Prison Reform Needed

Cardinal Roger Mahony’s call for justice reform is long overdue (“Bishops Urge Wide Justice Reform,” Nov. 15). Our current system of meting out “justice” is morally bankrupt. We incarcerate criminals to remove them from society so we can blithely live our lives of material content without having to further bother with them. Our attitude toward criminals is binary: They are bad and we are good. We conveniently forget that we are “good” not so much by virtue of our efforts but by the accidents of social position.

Meanwhile, a record number of our not-so-lucky fellow citizens are forced to live out their lives in sterile concrete cubicles, in prisons that are managed by a booming industry that wants to lock up even more people to the benefit of its earnings statements and by guards whose unions are aiming in a similar direction.

If we want to make any claim to decency and civility, we must rethink our imprisonment policy. Mahony’s approach is a good start. We must have a system that has rehabilitation as its primary objective. In particular, we must find ways to deal more effectively with juveniles and give them every chance to avoid a lifelong entrapment in crime. It is not only the moral thing to do, it is also more cost-effective.

PAUL W. ROSENBERGER

Manhattan Beach