David Brooks concludes: Finally, recategorizing a problem doesn’t solve it. In the 1970s, we let a lot of people out of mental institutions. Over the next decades we put a lot of people into prisons. But the share of people kept out of circulation has been strangely continuous. In the real world, crime, lack of education, mental health issues, family breakdown and economic hopelessness are all intertwined.Changing prosecutor behavior might be a start. Lifting the spirits of inmates, as described in the outstanding Atlantic online video “Angola for Life,” can also help. But the fundamental situation won’t be altered without a comprehensive surge, unless we flood the zone with economic, familial, psychological and social repair.’
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From Comments at the Times: abo is a trusted commenter Paris 9 hours ago
It’s the plea-bargain system, which has grown up over forty years, which is the culprit. It used to be, to put someone away in jail, you actually had to go to court and have a trial and get a jury to convict the accused. Somewhere in the 1970s, prosecutors figured out an easier way. Threaten an accused with massive charges and punishments, and then propose a plea-bargain to a lesser charge. Because people are risk-averse, and/or do not have the money to hire the expensive lawyers to fight the worst charges, they accept the plea-bargain and end in jail, without a trial.
The plea-bargain system is an affront to justice. It is discriminatory. It needs to be outlawed.
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