Can Criminals Be Rehabilitated
Jacoby Davis
March 25, 2009
Avid2A
Easter, Mitchell
“Can Criminals Be Rehabilitated?”
The USA has a higher percentage of its citizens behind bars than any other nation. Our crime rate is higher than that of any other advanced nation. Among the leading industrialized nations our murder rate is 3-1/2 times higher than the second place nation, Italy. The majority of persons released from prison in the US- estimates run as high as 70%- are convicted of new crimes within five years. These are statistics that are very real. My purpose is to research and determine if a convicted criminal can be rehabilitated. We will take this opportunity to further delve into the controversial world of rehabilitation for the “outcast dredges” of our society. You will read many ideas ranging from scholarly to just plain nutty, as to why the greatest nation on earth can have such a great crime problem. Unfortunately throughout my research I found that too few of these ideas are actually based on research, fact, or implementation. Too many are based on human emotions. Many of our decision-makers seem to believe that learning from the policies and experiences of other nations is somehow beneath us. All too often youth offenders are arrested and released too many times. Our sentencing polices are inconsistent, often too lenient for violent crimes and too harsh for non-violent crimes. Our public safety planning is too shortsighted. It would be better to spend more on intensive probation and scientifically based rehabilitation programs now, and less on more and bigger prisons tomorrow. We make “convicted felons” an untouchable class, locking them out of normal society and worthwhile employment, making continued crime all the more attractive. Instead of facilitating prisoner re-entry, we strain to make it difficult and almost impossible for some. More often than not no real intervention until criminality is firmly established and has become a pervasive lifestyle. Too many
March 25, 2009
Avid2A
Easter, Mitchell
“Can Criminals Be Rehabilitated?”
The USA has a higher percentage of its citizens behind bars than any other nation. Our crime rate is higher than that of any other advanced nation. Among the leading industrialized nations our murder rate is 3-1/2 times higher than the second place nation, Italy. The majority of persons released from prison in the US- estimates run as high as 70%- are convicted of new crimes within five years. These are statistics that are very real. My purpose is to research and determine if a convicted criminal can be rehabilitated. We will take this opportunity to further delve into the controversial world of rehabilitation for the “outcast dredges” of our society. You will read many ideas ranging from scholarly to just plain nutty, as to why the greatest nation on earth can have such a great crime problem. Unfortunately throughout my research I found that too few of these ideas are actually based on research, fact, or implementation. Too many are based on human emotions. Many of our decision-makers seem to believe that learning from the policies and experiences of other nations is somehow beneath us. All too often youth offenders are arrested and released too many times. Our sentencing polices are inconsistent, often too lenient for violent crimes and too harsh for non-violent crimes. Our public safety planning is too shortsighted. It would be better to spend more on intensive probation and scientifically based rehabilitation programs now, and less on more and bigger prisons tomorrow. We make “convicted felons” an untouchable class, locking them out of normal society and worthwhile employment, making continued crime all the more attractive. Instead of facilitating prisoner re-entry, we strain to make it difficult and almost impossible for some. More often than not no real intervention until criminality is firmly established and has become a pervasive lifestyle. Too many