I write to prisoners and I am friends with a few. What I'm struck by is that the sentences don't always match the crime and that the innocent also wind up in prison.
I would like to discuss the transformation that sometimes occurs to remarkable prisoners as a result of their incarceration.
Some truly self-heal, and IMO, it is a waste of resources to keep them locked or to execute them.
Jarvis Masters is the author of Finding Freedom. He is one such remarkable man, living on Death Row in San Quentin Prison.
Prison work has been part of my spiritual path for ten years.
Your thoughts?
Prison should be the penalty for the most serious and violent felonies. Period. We spend too much money and we create career criminals by sending off minor offenders, drug offenders and youth.
More time and money should - IMO - be spent on first time offenders, probation and parole supervision and prosocial activities for children and particularly 'tweens' than on incarceration in the environment that exists in most prisons and many juvenile facilities.
Middle and high schools across the nation should consider youth courts*** to handle school rule violations and non violent criminal activity (theft, vandalism, smoking, drugs use, etc.), often precursors to serious crimes.
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Facts and Stats | Youth Court