Splendid Zinn

[marmar]

[font size="5"]"I am convinced that imprisonment is a way of pretending to solve the problem of crime. It does nothing for the victims of crime, but perpetuates the idea of retribution, thus maintaining the endless cycle of violence in our culture. It is a cruel and useless substitute for the elimination of those conditions--poverty, unemployment, homelessness, desperation, racism, greed--which are at the root of most punished crime. The crimes of the rich and powerful go mostly unpunished."[/font]

-- Howard Zinn

[Scuba]

1. Splendid, indeed. Thanks marmar.

[zipplewrath]

2. If prison were a social program

If prison were a social program, the GOP would complain bitterly that it is an utter failure.

Most social programs have vastly better rates of success than prison, but they continually complain about the chronic homeless, unemployed, and unwed mothers even though they are a vastly smaller percentage than the recidivism rate of prison. And the rate at which these repeat offenders increase the severity of their crimes each time would be considered an out right form of fraud if it were a social program.