Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 1, 1 January 2010 — Prison not a deterrence to crime [ARTICLE]

Prison not a deterrence to crime

Regardless of our personal feelings toward the rapist, child molester and murderer, whether their crime be an act of domestic violence or some other heinous event, the threat of prison does not work. In order to address antisocial behavior, our children must learn that emotions are a good thing, and that they should not be suppressed or allowed to adversely affect our actions. Anger is OK; it is what you do with it that is the problem. Recently our state has taken a tremendous leap backward in its cutting of social-services funding and the failing of a state bill to provide for prison reform. Our state's schools, libraries and mental-heath providers, already underfunded, must endure further budget restraints. Obviously our state leaders fail to see the forest for its trees. If we wish to address violent crime and other antisocial behavior in our society, we must first attack its roots. Miehael Spiker Paralegal inmate/advocate