LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Prisons are not made for rehabilitation

Friday,  October 28, 2005

Dear Sir,

I hope that, if this letter is published, those that read it fully understand it. Prisons are not made for rehabilitation – they are built to punish those that have done crimes – so please stop with the idea that those that are incarcerated should be given multiple chances. 

If you want to change someone, stop using the soft approach, because the new breed of criminals that are just beginning to enter society are 50 times as dangerous as the ones that are already incarcerated. There is a difference between jail and prison. Think about where you send offenders for long term and short term sentences and maybe building a jail for offenders spending a year or less isn’t such a bad idea. If that doesn’t fit the budget, try electronic home monitoring – it’s cheaper and the record speaks for itself.

Don’t be too single- tracked – make sure offenders are responsible for themselves and stop giving them a slap on the wrist for very serious crimes. And think about the idea of trying to rehabilitate hardened criminals to place them back into society – that doesn’t seem to be a sane decision.

Charles Sloan

   Back...