Response to Catherine

I think a flaw in this question is in the use of the word fear. I do not think society should want to make people fear the law, but should instead teach people why the law is important so they make the choice to obey it. I think this is a good question that is largely asking whether people can change or if the old dog cannot be taught any new tricks. I do think people are capable of change, even if they have done something worthy of time spent in prison. A major problem becomes whether change is truly an option to many former prisoners. Having been in prison greatly reduces the chances of getting hired and many people who try to change are likely to return to crime because they were unable to succeed otherwise. I do not mean that people coming out of jail have no opportunities, but they are greatly reduced and it is likely incredibly frustrating to attempt to change one’s life in front of so many obstacles. Many prisoners are also poor and underprivileged so would have had trouble securing profitable work in the first place. If prisoners are expected to be reformed then they need the opportunity to do so when they return to the work place. Tulane University has a program that helps prisoners when they leave prison to re-integrate and find work in society. According to a study listed on their webpage, “During the first year, the time when most inmates return to crime, the program intervention maintains an 89.3% success rate, with only one in ten program graduates returning to crime.” This study shows that people can and will change when they are given the chance and can stop breaking the law even at an older age, although I do not know the ages of the prisoners they are certainly legal adults. This site is linked here: http://www.projectreturn.com/index.php?name=organization_history

This example may be more of an exception then a rule though. The text The Philosophy and Practice of Corrections by Marilyn D. McShane looked at prison studies and their abilities to rehabilitate. She found that “only 20 (45%) of the 44 controlled studies were effective. Twenty effective programs in 21 years indicates that effective programs are truly exceptional.”

That book can be found on google books here: http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=DAqMFoiTcR8C&oi=fnd&pg=PA45&dq=prison+rehabilitation+programs&ots=KXBczs75lb&sig=MsBhqYCX7LmxGocZjV8zk6Un54s#v=onepage&q=prison%20rehabilitation%20programs&f=false

What should be the goal of prisons (reform, punishment)?