A Case for Abolition
Remarks by Richard Korn, Ph.D., Dean Emeritus, Pacific
Institute for Criminal Justice, at the Symposium on Prisons.
OUR PRINCIPLES GOVERN MY POSITION:
1. Prison should be abolished. If it is not abolished, it will destroy what
we love in this country.
2. It will not be abolished unless it is replaced by a more universally
appealing proposal.
3. That proposal must promise effective relief for crime victims and must
also promise to lower violent crime rates.
4. With respect to practical implementation, I take my text from the Russian
poet Yevtushenko, who wrote, "You can't jump halfway across an abyss."
The heart of the proposal is this: Restitution instead of reprisal (or revenge),
enablement instead of disablement, reconciliation versus alienation and
exile, and prevention versus treatment. A word on each of these:
·Restitution. Adversarial trial procedure will be retained as the best
available way to find the facts. Upon a finding of guilt, the judge and
jury will assess the damages owing to the victim, both in material terms-dollars-and
in psychological terms (pain and suffering). Instead of being sentenced
to a term of years, the convicted defendant will be sentenced to make reparations
for the damage and suffering s/he has caused. In the event s/he rejects
any obligation to make reparation-the award is subject to appeal-s/he may
be remanded to prison.
·Enablement. If, as most often is the case, the convicted defendant
lacks the educational, social or technical skills to begin reparation, this
fact will be construed as an extenuating circumstance and will invoke an
obligation on the part of the community to provide him with educational
opportunities-the choice of occupation or calling being his own. During
this learning period, s/he may be required to live under some form of probationary
supervision or custody in order to monitor commitment to the program.
·Reconciliation. Because the relief of the victims depends on the ability
of most offenders to make restitution, the victims and their community have
a vested interest in the well-being and habilitation of the offender. Because
the community has become his sponsor rather than his destroyer, the offender
has a vested interest in deserving the good will of the community.
·Positive Prevention. The Chinese seer Lao-Tzu has the first and final
word: "Enabling a person to do right disables him from doing wrong."
(Promoting health renders treatment unnecessary.)
