The NY Times profiled four non-violent inmates serving mandatory life sentences. The article is here. Fact: of the 141,000 inmates serving life sentences, 41,000 are serving life with no chance of parole. Why is parole so disfavoured? Don't we trust the professionals who have trained to be in the position to make such a decision? Shouldn't people who are incarcerated be evaluated individually instead of collectively by the crime they were convicted of? Isn't that what this country is about? That each individual has the right to be judged by who they are as an individual, and not as a member of a race or any particular class. And yet with sentencing, we are avowed collectivists, tossing any individuality on to the trash heap of vengeful punishment. Should parole be granted sparingly for some crimes? Sure. But for the incorrigible twenty five year old who keeps getting arrested for serious but non-violent crimes, there should be a chance at redemption ten, twenty, thirty years later. Not only would the chance at parole motivate prisoners, but it is in keeping with an enlightened society that values individuals and rewards those who make themselves better. The Dolphins looked downright good yesterday. Yes, the blog has a new look. After 2,285 posts, we changed the template to all black on Saturday to mourn the children killed in the horrible tragedy last week in Newton, Connecticut. Having changed from an old style template, we couldn't go back to our cherished bubbles, so in a way we were forced to upgrade to the new look. Enjoy. Many minutes of thought went into the new look. Seven more shopping days until Christmas; 14 days until we tumble over the fiscal cliff. Last full week of work for the year. See you in court. Site Feed![]()
