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In Maine, prisoners are thriving in remote jobs

(www.mainepublic.org)
245 points voxadam | 3 comments | 22 Sep 25 22:51 UTC | HN request time: 0.862s | source
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taurath ◴[22 Sep 25 23:07 UTC] No.45340733[source]▶
If we get serious about actual rehabilitation in prisons instead of punishment there’s never been a better time to be able to learn just about anything on your own time. But we’d have to stop dehumanizing criminals. Dehumanization seems to be the trend that the US is leading on right now.

We can also be concerned about the incentives for prison labor - for profit prisons and all the many service providers that get paid a mint. Phone calls in many prisons are like $10. Labor gangs and the such. It’s just horrible how badly we treat people in the US for some middleman to make money.

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coolestguy ◴[22 Sep 25 23:11 UTC] No.45340773[source]▶
>Dehumanization seems to be the trend that the US is leading on right now.

Criminals have to want to stop doing crime before they can be rehabilitated.

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1. tomrod ◴[22 Sep 25 23:14 UTC] No.45340790[source]▶
Les Mis is a great treatment of exactly this, even if fictional. It takes more than justice to reform the soul. It takes making room by society to forgive the repentant. We call this mercy, and it is the higher ideal.
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2. ryandrake ◴[22 Sep 25 23:20 UTC] No.45340849[source]▶
If it's too much for society to forgive someone who has done their time, the very least society could do is to stop actively fighting their rehabilitation.

Whenever a read a story about someone who's been to prison and then ends up a solid, productive member of society, I can't help but think: "This person must have extraordinary grit and determination!" Because when a criminal gets out of prison, the entire system and the entire society is set up to try to oppose his rehabilitation and get him back into prison. Overcoming this active hostility must take a remarkable person.

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3. BjoernKW ◴[23 Sep 25 00:10 UTC] No.45341287[source]▶
> "This person must have extraordinary grit and determination!" Because when a criminal gets out of prison, the entire system and the entire society is set up to try to oppose his rehabilitation and get him back into prison. Overcoming this active hostility must take a remarkable person.

This is precisely the story of Les Misérables - that remarkable person being Jean Valjean.