Vol. 4, No. 1, 1998 Page 8

QUOTABLE: Jay B. Marcus

"In an article in Paris Match (July 31, 1991), the French Minister [of Justice] said that `prison should have a punitive and deterrent value; but it should also prepare the inmate for his return to society.' To accomplish his laudable reform objectives, the Minister was able to construct a new `luxury' prison with classrooms, workshops, recreation halls and a gymnasium. It provided educational and vocational training, there was no overcrowding, and psychiatrists and psychologists were readily available to attend to the inmate population. But despite all the outer trappings of reform, the experiment failed miserably. Changing the environment won't have the same rehabilitative effect as changing the milieu int‚rieur, and shortly after the prison was built, the inmates rioted and burned the prison to the ground."
Jay B. Marcus, in
The Crime Vaccine, 1996

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