A decade ago, in November 2000, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a pastoral statement titled Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice. Unapologetically critiquing a criminal-justice system focused primarily on punishment, the bishops called the American response to crime “a moral test for our nation an (...)
Article
Cruel & Unusual
The True Costs of Our Prison System
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When published in 2000, the paper got no publicity or wide spread distribution. The reasons are unchanged - we incarcerate people because someone wants to, not because we think we know it will change anything. It is simple vengeance and cruel and humiliating besides. Why is anyone suprised at the recidivism rate when there is no program, no rehab, no dignity and not even decent health care being given to these prisoners? Then we release them hundreds of miles from home with $100 for a bus ticket and no place to stay when they arrive, no way to earn a living, no way to reconnect with their community. Well, you say, we just can't afford justice!