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kalikshama -> RE: Rehabilitation Of Criminals (1/9/2014 7:01:18 PM)
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I just finished reading "Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison" which talks a lot about the lack of rehabilitation. She describes the pre-release programs she went to - what a joke! She talks about how the War on Drugs is doing nothing to reduce demand. She talks about the revolving door. My library carries this book. (The Netflix series is more entertaining and less educational.) quote:
However, I was debating with someone and he said that if someone robbed him and caused lots of damage, he wants this person to be punished. He doesn't want him to go to jail, get 3 square meals a day, attend school and learn a trade. He wants him to suffer. I don't know what to say to him because he has a good point. If someone raped my daughter I would want him to be punished, not rewarded. It's like saying to people: "Do you want a better life? Go kill someone and we will send you to prison and teach you a trade, free of charge." I'd want the robbers and drug addicts to learn a trade so when they got out they could contribute to society instead of being a blight on it. I have a friend who was a heroin addict for 28 years and during that time committed innumerable crimes to support his habit. He did plenty of time in detox and jail. After his last overdose, he started going to yoga, moved to a yoga center, and has been clean for 13 years, despite periods of adversity, including homelessness and people offering him drugs. My brother is mentally ill. When in court to support him, I always hear references to Drug Court. New Drug Court combating addiction in Plymouth County ...The Drug Court, the first in Plymouth County, opened last fall, based on models already in place in Boston and western Massachusetts. It allows judges to place nonviolent offenders with addictions into more expansive treatment programs. It also includes the intensive probationary component that has proven successful in combating addiction in Hawaii. ...Through the Drug Court, judges can now place drug dependent suspects in programs that can last up to 90 days – three times longer than before. In its short history, Plymouth Drug Court is already among the state’s leaders in referring addicts for treatment in programs like Reflections, a New Bedford treatment program. For those recommended for the program, it can mean the difference between a criminal record and a clean slate. But it comes at a price. Participants are held to high standards, with regular testing for compliance. And sobriety is only part of the program. Community service, continuing education and steady employment are integral components as well. So is attendance at Drug Court. The sessions were initially held monthly but now meet every few weeks. Participants are required to sit through the entire session, listening in on one another’s reviews with the judge. The enforced seating allows probationers to see that they are not alone in their struggles and that every day brings it own challenges. The rules of the program are strict, with demerits for tardiness in court-ordered counseling or community service. But for many, it is the first time they have been held accountable for anything in their lives. Those who run afoul can end up leaving the courthouse in handcuffs, which is a valuable group lesson of its own. The greater lesson comes in watching people they’ve seen struggle successfully complete the program. It can take months to achieve, and there is occasionally some sliding backward, but graduation is a very attainable goal for most in the program. Staying clean is not the only criteria. The program requires graduates to complete GED programs and get jobs in addition to staying clean and completing any court-ordered community service commitments. Read more: http://www.wickedlocal.com/marshfield/news/x981219341/New-Drug-Court-combating-addiction-in-Plymouth-County#ixzz2pxcVqc1d
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