Behind These Bars

As I have tweeted, this has been an exciting time in Criminal Justice policy reform.  There have been several articles recently about prison conditions, specifically in California.  There is rampant overcrowding, thus causing what litle resources are available to be spread even thinner amongst the incarcerated.  There is one school of thought that says these people are criminals and do not deserve anything.  basically lock them up, throw away the key and the conditions of the prisons should not matter.  As you can probably guess, i am not one of those people.  Committing a crime does not suddenly make a person less human, less deserving of basic necessities.

I recently read an Editorial in the New York Times about the deplorable conditions in many California prisons.  Many incarcerated persons suffer from mental illness and the inability for prisons to address their needs is a major problem not only in California but nationwide.The article also highlights a shift in approaches to crime reduction.  Mass incarceration has done little to reduce crime, in fact it may lead to increased levels of recidivism.  Some believe that housing all criminals together can give the opportunity to hone a person's approach to crime and to in essence become a better criminal.  It is also possible that the stigma of a criminal record will lead to fewer, if any, legitimate opportunities to make money, leading to vicious cycle of crime and incarceration.

With this shift in the coverage of prisons, I am not surprised it was also necessary to show just how bad and undeserving "these people" are.  In my research, I also came across an article about  Walker posting to his facebook account.   Perhaps it is the conspiracy theorist in me, but I believe this story was brought to light to tamper or dampen the coverage of the deplorable conditions.  As if to say, well look what "they" do when given a little freedom within these bars.  

Finally, I also found an article about the language we use to discuss people who commit crime.  As a proponent of the labeling theory, I try to be cognizant of the labels we attach to people and the stigma these labels bring.  However, even in writing this post, my first instinct is to call the people about whom I am writing "prisoners".  

In the back of my mind, i always remember the quote from Sister Helen Prejean "What if we were all defined by the worst thing we had done."

On Being Against the Death Penalty

Today Brandon Rhode was set to die.  Before the state could take his life, he chose to attempt to take his own.

To be clear, I am wholeheartedly against capital punishment.  Both as a casual criminologist and morally.  Often people say that must be because I have never been a victim of crime or known a murder victim.  That is not the case.  My sister's best friend, a close family friend, was murdered.  I was against the death penalty before her death and I am still against it after I help my sister pick up the pieces.  I will never advocate the killing of another human being, no matter the wrong they have done.  It serves no purpose, it deters no crime.

And then there's the possibility of executing an innocent person.  I thought the criminal justice system believed it is better to let a thousand men go free, than incarcerate one innocent person.  Guess not. Maybe that only exists in my idealistic mind.  My freshman year of college, I had the opportunity to hear Sister Helen Prejean speak and one quote stuck with me to this day.  "What if we were all judged by the worst thing we had ever done."  Though the rehabilitation of people on death row can be debated.  The most cynical arguing that everyone "finds religion" in jail but society is not helped, only harmed by the use of capital punishment in the United States. All of the world is looking at us and how does this make us look?

If I ran television stations, I would play The Life and Times of David Gale  on a day like today.  To force whomever is watching to see how easily an innocent person can be executed.