I’m wondering why the use of shame and humiliation isn’t used more often as an alternative to jail sentences.
The most plausible objection I’ve found seems to be that there are other alternatives that are better than those two choices. But even if that’s true, there are enough doubts about public acceptance of those possibly better alternatives that it seems odd not to give some encouragement to an alternative to prison that seems to have some political feasibility.
One comment on “Shaming versus Prison”
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Shame was already tried. There are liberals out there that insisted that shaming was “crual and unusual punishment” though. They convinced a jury that it was against Constitutional Rights, forgetting that rights are given up when you do something wrong.
There is another alternative that has hit the media. It’s to build a secured TOWN instead of a prison. The focus would be on EDUCATION instead of on punishment. Inmates would stay in dorm rooms instead of cells. The town would have it’s own Trade Tech and University. With a higher education, the recidivism rate would plummet.
There’s a group starting up who are interested in investing in just such an alternative. You can read the blog at gracetowne.blogspot.com if you’re interested.