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Should be on a case by case basis. Some criminals are not really criminals (drug possession) and can function in society while others cannot.
Yes, but these are cases where they ARE in society, they have already been granted parole or probation. Would they have any choices at all except returning to crime? If so, what are they? These decisions IMO too often are based on emotion, but we have to be realistic as well. It shouldn't be based on what we feel they deserve, or what sounds fair, but bigger questions of what are the repercussions to us as a society if we don't try?
I agree with you about the "war on drugs" however...maybe if they didn't waste so much jail space on that, they wouldn't have to release violent criminals back into society the way they do now. Since they are releasing them though we should, at the very least, make it possible for those who want to turn over a new leaf to be able to try. What is the alternative?
I've always thought it's terrible that upon release, most prisoners get something like $40 and a bus pass, and they're thrown out into the world with no resources, and very little chance of getting a job with a record. I remember seeing a news program a year or two ago (ABC and Diane Sawyer maybe?) about the female prison population, and how many of those who are released end up homeless and loitering at the bus station because that's as far as they could get.
I think at a minimum, each prisoner should be set up with an "exit savings account" and a portion of the money they earn while working in prison goes into an account that they can't access until they are released. For many of them, that could mean that they would have enough money to find a place to live, buy a few changes of clothes, and food. I think ideally there would also be some sort of transition program that will help them to budget that money, find the resources they will need, and assist with job placement with employers that will accept someone with a record. I think if prisoners were able to know upon release that they had a little money and a job to go to, they would stand a MUCH better chance of success.
I have no problem with the premise so long as it doesn't apply to those who have committed serious and violent crimes. For the rest, housing assistance, job placement, et al, is better than kicking them out of prison with no real supports unless family help is available. That's just asking for recidivism.
That's just the way it is, so don't even try to make it better? I'm glad they're at least trying to pass something to change that even a little bit.
I didn't say not try to make it better. Thus, the reason for this thread! Takes money as well. Who's going to pay? Will the communities they enter know they are there and much more!
Thing is these policies sound ideal on paper, but people will cry foul for having to pick up the tab.
I didn't say not try to make it better. Thus, the reason for this thread! Takes money as well. Who's going to pay? Will the communities they enter know they are there and much more!
Thing is these policies sound ideal on paper, but people will cry foul for having to pick up the tab.
Yes, I know they will, most people are short-sighted about these things, IMO. In any case I ask again, what's the alternative? isn't the rate of recidivism going to be even higher if they have nothing to lose, if being in prison actually becomes the only way for them to get a home?
IMO, that makes our world a more dangerous place for me and everyone I care about. So, yes, I will pick up the tab if it keeps me and mine safer, at least until someone can offer a better solution (one that's actually realistic and not the emotionally driven "tough talk" that I see so frequently on the forums).
The 1% who complains loudest about taxes (or at least have the most influence in their complaining) will be high on the hill behind their iron gates, not down here living with its' effects on a daily basis.
I think blanket rules and zero tolerance are cop outs for people who don't want to have to make tough calls.
Every case should be evaluated on its individual merit.
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