Being Rehabilitated

In a much earlier America, it was not uncommon for a person who committed a crime to be whipped in public, to be placed in the stocks for a while, to be tortured in some way, and then let go. When they had been punished, the matter was finished and that went on with their lives. Today, we sentence a person to long periods of time, often locking them up in small rooms with other people, in conditions that would be considered inhumane by the ASPCA and expect that at the end of their sentence they will be model citizens. The Quakers, when they conceived of "pentientiaries" considered them to be places for people to contemplate their sins and thus reform themselves by finding the light of G-d. Their ideas have gone terribly wrong.

Most citizens are woefully unaware of what goes on in prison. They have the misconceived belief that it is country club where prisoners are taught college educations and that at the end of their sentence they are able to rejoin society without difficulty. Such beliefs are false and in fact detrimental to the system.

One such example happened yesterday in Kansas City. A man, high on PCP, took a vehicle and slammed it into a bunch of cars waiting for the light to change. He had been suspended 16 times from driving. He was totally unfit to be behind the wheel. He killed Damian Slayton. Clayton Dunlap was sentenced to 34 years in prison. He will be an old man when he comes out, if he comes out. Damian's mother said that the man should go to prison to keep him from doing this again. She said, "I don't see Clayton Dunlap as a monster. I see him as a person who made bad decisions. I want him to genuinely want to be better, and I want him to use the time he has in prison to make himself a better person -- to get an education, do what it takes to be, and want to be a productive member of society -- then I would welcome him back." What she said is meant to sound kind and merciful; in fact, it is just the opposite. Clayton has no chance to be a better person. He will be a much worse person when he comes out. And, education, people with Ph.D's are out of work. What chance does education offer him to get a job after serving time for murder. Such statements show how air-headed this woman was and how false her view of the world.

It is hypocrisy to say things like this when in fact the real reason the man is going to prison is to put him away from society because we are afraid of him. It is far more just and kind to put him on an island far from society than to lock him in a cage. And forget about these false promises that he will be treated fairly after paying the price. He will not be able to survive and will be forced to use the lessons he has learned in prison to rob, kill and survive.

I propose that corporeal punishment is far more humane. It is time that we empty the prisons. Execute those who are guilty of murder. Whip those who are guilty of serious crimes. Put to hard labor for a set period those who smoke marijuana or use drugs. Empty the prisons. Let these people get back to their lives and if the state wants to give them rehabilitation, hurrah. But do not do it as an incentive to be pardoned or paroled.