The United States’ rate of incarceration is the highest in the world, higher by 50% than that of the second highest: Russia. The nation and the states are heavily in debt, and prisons are a part of the cost. Prison reform has got to be a part of the conversation, not only because it is expensive, but also because the question of justice has to be answered.
The prison system has become a means by which vengeance is executed, not justice. In many cases, the victims are convinced they cannot have closure until they have “justice,” by which they mean vengeance. In other cases, the government executes “justice” in order to exact vengeance itself, without regard for what the victims may actually want or need. In fact, the actual victim has been replaced by the government, who sees itself as the victim in need of vengeance. Some crimes, for example, are defined in a way that the victim cannot refuse to press charges because the government will do so anyway. While in other cases, the victim has the right to refuse to press charges.
