Lock 'em Up?

wikipedia

A picture of ex-congressman Robert Menendez about to begin his eleven-year imprisonment got me thinking again about the desired and actual value of incarceration.  I'm sure such penalties do make politicians more careful in how they subvert the law, but it seems pretty clear the threat is not really effective as a deterrent.

Our local DA has been harping lately on the need for accountability to discourage criminal activity, including gun violence committed by teenagers.  I would suggest that locking up children is of no use whatsoever.  The issue with teenagers and a lot of immature adults is largely one of impulse control.  That kind of personality deficit is immune to anything short of immediate consequences. Publicizing the idea that violent acts might result in getting caught and suffering legal retribution has all the deterrent impact of a mosquito bite.

Meanwhile, the eleven-year sentence handed down to Menendez is going the have the primary result of costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands.  It seems to me that a more effective strategy would be to put the congressman to work doing useful tasks in the community like street cleaning, perhaps in a striped uniform.  (And, just a year or two of that might suffice.) Of course, there would still be a cost in regard to compliance and security, but at least taxpayers would be getting something tangible for their money.

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Ex-Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner given house arrest (Aljazera)

Prison abolition movement in the United States (wikipedia)