Backs rehabilitation for prison inmates

I believe the sentiment lurking behind the “build the jail” project is our fear of crime and the uncertainty of the future. I believe uncertainty of the future is by-and-large a media-driven entanglement; our fear of crime is a product of the value we place upon our ability to conduct our lives in the way in which a consumer-based economy mandates. Because we would rather “look the other way” when a crime occurs or when a tragic misstep of responsibility occurs in someone’s life, we enable the prison industrial corporations to manage persons who become incarcerated; society loses doubly in the expense it takes to house our inmates, and in the loss of a decently socialized individual. Our focus should be on rehabilitating our inmates to be productive members of society — at least to the point of being able to take care of themselves and to be able to discharge their responsibilities.

The poor and criminal we will always have among us, no matter how our economic system is constituted, but I believe our nation will be better served if our finances are rehabilitating “the least of these” to be able to determine their own future. Why make tax-slaves of the rest of us, solely by deciding in favor of the economic benefit of the prison industry ?

Justice that would restore these individuals to a useful existence needs to be served.

Bellingham

This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Backs rehabilitation for prison inmates."