Ed, I won't disagree entirely with your personal experiences about prison being a good place to try and reform people....they certainly have the time on their hands and their instructors/case workers do have a captive audience! 🙂
Also, you have eye witnessed it through first hand accounts. It's just that I don't feel prison is the right time to do the reform; I believe it should follow after your time served.
Not all convicts are created equal, some are good people driven to desperate measures in order to survive. (though due to our social welfare system, I hope those cases are few).
However, a great deal of them are people who knew that what they were doing was bad and decided to victimize society anyway to buy/enjoy what they could not afford, perhaps due to lack of education or social circumstances. Regardless of environment, from white collar crime to blue collar crime to no collar crime, They chose what they believe is the easy route for immediate gratification, society be damned.
It is up to prison, in my opinion to show them the error of that thinking by punishment of freedom lost, It is not to give them a college education on tax payers dime, tax payers who can not afford to send their own children to college.
They should not be trained at a craft for free either, that gives them an unfair advantage over people who don't commit crimes who have to apply/compete with the rest of lawful society to get that apprenticeship.
Prison is used to change circumstances to favor the probability of a more advantageous 'legal' environment when you attempt reform- but to my knowledge, admittedly limited, your not doing a thing to change ethical view by a relation of consequence. On the contrary it was said on a HBO gang documentary....to semi quote "Prisons not so bad, kid, it's where I got my PHD."
Maybe thats why prisons are busting at the seems?
If they serve their time in a completely crap environment, then are followed closely by social workers who will help them navigate a social network and make contacts to achieve what prison education programs just give them, it gives them a better understanding of a work ethic, appreciation of property (in the form of their own money going to education)...it helps them relate to the real world better. This may even change their view of ethics for the better.
Prison seems to treat people like they are broken and are incapable of making the right decision, that they are victims of society. I see them as victims of their own making. Crime is not environment specific. ( not all poverty areas are crime infested, some have good people. Not all gated communities are pure and good, billionaire embezzlers for instance)
What crime is, in my opinion, is a bad habit or character flaw of putting your own pleasure over everything else. It does not come from society, but rather a lack of concern for it. It comes from the perps own greed.
By doling out punishment for bad behavior you are creating fear of consequence. That was effective in ruling Europe for centuries.
When criminals are out of prison, I believe they should be followed by a case worker for a number of years who will help them with programs and social networking to lift them from poverty if that is a contributor to their initial incarceration. That way they will truly learn to adapt into society, it is easy to be good ( or at least should be) when your in prison
Short of starving, I would not show anymore mercy to a petty thief than any other criminal, even if they are at the poverty level they have made a conscious decision to prioritize their greed for a want above the rest of society. It is not a matter of education so much of a matter of ethics.
