Can we get rid of jail time?

No more Jail Time?

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/19/opinion/steinberg-juvenile-crime/index.html

            What are some changes that society could bring to pass that would create little or no jail time?  Can costs be cut to make jail cheaper? This is a question that I am not really sure I have the answer too.  I understand the concept that one must “pay” for the crimes that they have committed and that in order to do so we feel that they should stay in a cell and get free meals as well as an education or even health care.  To me something seems a little off.  There is the argument that we are hoping that they will learn something while they are in jail and hopefully get the criminal to realize that what he/she did was wrong and help them understand that they no longer want to be in that environment. 

            The article that I was reading talks about two boys that are in jail without the chance of parole. Kuntrell Jackson was caught being a lookout for some of his friends that went into a convince store and robbed it and killed the clerk.  The other case is involving Evan Miller who performed a brutal murder and went back to the scene to try and cover it up.  These 2 boys may not have the chance for parole they are to live their life in a jail cell.  “There are more than 2,500 people serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for crimes they committed when they were juveniles. Some were as young as 13 when they were sent to prison”.  These cases to me are very different one young man was in a since caught in the middle but did not perform a murder the other however was there and intentionally planned out the action of murder.  So who decides, who decides if Kuntrell can get out and live his life or will he need to be in jail for the rest of his life is there no other way for him to “do his time?”  This is a topic that is discussed a lot maybe there is a way for him to perform a service project of keep him under probation.  This article mentions that “In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that life without parole for juveniles convicted of crimes other than homicide violated the Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, a ruling that extended the court's logic in its 2005 decision to abolish the juvenile death penalty. In both of these cases, the court held that because adolescents are not as responsible for their actions as adults, they should not be punished as harshly, even for the same crimes.”  I can argue back that Evan knew what he was doing he had planned to go to his neighbors house and he intentionally went back to the house to cover up what he knew was bad. That was a very adult decision. 

            I do not think that jail time can be fully done away with I believe that there are some crimes that cannot and should not be forgiven and that in some cases have caused a lot of agony and grief and if the person did get out of jail there are some that would be frightened for their lives.  But then who decides what is a crime that you can get out for and what one must stay in jail for.  I can only imagine what money we would be able to save.  I only wish there was a way to change the system to in some way help individuals know and understand that they can be good that they do not need to be a part of a gang or fall into peer pressure.  That kind of education can only be done in the home but in some cases so many homes are broken.  As you can see I have not been able to fully wrap my mind around how to really change it but I can imagine that it would be a wonderful time if and when we could be able to stop crime and be without incarceration.