Essay Mar 13
Discussion question –
What do you think of Ingersoll’s ideas about corporal and capital punishment.
I will address only the
first part of this related to corporal punishment and to children.
The statement "Spare
the rod, spoil the child" although not in the Bible is often quoted as a
justification for corporal punishment. But if we slightly altered the
punctuation and capitalization we might have a different perspective.
Imagine if it were
written “Spare the rod. Spoil the child.” This would require parents to find
alternative ways to discipline their children and reduce the images described
by Ingersoll of a parent with a “face red with vulgar anger, and the face of
the little child, with eyes swimming in tears and the little chin dimpled with
fear, like a piece of water struck by a sudden cold wind.”
This would require
parents to pause a moment, gather themselves, and respond appropriately, but
the paddling, strapping, or slapping provides an instant release of their
frustration or anger and in most cases, that is an action they’ve observed as a
child by their parent. I have never paddle, slapped, or hit my three children
and they have turned out well, so you don’t have to.
Parents only do it
because they can get away with it. How would they like it if their employer
disciplined them corporally? There it would be considered as assault and it is
no different for children.
Capital forms of punishment historically do not work. The Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia was turned into a Penitentiary House in the late 1700s. Inmates were kept in strict solitary confinement where they experienced less than ten minutes outside of their cell per day. From this system, two major philosophies of penal reform came about: The New York system and the Pennsylvania System. The Pennsylvania system was based in Quaker values while the New York system was largely driven by political opinions of the time. While the PA system was based in "kindness" the New York system believed that the only way to reform a prisoner was to first break them down. Only then could they be built back up into a model citizen. Both of these system thrived well into the 1900s, but unfortunately, were not very effective for the actual prisoners. It was not until educational programs in prison became more common that true reform began taking place.
ReplyDeleteThe most effective form of prison management is one in which a prisoner can be engaged and educated during their incarceration. Education has been shown to significantly reduce recidivism rates--the rate at which a prisoner returns to prison after his or her initial release. Colleges have begun partnering with correctional institutions and now many inmates are eligible for degrees. Having a degree significantly improves an inmate's chances of finding a job after release. Furthermore, the benefits gained from education can be extended through supplementary programs.
Supplementary programs include things such as book clubs, sports teams, and my personal favorite, debate teams. Debate teams in prisons have shown tremendous (and unique) benefits that help the inmates while in prison but also after their release. Debate uniquely teaches critical thinking skills, presentation skills, and how to diffuse a problem. Inmates who participate in debate programs have shown to be more likely deescalate potentially violent situations.
Norfolk Prison has had a debate team since the 1920s and they have had incredible success. Alumni from their team include Malcolm X, and they have beaten Harvard, Oxford, MIT, and several other prominent schools.
If prison reform is something anybody is interested in, I'm happy to discuss it with you. I'm currently working on a thesis about reform, and I intend to extend it into a dissertation.
Amazing that we still have to tell people not to abuse children.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many incarcerated people were subject to corporal punishment, and more generally deprived of love and nurture, as children.