More Thoughts on Prison Reform

A recent New York Times editorial cites the European approach to corrections, which emphasizes rehabilitation as a model  that could prove useful in overhauling the disastrous U. S. prison system.

The comparison suggests that we should keep non-violent offenders out of jail by reforming rigid sentencing, zero tolerance, and three strike policies.

One of the many benefits would be to keep minor offenders from the influence of more experienced inmates. Sandy, for example, received quite a thorough criminal education during her many incarcerations.

Another troubling aspect of the U. S. prison system is its high percentage of mentally ill inmates. When state mental hospitals closed, there were no alternatives for the severely mentally ill. Without a support system, most ended up on the street, enduring psychiatric episodes, self-medicating with alcohol and drugs, and committing petty crimes.

Jails then became de facto crisis intervention centers. This Wall Street Journal article details the dismantling of our mental health hospitals and effects upon correctional institutions. Mentally ill prisoners currently cost this country $9 billion every year. Since 94% of FASD-affected people become mentally ill, they are certainly part of this problem.

We can improve mental health services within the prison system. As head of psychiatry for Washington prisons said of the increasing number of severe situations, "Prisons can't say no to the mentally ill. They have to solve the problem."

We can also make a sizable dent in our inmate population and numbers of the mentally ill, by aggressively publicizing that fact that drinking during pregnancy can cause life-shattering, irreparable brain damage to the child and bring high costs to society.