Here in our beloved America we have 2.4 million people in prison. That’s about the population of Portland and all of its suburbs, or nearly one in 100. Keeping someone in jail costs about $40,000 per year, which is about the median wage. Are there really 2.4 million dangerous people in this country who must be kept apart from society at any cost?
This has come to my attention recently as I’ve been following the case of Kaitlyn Hunt, a Florida senior who is facing felony rape charges and up to 15 years in prison for having consensual sex with her girlfriend, who happens to be four years younger. The media focus has been mainly on her being targeted as a lesbian by her girlfriend’s bigoted parents. That’s a problem, and one that needs to be addressed, but the bigger problem here is that a senior can end up in prison and labeled a child abuser for life for dating a freshman. (And yes, high schoolers often have sex when they’re dating.) What the hell?
Thus, Part 1 of Mark’s solution to our broken justice system is to get rid of a bunch of stupid laws. Age of consent, for instance, could be defined as 16 OR less than six years younger than the older partner. No one should be punished for doing drugs. Selling drugs? Yes. Driving under the influence? Yes. But not for making a personal decision that harms no one. On the other hand, some laws might need to be a bit stronger. Predatory sex offenders, in particular, seem to get off far too easy if their victims are adults. This change, particularly with regard to drugs, ought to cut the prison population by at least 30%.
Part 2 is a bit more involved. If someone causes harm to another person or to society, what ought to happen? Common sense would dictate that he/she must repay the debt to society. What we have now though is more like the Christian vision of the afterlife. If someone is convicted of a felony, he is Bad. Bad people go to Hell, or in this case prison, and so in prison he sits, making no use of his faculties and doing nothing of value to society, until the parole board sees fit to set him free. Furthermore, because he is Bad, he is forever labeled as a convicted felon and so finds it very hard to find gainful employment on release. Thus it is very likely that he will end up back in Hell, or prison, where at least he will be housed and fed.
Sentences are currently defined as “a fine of X dollars plus X months/years in prison.” I propose that we change this to “a fine of X percent of net worth plus X months/years of forced labor.” This both equalizes the pain of punishment across social classes and provides a greater source of public income. There is no sense in imposing a 200,000 dollar fine on someone with 20,000 in the bank, whereas a millionaire found guilty might need to be fined 500,000 to be dealt an equivalent psychological blow. As for the labor, in place of prisons we would have high-security labor camps/factories, and incoming prisoners would be given a skills test after which they would be assigned to an appropriate position. There they would work, and the proceeds of their labors, above those needed to cover room, board, and guards, would go into the public treasury or perhaps be assigned to support crime victims. For those people deemed sane and yet too dangerous to ever be released, the sentence would be 100% of net worth plus a lifetime of forced labor.
Upon completion of their sentence and approval for release (and there would be no early release, only the possibility of delay due to poor behavior), prisoners would be given a place to rent with the first month paid, a guaranteed job (based on their skills/experience in prison), and their criminal history would be for most purposes erased. That is not to say that it would be inaccessible, and certain employers such as schools would be able to access full background checks, but the stigma that a convicted criminal is forever Bad would be replaced by the consensus that once justice is served it is complete.
Would such a system be better for society, and create happier lives overall? I certainly think so? Could it happen? Probably not in a country of our size, especially not one in which the Christian model of justice is so deeply embedded. But it’s interesting to think about.
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