PRISONER EXPRESS

I have read in several newspapers that many States abolished their parole programs as an act of getting 'tough on crime' towards career criminals. I guess a sort of political belief was developed that states that if parole is taken away prison sentences become lengthier; and more prisons are built, then you now have a definite way of locking these criminals up and keeping them locked up for the rest of their lives. That way, the public doesn't have to worry about Joe the Robber or Jane the Murderer coming back on the streets after serving only a portion of their prison sentence. If it is certain beyond doubt that Joe and Jane have no intentions of ending these careers of crime, then perhaps this is what they deserve.

But there is nothing 'career' about a person who gets involved with a crime for the very first time. All humans make mistakes; some more severe than others. But the role of government is to issue punishment in the name of justice and fairness. Not to play the role as psychics and say: "They did it once and in the future they'll do it again." This is not fair towards the 1st time offender.

And the hypocrisy of charging offenders who committed their crimes while under the age of 21, as adults, reaches the level of insanity. In America, you must be 21 years old to purchase alcoholic beverages, and to own a handgun. If a person is not mature enough to legally purchase a pistol or get drunk, how can they be mature enough to fully understand their crimes while using these same objects? Yet several thousand sit in prisons with lengthy sentences and no possibility of a parole or early release.

Mandatory minimums and structured sentencing should be abolished and replaced with mandatory education and structured imprisonment. The majority of prisoners I have met regret and are ashamed by their crime. They come from environments where proper social ethics are not taught, nor practiced. Once a person sincerely understands their wrong of committing crime, and are instructed on the proper ways of civility and self-improvement, chances are they'll become productive members of society. Why should not Parole be available for such a person?

Anyone determined to live a life of crime should not receive an early release. To deny a rehabilitated prisoner the possibility of parole is ridiculous.