America imprisons more of it's population than any other country. Our incarceration rate is 750 people locked up out of every 100,000. That's five times the world average, and more than Iran (220), China (180), and Russia (629). These are the same countries we're always accusing of human rights violations. Are our citizens that much more evil? And just what is the goal of mass incarceration anyway? Is it to punish, to banish, to rehabilitate, or all three? Think about this: If you were given the choice, knowing what you know about prison, between five years in prison or ten lashes with a cane, which one would you choose? And by lashes, I mean the skin is split open and by the third stroke, you go into shock, and it takes weeks to heal, leaving scars. Barbaric right? Every prisoner I posed this question to chose the lash. But if we would choose a barbaric, inhumane, brutal caning over incarceration, what does that say about our prison system? These are the questions Peter Moskos attempts to answer in his book, "In Defense of Flogging".
In 1973, a Presidential Advisory Commission concluded that prisons have only achieved a shocking level of failure, but somehow, the incarceration rate has increased 500 percent since that time. We seem to be moving backwards. In 1890, 121 years ago, the Supreme Court all but banned solitary confinement because it was declared an extreme form of punishment. The goal of imprisonment back then was to rehabilitate, not punish. But in a 1989 Supreme Court decision, imprisonment as a means of rehabilitation was basically rejected, and it opened the doors for solitary confinement to return, effectively sending us back to the 19th century.
Regardless of whether prison is for punishment or rehabilitation, incarceration does not "cure" crime or criminals. On the contrary, it causes crime by creating bitter, hardened, and more sophisticated criminals. When you warehouse prisoners together for years on end with nothing to do, they make associations, form bonds, learn illegal skills, and reinforce antisocial norms. Prisons in America today, are nothing more than colleges for crime, extended business conventions for criminals.
Even worse than the horror and violence that happens in prison, is what happens when the inmate is released. A typical released prisoner will earn 40 percent less than a similarly educated non-incarcerated individual. And when an employer is given a choice between a convicted felon and one with a clean record, which one do you think he'll choose? Released inmates are also further burdened with fines, restitution, and probation fees. Despite the fact that they've already been punished, they are relegated to second class citizenship, without the basic right to vote or the right to practice many professions. It's hard enough for a convicted felon upon release; why make it harder? Is it in society's best interest to see him fail?
Of course some people need to be locked up to protect society. Prisons should be reserved for the worst of the worst - pedophiles, psychopathic killers, and terrorists. When a pedophile is locked up, it means fewer raped children and society is a little bit safer. But when a drug dealer is locked up, it only creates a job opening which is quickly filled, and nothing's changed except that we've wasted tax payer money to send the dealer to prison for years only to return in worse shape than before.
Moskos makes an excellent case that offenders should be given a choice of flogging or prison, and he even concedes that it'll never happen because the left will say it's too inhumane and barbaric, and the right will say it's letting the criminals off too easy, but you should read this book before you form an opinion yourself. He barely touches on what I believe is the solution - legalize drugs. He says they should be regulated, restricted, and taxed, and drug treatment should be available for anyone who wants it. It's ridiculous that we've been fighting a so-called war on drugs for forty years and yet it is extremely difficult to get treatment, especially for the poor. Legalizing drugs would almost empty our prisons of the people who don't really belong there. Dealers would have to find a new line of work, and addicts could get more and better treatment. The money spent locking up drug offenders would be much better spent on rehab. One only exacerbates the disease while the other seeks to treat it. By one estimation I've read, it takes $246 million in law enforcement to get the equivalent results of $34 million in treatment.
Unfortunately for the 2.6 million Americans incarcerated, nothing will change anytime soon. There are too many special interest groups who profit from the "Prison Industrial Complex," including prison guard unions who lobby for harsher sentencing guidelines. But if we continue on this path of mass incarceration, at least the public should be made more aware of what happens inside a prison, and at least some scientific studies of what toll lengthy sentences actually have on the incarcerated should be done. Movies and television don't even come close to conveying the reality of life behind bars. There's no way to film the long-term mental torture of incarceration.
I tell you this from personal experience. I've been locked up for almost eleven years for a series of bank robberies. Yes, I deserve to be punished, but more importantly, I need treatment for a severe drug addiction. The average annual cost of incarceration per inmate is $26,000. The federal government will spend more than $312,000 to incarcerate me for stealing a very small fraction of that amount. I believe that $312,000 hasn't been spent entirely to punish or rehabilitate me. It shouldn't cost near that much. I believe it's primarily spent so that a lot of people will have a job. I'm sure a better way could be found to protect society and "correct" me with a fraction of that amount.
But I'm not bitter. I only read this book and wrote this review because I don't have anything better to do at the present time.
David Allan Reeves
Author of "Running Away From Me"
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NeilW
Interesting, thought provoking read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 12, 2018
