Good news regarding prison reform! The Vera Institute of Justice is coming to Colorado. Their mission statement states that Vera “combines expertise in research, demonstration projects, and technical assistance to help leaders in government and civil society improve the systems people rely on for justice and safety.” That pretty much says it all. Vera has done remarkable things in other states and we applaud Governor Ritter, Department of Corrections’ officials and all others who have cooperated with The Vera institute and who are embracing prison reform. I truly believe that, with our worsening recession, it is imperative that we turn away from punishment and toward rehabilitation. For those who want to be tough on crime, warehousing prisoners and mindlessly long sentences have helped bankrupt America – and have made us no safer. So we can continue to blather about “coddling criminals” while our country is bleeding, our schools are crumbling, and we can’t take basic care of our old, young, poor, and our sick. The Politics of Retribution are so self-defeating and soooooo 20th century.
On to a more enlightened 21st.
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Posted by admin @ 11:34 pm
One Response
August 31st, 2008 at 6:27 am
acai…
Thanks for posting this, bookmarked!…