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Wednesday, May 14, 2003
posted by gbarto at 11:49 AM:
Stop Prison Rape
Rich Lowry had an excellent column the other day addressing this sick phenomenon and worse, the way in which it is treated in popular culture. When we instituted our justice system, it was supposedly to mete out reasonable punishments for wrongful acts. Prison rape is the cultural equivalent of the parent who beats her kid bloody because she didn't clear the table - a soul-destroying act which does not punish, does not teach, but plain and simple violates and too often corrupts the spirit. Bravo to those trying to take action against it.
Rich notes that Ashcroft is on board but low-level Justice staffers are opposed, even though the current bill is only a start, gathering statistics but doing little more. Do you suppose they've got a secret? I suspect that our officials have been as cavalier as a bad Jay Leno monologue about this awful subject and would rather not see their heinous indifference to lawlessness in the place where law should have ultimate authority come to light. It should.
The TurkeyBlog supports this bill and stronger ones. Our prisons must be about punishment as a tool for punishing, of course, but also for edification and improvement. As a good parent punishes so the child will learn, will grow and will do better in life for knowing right and wrong, so should our prison system. A lot of the detainees, alas, didn't have such great parents. They need to be shown a better path they've never known, not to be converted from troubled human beings into talking animals. Otherwise, we may as well make every offense that gets prison time a death sentence, for that is what it will in time become.
We can do better. (via Virginia Postrel)
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