[Magdalen] Heather Cook

[Roger Stokes]

On 27/10/2015 21:35, James Oppenheimer-Crawford wrote:
> She certainly is experiencing harsh consequences.  Seven years in prison is
> not small potatoes at all.  I know others get more; almost everyone in my
> class at prison was in for twenty five to life. That's now punishment;
> that's intentional murder of the soul.
>
> We need to stop the nonsense and find alternative ways of dealing with
> crime. We incarcerate more folks per capita than any other civilized
> nation. When the Societ Union was going full bore, we had them beat then, and it has only gotten worse.

One bit of good news is that Republicans and Democrats now seem to 
recognize the wisdom of that.  The Republicans don't like the cost of so 
much incarceration so they are looking to reduce mandatory sentences.   
The next step would be for them to recognize the cost of keeping people 
on Death Row for long periods during many appeals compared with 
incarceration .  (A lomg period on Death Row has also been recognized 
elsewhere as cruel and inhumane punishment.)

That could possibly, just possibly, be a way to a more rational approach 
to the whole method of incarceration.  Most people in prison will be 
released in time.  What does society want them to be like when they are 
released?

Roger