Corrections, Part 12

Question 1: Discuss the Texas Prison Suit (Ruiz v. Estelle).

Answer 1: In the 1972 Federal court case Ruiz v. Estelle, an inmate of the Texas Department of Corrections named David Ruiz sued the prison director over the conditions in the prison system, citing overcrowding, inadequate security, unsafe working conditions, inadequate healthcare, and severe disciplinary measures. The court ruled that prison conditions were pernicious, that inmates in the system had justifiable fears, and that reforms on the part of the prison system were necessary. Despite this decision being upheld by a higher court, it took a decade for significant reforms to appear in the Texas prison system, which officials argued was the best in the country.

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Question 2: Discuss the role of rehabilitation in the criminal justice system.

Answer 2: Rehabilitation is the return of criminals to general society with the criminal elements of their behavior modified or removed. It is based on the idea that criminals can lead productive, honest lives when returned to general society if the roots of their behavior are addressed and altered so that the behavior, and the need for that behavior, is eliminated. There is some debate as to what role rehabilitation should play in the sentencing of criminals, with some arguing that it is the most effective use of the criminal justice system, others arguing that the roots of crime are not understood well enough for true rehabilitation to be effected, and still others believing that rehabilitation is simply neither possible nor necessary, and that the criminal justice system should emphasize deterrence and proportional retribution instead.

Question 3: Discuss the role of retribution in criminal justice.

Answer 3: Retribution is the idea there should be a proportional relationship between a crime and its punishment -- or, in the words of 18th century philosopher Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria, society should try to make the punishment as analogous as possible to nature of the crime. This differs from the philosophy of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth in that it is not necessary to inflict the same act upon the criminal that the criminal has exacted upon the victim but that the punishment is proportional, with the most serious crimes having the most severe punishments.

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