This week’s post and discussion topic is very familiar to me. My dad has
been in law enforcement almost my entire life. I have gotten to see first-
hand and meditate over how effective and legitimate our current penal
system is in the USA. I have come to agree with the author’s conclusion
that “Surely a society with creativity sufficient to put a person on the
moon need not to settle for a failed system of punishment here on earth.”
I do believe that there is room for some justice reform with the current
system. However, I don’t feel like we need to fully start over from scratch
and just throw everything out. In relation to the post, specifically with the
continue failed “War on Drugs” in the United States, I have had many
conversations with people about how simply decriminalizing drugs will not
fix the issue. I am aware that multiple issues do plague our system
(overcrowded prisons, drug crimes, racial oppression, etc. In my opinion, I
believe a potential change to punishments for crimes would be the most
impactful option. The author goes into detail about multiple potential
options for dealing with minor, non-violent crimes without jail time,
focuses mainly on first-time offenders. Of the options listed, there is one
that stuck out to me the most. Community service would be a great
alternative for minor first-time drug offenses. It would be ideal if they
could even serve those hours in the community and areas that they
messed up in. It is my belief that it would open their eyes to the damage
they caused and possible road their life could be heading down towards.
Another good option that I believe would help is focusing more on
addiction/mental health treatment instead of jail time. A lot of first time or
minor drug crime offenders need help. However, if the system is so
focused on just throwing them in prison then who is helping them improve
and work through what they need too? There are states that are
beginning to do this and all of the statistics are positive so far. One of the
states is California. Since 2000 when this became a healthy alternative
around 85% of first-time offenders do not commit another drug crime
after going through therapy and addiction recovery. There are also
amazing statistics on organizations helping those people get jobs that
help improve their quality of life.
McQuilkin, Robert, Copan, Paul. An Introduction to Biblical Ethics. IVP
Academic. 2013.
