Rehabilitation assumes a child-parent relationship between the criminal and state. Rehabilitation has been used, by so-called liberals, as an excuse for providing luxurious accomodation in prisons. I believe in individual freedom - to the extent that I would abolish if I could, many of the UK’s laws that inhibit personal freedom for no-one’s benefit - but with freedom comes responsibility and, particularly, responsibility for one’s actions.

A Tangled Web has rightly observed that Clarke’s rhetoric about local prisons is yet more pandering to the rejects of society. We must be thankful the Liberal Democrats aren’t more popular - then criminals would have the vote.

A Tangled Web also, rightly, makes the distinction between the majority of prisoners, who are there for nasty crimes, from those like the retired vicar imprisoned for not paying the unreasonable 8% increase in his Council Tax.

See ATW’s post.


Posted In: Political