ray b said:
a DUI without hurting anyone
should not land one in a hard core max prison
but a rehab type place without predatory type people
I agree. Someone getting repeated DUIs is not likely doing it because they have a criminal intent, but more likely has a substance abuse problem that needs to be treated. It makes no sense at all to lock them up in a maximum security prison with rapists and murderers. Non-violent offenders whose crimes are primarily related to substance abuse problems need a different facility from those who are violent offenders or who actually have criminal intent. Every effort should also be made to identify those violent offenders who have committed their crimes because of treatable mental illnesses (such as schizophrenia, as mentioned above). For some of these people, until treatment is effective, they are every bit as dangerous as hardened criminals, so they may still need a maximum security facility, but that should also mean maximum security FOR the inmates, not FROM the inmates.
If we expect to release people from prison, which we do, then we shouldn't be subjecting them to conditions that return them to society worse off than when they went in. It makes no sense to make them less capable of assimmilating back into society upon their release. That only increases the likelihood of recidivism.
Of course, prison is not meant to be a country club either...we don't want people committing new crimes after leaving because it's a better life for them in prison than out of prison (for some, it is...3 squares and a cot is better than being hungry and sleeping in a cardboard box somewhere). But it needn't be a hell hole either.
Why are these things not changed? Money. It will be expensive to revamp the entire prison system. To treat the mentally ill as mentally ill rather than caging them up and ignoring their illness will require improvements to facilities, increased personnel, and all of the related medical treatment. But, converting a number of prisons to maximum security mental hospitals and treating the root of these people's problems rather than the symptoms would likely go a long way toward reducing recidivism. It would also take a change in mentality about sentencing. Instead of sentences defined by time limits, sentences defined by progress would be better in those cases. When the inmate/patient is on a treatment that is effective, and stabilized, and has had sufficient time to overcome any addictions to the extent they are likely to be able to stay clean once released, then release them. Otherwise, if they are not effectively stabilized, or are resistant to available treatments, then hold them longer, or transfer to a longer term mental hospital for continuation of care.
Trying to get such changes implemented, and the money for them is certainly tough when you have so many people with the attitude that these prisoners are simply the scum of the Earth rather than people with problems that need to be addressed. Some will always be too unsafe to return to society...the murderer or serial rapist who will do it again the moment they miss a few doses of medication, so needs lifelong supervision to ensure they take their medication.
If you treated all those in prison because of mental illness as mentally ill and not criminal, then the only people left to deal with would be those who are more of opportunists and commit crimes because they know/think they can get away with it to get rich quick, such as con artists, drug dealers (not users), and white collar criminals.
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