The effectiveness of retributive justice, which uses incarceration as the major tool for punishment in response to crime, is currently being questioned. Harsh critiques of the system abound, citing failures to address adequately victim needs and the root causes of the complex social problems underlying crime, such as poverty, racial inequality, unemployment, citizenship, and inadequate mental health service provision. Critics also highlight the stigmatization that occurs post- incarceration, creating problems that have long-lasting effects on exoffenders that often extend to their families. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (“NAACP”) detailed the NAACP’s in-depth report on these serious consequences, Misplaced Priorities: Over Incarcerate, Under Educate, concludes, “[s]pending time in prison reduces people’s health quality; makes it more difficult to obtain jobs, higher education, housing, and day care for their children; and in many cases, prevents them from voting when they do return to their communities.
Inga N. Laurent