In Wilber Rideau's "Why Prisons Don't Work" he argues that prisons have little to no effect on crime because "it is a response after the fact, a mop-up operation." He explains that prison does not deter criminals, but instead causes them to leave or stay the same way they came in, which is uneducated and unskilled. Rideau also argues that prisoners tend to stay the same with their criminal lifestyle, because being behind bars is their life or a large portion of it. Furthermore, he claims that young men are mostly the ones committing these harsh crimes, and after fifteen to thirty years in prison, are seen as little to no risk to society. He adds that penologists have studied murder and say it is "almost always a once-in-a-lifetime act." Also, Rideau points out that prisons focus more on giving criminals long, extensive amounts of time rather than taking more action into rehabilitating them, which he believes can be the solution to the prison system. Lastly, he explains that the most crucial thing that our society can do to prevent crime is to educate the young masses the respect of others, that violence is not the solution to conflicts, and to teach and accommodate them with intelligence to seek their desires in a considerable way. Although I agree with Rideau in that rehab can work for some criminals, ones who have committed mid-level, non-severe crimes crimes, I cannot accept his overall conclusion that prisoners who have done very ruthless, serious things such as murders and numerous raping should have a chance to be let free into society.
Rideau states that prisons insufficiently deters criminals and actually induces prisoners to cause more crime in the future, rather than preventing them, which is in fact true. However, this is only true in a sense that the crime being committed by the criminal is relatively minor and non-harsh. These could be any of the following crimes: robbery, burglary, larceny, grand theft, embezzlement, forgery, counterfeiting, assault, battery, drug manufacturing, distribution, and possession.
