Richard Mazzucchi
Folks of all sorts are intermingled, some not yet charged or awaiting trial who may be guilty or innocent, others serving sentences for nonviolent drug or property crimes, along with some guilty of violent assaults and murder. Only one demographic group is not often found there the wealthy.
This is a dangerous and dysfunctional situation that puts the safety and rehabilitation of the inmates at risk, and makes one question the fairness and effectiveness of our judicial and corrections systems.
Some of the inmates will be found innocent of any misdoing but are exposed to hardened criminals with treacherous habits. It is not surprising that one inmate was nearly beaten to death in his cell by other inmates given the mix of personalities and the limited number of correction officers available to control them.
All this is due to unrealistic burdens California legislators have placed upon the police, prosecuting attorneys, judges, corrections officers and wardens of our jails and prisons.
No one wants to be seen as soft on crime, so ever stiffer and longer sentences are being prescribed, such as the three strikes law and other mandatory minimum sentences that overload our prisons and put immense pressures on correctional officers and prison support staff.
Prisons should be for those that are dangers to society, not non-violent drug offenders or those only guilty of property crimes.
For some jail or prison has become a home of last resort, given the lack of mental health services, half-way houses and diversion programs to offer a way out. Once a person is a convicted felon, which is not hard to do these days if one uses drugs or hangs around with the wrong types of people, it can be very difficult to regain employment and the trust of the community to excel leaving limited opportunities to overcome the allure of drugs to ease the pain and sense of loss, recover from underlying depression or other mental illnesses or otherwise avoid lives of crime.
So the cycle continues for many, and often spirals to greater levels of addiction, mental illness and criminality until they become institutionalized and a permanent burden on society.
What can we do about these unfortunate souls and realities? It would seem we have little alternative but to more carefully triage people that we introduce to our jails and prisons differentiating as well as possible among those that are violent threats to others that must be incarcerated, those that are guilty of property crimes or fraud that must be taught a lesson by facing consequences that may include extended time behind bars, and those that are in need of rehabilitation, counseling, training and other assistance to get back and stay on track.
By so classifying, housing and treating defendants and criminals we might avoid the exposure of these different breeds of cat to one another, and provide treatment and training programs targeted to minimize stereotyping and maximizing the chances of reentry into the general population as functional adults.
This may seem a simplistic solution to a complex problem but there are simply too many people being housed at great expense in our over-burdened prison system, and we have neither the revenues to support them, nor the will to do so.
I think we must strive to divert people from crime by using more carrots and fewer sticks, with progressive counseling, mental health services and training programs that help novice criminals improve their lot, rather than condemn them to lives in captivity. At least such investments can facilitate real change and individual progress, rather than continue apparently futile efforts to intimidate criminals into compliance.
It may sound trite and seem inappropriate, but a pinch of sugar may accomplish more than tons of salt when addressing the frailties and foibles of the human condition.
If you agree with any of what I have to say please tell your elected officials, so they might better defend not always being hard on crime and brave using more effective approaches to address the problem where warranted.
---------
Richard Mazzucchi is a retired research engineer specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy. He has travelled extensively and now makes his home in Los Molinos, where he is striving to manifest a sustainable and spiritual lifestyle. He can be reached at living-green@att.net.
No comments:
Post a Comment