Is jail punishment?
We’ve all heard it – people who are sentenced to jail are bad people. They broke the law. Even if they are otherwise good people who made a mistake, they should be locked up. We know the arguments.
But do people go to jail “as punishment” or “for punishment?”
There is a difference.
Going to jail “as punishment” means you are locked up and your loss of freedom is your punishment. Freedom is our most valuable commodity. Break the law, and you may lose your freedom, temporarily or permanently.
Going to jail “for punishment” means you go to jail to make your life miserable, or abuse you, or even torture you, as is done in North Korea or Saudi Arabia.
Some people agree with that and think we should do it here; not doing so is soft.
For the people who think North Korea (a place I vacationed) or Saudi Arabia (a place I lived) approaches are good deterrents to crime – maybe thier approach would deter YOU. But more importantly, it departs from what our Founders envisioned for our nation.
So why does the US have a ban on torture or harsh conditions?
Well before the drafting of our constitution, the kings and lords in Europe would try to make a lesson of people who broke the government’s law. Torture was not uncommon.
Our Founders understood judicial overreach imposed excessively harsh and barbaric penalties. Our Founders wanted to avoid excessive bails, fines, and cruel and unusual treatment, so much so, they banned it with the 8th Amendment of the Constitution, making it part of our national identity, and thereby separating us from North Korea and Saudi Arabia.
The 8th Amendment ensures that punishment is just and proportional and protects against the government being heavy-handed. The 8th is the American way.
Therefore, we go to jail ‘as punishment,’ not ‘for punishment.’
Some people still disagree and think we should make jail or prison harsh and torturous to reform or punish the worst offenders and deter others. That is one perspective, but that perspective is unconstitutional and therefore un-American.
We shouldn’t bend who we are because of what they do.
About the author
Paul Heroux, a native of Attleboro, is the sheriff of Bristol County, Massachusetts. Before becoming sheriff, Heroux was the mayor of Attleboro and a state representative. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University, a master’s in international relations from the London School of Economics, and a master’s in criminology from the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology and neuroscience from the University of Southern California.
Follow him on Facebook here.