[rfuerst911sc]

Like any difficult problem there is rarely a simple solution and prison reform falls into that category . When someone is found guilty of a crime against society the sentence is supposed to create justice for society and the victim . That justice generally comes with the attitude " let the bastard rot in jail " . I get that as the victims or their families are dealing with emotions that are racing and close to the heart . Is it societies fault the criminal acted the way they did ? Probably not . Is it the parents fault the criminal acted the way they did ? In some cases yes but not always . Is it just a freak of nature that the criminals act the way they do ? Maybe .

I do believe that the state has some responsibility to extract some net worth out of the criminals while they are incarcerated . Cleaning up trash on the side of the road is one example , in my opinion there shouldn't be one speck of litter anywhere we have plenty of prisoners to eliminate that problem . But I also believe that some form of rehabilitation needs to take place before a prisoner is released back into society . What that looks like I have no idea . Teach them a trade ? Mandatory military service ? Make them volunteer at a soup kitchen or pet shelter ?

Or as a society do we just say the career criminal is " defective " and we just " let the bastard rot in jail " ? In some cases this is the right answer , does anyone really think Charles Manson as an example could have been released back to society with good results ? So we ask the prison system to make the decision on who is nuts/bad/etc. and has to stay behind bars vs. let out to society .......... parole board . A whole other hot topic as what are the credentials of these folks making the decisions ? And these are not easy decisions to make , I'm sure in their hearts they don't want to release a criminal that will go right back and commit more crimes . So if they have to waiver on the decision they have to say stay in prison .

I don't have the answers but do agree it is a problem but I'm not 100 % convinced the prison system is at fault . They are the recipients of the court system and the court system is fed by the police . The police are fed by the bad guys on the street . The problem in my opinion is at the street level and earlier , if the parents/grandparents/close family/schools/mentors can't or don't make an impression early on of instilling right from wrong then the individual loses and may make a bad decision to turn to crime . But ultimately it is the individual that makes that decision and will pay the price if caught .