The big question we need to ask is how committed we are to justice vs. revenge vs. rehabilitation. We need to ask ourselves if we want a system that simply warehouses people for a period of time without rehabilitation, or do we want to focus on rehabilitation?
Just to quickly compare some number (sources available upon request, or you could Google this):
Recidivism:
Norway: 20%
Canada: 35% male, 20% female
USA: 67%
Incarceration rates:
Norway: 73/10,000
Canada: 114/100,000
USA: 716/100,000
Russia: 502/100,000
Check out some of the documentaries produced by National Geographic and MSNBC - "Hard Time", "LockUp" and so on. Youtube and National Geographic Channel: http://channel.nationalgeograp...m/channel/hard-time/ (our system is a lot different from the American system, but IMHO we don't want to go this route)
There's an episode in there somewhere about prisoners with mental health issues in the justice system rather than the health system - it's the one episode that really got me down about how the "justice" system works.
Check out this photo essay on a Norwegian Prison: http://www.time.com/time/photo...9307,1989083,00.html).
Check out this CNN Opinion article on the use of solitary confinement on minors: http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/15/...solitary-confinement. And read up on the Ashley Smith case here in Canada.
(keep in mind that any media depictions are usually following an agenda of portraying these systems in either the most positive or negative light possible, but that said, it's still pretty difficult to watch at times - tell me this isn't revenge and torture)
We're not perfect, but at least we don't rank up there with Russia, Rwanda, Cuba, and the USA...