capital into the nations education. As California governor Jerry Brown this week signed a bill to transfer thousands of non violent felons from state prisons to more relaxed county jails, so too a significant step was made to close certain correctional facilities and redirect government funding into educational programs and schools.
A Time for Change
The spending statistics are damning indeed. In the 2 decades between 1990 and 2010, the US prison population has soared by over 1 million individuals, and prompted even more funding to be invested in building and expanding correctional facilities to handle the increasing capacity. Within this period, state spending on prisons climbed by nearly 130 percent, which is an astonishing and troubling six times higher than the total rate of expenditure committed to education.
The Issues with Crime and Punishment Part 2
If we assess the problems with administrating justice and sentencing within a democratic context, then these issues pale into insignificance when compared to those which concern punishment rehabilitation. The reason for this is that any prison sentence or consequence that is passed down within a democratic rule must be dual purpose, and need to provide a delicate balance between legitimate punishment and rehabilitating the perpetrator.
It is this balance which epitomizes a slight weakness within the armory of democracy, as it attempts to serve as many citizens as possible and in a vast number of individual ways. This aspiration is integral to the ideal of democracy, but it can occasionally create a situation where an individual goal or target can fall short of expectations. In terms of rehabilitation, this means that where a prison environment Is too lenient, a criminal is neither encouraged to repent or reform for their misdemeanors.
Can Punishment and Rehabilitation be Carried out Simultaneously?
This raises an interesting point with regards to the separate entities of punishment and rehabilitation, and whether they can be carried out simultaneously. Although they are individual concepts in their own right, they are closely linked in terms of their relationship and relevance to a perpetrator of crime, and any punishment administered must be harsh enough to provoke thought, remorse and ultimately a desire to reform. Where this punishment fails to be efficient,
The Issues with Crime and Punishment Part 1
Of all the aspects of a democracy that create debate and consternation, the approach to justice and criminal rehabilitation is one of the more significant. This is chiefly because it has a definitive impact on the well being and security of society, in addition to accounting for a large sum of tax revenue and government expenditure, and also challenges the important issues of morality amongst a nation’s citizens. This not only applies to the morality of the perpetrators of crime, but also the methodology used in administering justice.
There are many different approaches to crime and punishment across the globe, from those based upon democratic principles to others that are primitive and often reflective of a totalitarian rule. The US largely adheres to the former, although some states within the countries boundaries do still employ capital punishment as a consequence of specific types of crime. While the democratic model of justice is one that reflects the best balance of morality and rehabilitation, there are issues with originate from it’s core values.
Admitting Guilt and Reduced Sentencing
As aspect of this is reduced sentencing in exchange for a guilty plea, which remains a feature of existing law regardless of the severity of a crime or its moral implications. This is a longstanding pivot upon which justice veers, and allows perpetrators of crime to escape from the maximum punishment allowed by law through a simple and public admission of their guilt. While this is seen as a partial act of acceptance and also saves crucial tax payers money designated for a trial, the question remains as to whether it has become a largely cynical deed rather than a humanitarian one.