For a long time, I’ve felt that there’s something futile about giving white-collar criminals, e.g., embezzlers and crooked politicians, long prison sentences. What’s the point? Do you expect to rehabilitate them? Teach them a trade? Hell, you can’t even hope for much in the way of retribution; as far as they’re concerned, the only thing they did wrong was get caught, and guilt and remorse are as alien to them as honesty and probity.
So here’s how I’d handle them. You’ve heard of convicted criminals being sentenced, to, say ten weeks of community service. How about ten years?
Why, after all, should the public be at the expense of feeding and housing these jokers? Most community service is done on weekends; during the other five days of the week, they can damn well support themselves. They’re almost all employable in the conventional sense, so long as you don’t let them handle money.
But every Saturday and Sunday morning, they can damn well make that shapeup down at the city garage or dump or gravel-pit, bringing their own shoes, gloves, and hardhats: 5:00 AM and no excuses short of a fresh cast on both legs. (Okay, 6:00 AM in winter; there, that’s me being a soft-hearted liberal.)
They would, of course, be on parole initially, moving perhaps to probation after a few years of keeping their noses clean. (Or is parole cheaper to run than probation? Dunno. It’s purely a budget decision, as far as I’m concerned.) Let them take just one step sideways, and it’s back in the joint they go. Yes, for long sentences; no point being a soft-headed liberal about this.
Speaking of imprisonment: I have no objection if they're put inside for perhaps nine months or a year while their paperwork goes through; they need to know what they’re missing and what they’ll go back to if they try Wrong again.
So here’s how I’d handle them. You’ve heard of convicted criminals being sentenced, to, say ten weeks of community service. How about ten years?
Why, after all, should the public be at the expense of feeding and housing these jokers? Most community service is done on weekends; during the other five days of the week, they can damn well support themselves. They’re almost all employable in the conventional sense, so long as you don’t let them handle money.
But every Saturday and Sunday morning, they can damn well make that shapeup down at the city garage or dump or gravel-pit, bringing their own shoes, gloves, and hardhats: 5:00 AM and no excuses short of a fresh cast on both legs. (Okay, 6:00 AM in winter; there, that’s me being a soft-hearted liberal.)
They would, of course, be on parole initially, moving perhaps to probation after a few years of keeping their noses clean. (Or is parole cheaper to run than probation? Dunno. It’s purely a budget decision, as far as I’m concerned.) Let them take just one step sideways, and it’s back in the joint they go. Yes, for long sentences; no point being a soft-headed liberal about this.
Speaking of imprisonment: I have no objection if they're put inside for perhaps nine months or a year while their paperwork goes through; they need to know what they’re missing and what they’ll go back to if they try Wrong again.
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