Readers React: Incarceration isn’t creative
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Patt Morrison raises such a good question. I’ve always thought public shaming would be a more effective deterrent for low-level criminals. (“Is public shaming fair punishment?,” Opinion, May 24)
After reading her column, I tried but found no research on the subject.
On the other hand, we know that prison does little or nothing to rehabilitate those who are incarcerated and in fact probably turns many small-time perpetrators into hardened criminals. And we know how expensive prisons are. What is the harm in trying more of these creative sentences for some low-level lawbreakers?
Hopefully, more research will be done comparing the outcomes. As to the question of whether it is fair, it’s certainly at least as fair as prison, and it’s probably more effective.
Janet Chesne
Santa Monica
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