Part IV - Corrections

Summary

At this point we assume conviction and consider appropriate institutional responses. Although punishment is usually taken for granted as the appropriate institutional response and has generated a vast and sophisticated literature in its own right, we endeavor not only to introduce some of the central elements of that discussion, including the capital punishment debate, but also to raise for consideration some of the restorative justice challenges that have recently been made to the punishment paradigm. Again, the discussion is intended to be suggestive rather than definitive. Beyond that, we consider the form that punishment should take – focusing particularly on the recent heavy reliance on imprisonment. Although we question that reliance, we look at the ethical obligations of prison officers and society's larger obligations to ensure that those who go into prison not only have the opportunity to come out better but are also enabled to reestablish their place in society.