is curious to see how after thousands of years of civilization there are still some systems or human institutions remain essentially unchanged, however much we advance in other fields such as social science, politics or technology. One example is the prison system. For thousands of years, humans have resorted to prisons to eliminate crime, and although the details have changed the essence of the system remains unchanged. Perhaps the reason
last of that permanence is a widespread feeling that prisons are inevitable. But no human institution is inevitable if it is not really justified its existence. Asked if prisons were really necessary response can only be answered before another more immediate question: Is it useful to the prison system?
In this sense, the usefulness of the prison system is primarily determined by three functions: punitive (to punish the guilty), preventive (to deter citizens from committing crimes) and rehabilitation (to reintegrate the prisoner in our society and prevent re- offending):
1) rehabilitation function. To what extent are rehabilitated people passing by a prison? Do most are rehabilitated or otherwise reoffend after their stay in it? It is difficult to understand how a prison environment, consisting of all sex offenders, can help a person to forget the crime. It seems more logical, however, that the "university of crime" foster new relationships between criminals and learning new forms of crime. Is it an exaggeration to say that the prison actually encourages crime, and therefore is counterproductive?
2) Function preventive. It is more than arguable that prisons are an effective crime deterrent system. If we look at the crimes of blood, most are passionate and therefore irrational, and it is unlikely that a person acting irrationally stop to weigh rationally the consequences that lead to the realization of his act.
As regards other crimes, the vast majority are due to poverty or marginalization (theft, drug trafficking, etc..), Ie either to sheer survival or to the environment, two factors much more likely to weigh on the performance of a person that the threat of future punishment. In this context, a preventive measure certainly more effective would be to eliminate pockets of poverty and marginalization of our societies.
3) punitive function. Certainly the prison is a harsh punishment for the offender, but there is little point that beyond the simple satisfaction of a primal instinct for revenge. And aside from the no use of that function, we must consider other points of ethical and moral, is it lawful deprivation of liberty of a human being? Will there come a day when the right to liberty is considered a human right as fundamental as the right to life, and therefore the State can not even threaten him?
We must also take into account that the deprivation of liberty of a human being not only punish the man, but all of its surroundings. What happens to the family of a convict? Why is condemned to that family to give your loved one? What will happen to those who may depend sentimental, or economically material condemned as a parent, a spouse or a child? We are talking about a tragedy that transcends the punishment to a single fault to affect several innocent. Is it ethical therefore uphold the punitive function of prison?
Another issue we must add to the above is the immense social injustice filters leading to the jail. I am referring to the judicial system suffer from the system millions in fines to bail, to the lack of free legal defense (which means that the best lawyers are also the most expensive). This is clearly designed to punish the offender poor and rich return the offender unpunished, which makes the whole judicial system in general and prison in particularities, something very wicked and unjust.
be alleged that the reason that the prison system remains unchanged over the centuries, despite being unfair, counterproductive, useless and ethically questionable, is none other than the absence a realistic and viable alternative to it. But the truth is that humanity has not made any serious effort to rethink the system, perhaps because the criminals are the last human beings that anyone would worry. Either way I think the time has come to open a serious debate, calm and reflective about the prison system to remove and replace it with another (or others, since the problem we are dealing with is wide and therefore requires more than one solution) more useful, fair and humane.
last of that permanence is a widespread feeling that prisons are inevitable. But no human institution is inevitable if it is not really justified its existence. Asked if prisons were really necessary response can only be answered before another more immediate question: Is it useful to the prison system?
In this sense, the usefulness of the prison system is primarily determined by three functions: punitive (to punish the guilty), preventive (to deter citizens from committing crimes) and rehabilitation (to reintegrate the prisoner in our society and prevent re- offending):
1) rehabilitation function. To what extent are rehabilitated people passing by a prison? Do most are rehabilitated or otherwise reoffend after their stay in it? It is difficult to understand how a prison environment, consisting of all sex offenders, can help a person to forget the crime. It seems more logical, however, that the "university of crime" foster new relationships between criminals and learning new forms of crime. Is it an exaggeration to say that the prison actually encourages crime, and therefore is counterproductive?
2) Function preventive. It is more than arguable that prisons are an effective crime deterrent system. If we look at the crimes of blood, most are passionate and therefore irrational, and it is unlikely that a person acting irrationally stop to weigh rationally the consequences that lead to the realization of his act.
As regards other crimes, the vast majority are due to poverty or marginalization (theft, drug trafficking, etc..), Ie either to sheer survival or to the environment, two factors much more likely to weigh on the performance of a person that the threat of future punishment. In this context, a preventive measure certainly more effective would be to eliminate pockets of poverty and marginalization of our societies.
3) punitive function. Certainly the prison is a harsh punishment for the offender, but there is little point that beyond the simple satisfaction of a primal instinct for revenge. And aside from the no use of that function, we must consider other points of ethical and moral, is it lawful deprivation of liberty of a human being? Will there come a day when the right to liberty is considered a human right as fundamental as the right to life, and therefore the State can not even threaten him?
We must also take into account that the deprivation of liberty of a human being not only punish the man, but all of its surroundings. What happens to the family of a convict? Why is condemned to that family to give your loved one? What will happen to those who may depend sentimental, or economically material condemned as a parent, a spouse or a child? We are talking about a tragedy that transcends the punishment to a single fault to affect several innocent. Is it ethical therefore uphold the punitive function of prison?
Another issue we must add to the above is the immense social injustice filters leading to the jail. I am referring to the judicial system suffer from the system millions in fines to bail, to the lack of free legal defense (which means that the best lawyers are also the most expensive). This is clearly designed to punish the offender poor and rich return the offender unpunished, which makes the whole judicial system in general and prison in particularities, something very wicked and unjust.
be alleged that the reason that the prison system remains unchanged over the centuries, despite being unfair, counterproductive, useless and ethically questionable, is none other than the absence a realistic and viable alternative to it. But the truth is that humanity has not made any serious effort to rethink the system, perhaps because the criminals are the last human beings that anyone would worry. Either way I think the time has come to open a serious debate, calm and reflective about the prison system to remove and replace it with another (or others, since the problem we are dealing with is wide and therefore requires more than one solution) more useful, fair and humane.
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