JUST A LITTLE PREGNANT

The "nonviolent" mantra has become a politically correct position for politicians and misguided prison reformers. These people believe if the so-called "nonviolent" are removed from prisons, the problem of dysfunctional prisons will be solved.

In other words, the system is just a little pregnant.

Associate Professor Andrea Roth, U.C. Berkley School of Law (1) has taken a more realistic bite out of the reality apple when she says, "Obama's focus on criminal justice reform is welcome and arguably unprecedented, rhetoric suggesting that we can curtail mass incarceration through leniency only toward nonviolent drug offenders is flawed and counterproductive."

The current judicial and punishment-driven prison systems are not serving society. Both systems assure nonviolent offenders will become violent, and the violent offenders will become more violent. Addressing one faction of a dysfunctional system is like sweeping the dust under the carpet.

For judicial reformation to take place, people have to understand that a system established to rid society of crime actually contributes to the crime problem.

Psychologists advise—and anyone with a functioning brain knows—severe punishment leaves psychological scars and is detrimental to the psychological development of children. Yet politicians are still convinced more punishment is the answer to the war on crime. Victim advocate groups demand more punishment, which, in the long run, produces more victims.

Philosophers have professed for years the futility and toxic addiction of punishment. Rouseau, in A Discourse on Political Economy (1758), wrote: "The severity of penalties is only a vain resource, to substitute terror for that respect which they have no means of obtaining."

Emerson, in "Compensation" essays (1841), wrote: "Crime and punishment grow out of one stem."

Nietzsche, in the Genealogy of Morals (1887), wrote: "Punishment hardens and numbs, it produces concentration, it sharpens the consciousness of alienation, it strengthens the power of resistance."

Misguided advocates professing nonviolent reform are doing more harm than good. The nonviolent mantra fosters further prejudice toward those with violent, serious, or sexual brands.

Demagogues have used "violent offender" scare tactics for years as a means to their financial ends. In recent media, these scare tactics have backfired. With the federal court's order to reduce the prison population, California was found short on prisoner/slave firefighters, whom are billed as "nonviolent." To fill the void, knowing the so-called "violent" prisoners were not all that violent, California proposed to put the "violent; now not-so-violent" on the fireline.

However, the well-conditioned public uproared. "NO VIOLENT PRISONERS!"

California had done such a good job scaring the citizenry, they are now scrambling to find prisoner/slave firefighters. The fox did too good of a job, describing all chickens as dangerous.

Instead of preaching "nonviolent" reform, let's get real and demand "JUDICIAL AND PRISON" reform.

3 January 2016

Robert H. Outman
Prisoner P-79939

http://betweenthebars.org/blogs/895/

(1) SJRA/ADVOCATE
Oct-Nov 2015, pg 1