By Sarah Connelly In Texas, a woman named Sharanda Jones is sitting in prison, serving a life sentence without parole for a first-time, nonviolent cocaine offense. She will die in jail. In Norway, another man, Anders Breivik, sits in prison. He murdered 77 people in an act of right-wing terrorism, and he has the potential to get out in ten years. He could walk free by 2022. It would be simple to assume that making a habit of locking away small-time criminals and drug offenders for life would keep petty crime off the streets, and that a lax system which allows neo-Nazi mass murderers to walk free so quickly would leave a country in shambles, destroyed by criminals who have no reason to fear capture. And yet these things are never quite that simple. As it would turn out, Norway has one of the most successful criminal justice systems in the world. Countries like Sweden and Finland, who use similar methods of corrections, are doing just as well. The United States correctional system, on the other hand, is a huge failure.
Guards do not carry weapons, as opposed to American correctional officers who are armed to the teeth with pepper spray, handcuffs, batons, and Tasers. Prisoners are allowed to wear their own clothes and cells look like pages out of an IKEA catalogue. Another startling disparity comes in sentencing; in Norway, no matter what you do, you can only be sentenced to a maximum sentence of 21 years. You could, like Anders Behring Breivik, murder 77 people, and by law, you could not be guaranteed a stay in jail longer than 21 years. However, it’s important to recognize that he will likely never leave his cell. The Norwegian government can keep people in custody as long as they are deemed a threat to society. The 21-year sentence is only there to allow for those who have been rehabilitated a chance to get out. And it makes sense - after all, a main goal of prison should be reforming criminals so they can slide right back into society, healed and ready to start over. Think back to Sharanda Jones, the woman who was sentenced to life for a single cocaine offense. She was a business owner and a mother looking to make easy money. She has watched her daughter grow up from a jail cell and says that selling cocaine once sixteen years ago was the worst mistake she ever made. She will never even have an opportunity to prove she has changed, and instead will die in jail. But as nice as it would be, a penal system like Norway’s could never work in America. We are a capitalist country - our culture values personal responsibility and we would never be willing to pay to carry out an experiment this radical. Because Norway is so heavy on social welfare and economic equality, they have very low poverty and crime rates anyway, and therefore very few prisoners. It’s easier to give five-star care to a handful of people. But with nearly 1 in every 100 Americans behind bars, we just don’t have the resources to buy them all laptops and ping-pong tables. So while we could never make the complete transition to a welfare state with prisons that look like college dorms, it doesn’t mean we can’t take some lessons from our Scandinavian friends. Perhaps it’s time we reevaluate the idea of “life without parole,” especially for nonviolent offenders. Maybe an update from concrete cells and militarized guards would shift the focus of prison from fear to reform. Because after all, if prison isn’t reducing crime rates and helping people turn their lives around, what is it for? Comments are closed.
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Elena Caputo
Hi! My name is Elena, and I'm a senior at Wilson and one of the Editors of the Editorial section. If you have any questions or ideas or if you want to write, email me at [email protected]! Olivia MonosHello! My name is Olivia and I'm a junior this year, and one of the editors of the Editorial section! I'm really excited to write for the Paw Print again this year!
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