I can see why shaming would be an effective punishment for any criminal. Massaro's five step regulation for effective shaming is very convincing. However, I have an issue with Massaro's last point, the point in which it states that there must be the possibility to regain esteem back to their society - the only issue is its application in society - there are little to no opportunities to better one's esteem with society when incarcerated, sentenced or otherwise.
Incarceration, in its current form, stands as an act of public shaming. Those incarcerated are often struggling with drug addiction, which has its own set of shaming problems. They are often African American and have offenses that could easily be punished without the high cost of incarceration. Massaro talks about recidivism and deterrence - and those are important statistics. Pointing out that most are victims to racial discrimination and a misunderstanding of drug abuse, most crime occurs in what is considered the transitional zone of a city. This area is in low development and most poverty is found within this section. It is no secret that poverty leads to an increase in crime and honestly, I don't think public shaming would work as well in such situations. If there is a poverty level kid arrested for stealing in the inner city, goes to jail, gets out a few years later and can't even get a job because he is considered a criminal, he returns to crime. I mean you have a bunch of desperate people that will do anything to feed their family or provide for themselves. So if someone gets arrested, it isn't seen as unusual and doesn't necessarily stop them from losing esteem with their collective group. Perhaps this is a way in which there is this continuously widening gap between the poor and the rich - there is the wider social esteem that many people lose be living in the inner cities that they should be ashamed of their circumstances.
Incarceration is often a death sentence to anyone's standing in the society. For many people, they look down on criminals as the scum of the earth - when many suffer from addictions, psychological disorders or are treated like crap in a failing system. Despite these people, which I think some forget- criminals are just people after all, they should be treated much better than they are treated now. The shame never ends for those who receive parole or are placed back out into the world. Many criminals cannot find jobs that allow them to live sufficiently (often forcing them back to crime).
If someone is a sex offender they are forced to sign up to a sex offender database, enforced by Megan's Law. There is a three degree system of how severe and the crimes range from inappropriate displays, like peeing by a school, or from any serious crimes, like rape or assault of a minor. This type of public shaming is necessary for the criminals that have serious crimes, like rape or assault. But the stigma that is attached to the database and those with minor offenses is detrimental to the people who just peed in the wrong spot or had sex with their girlfriend that was a 16.
There are so many negative stigmas that attach to criminals that it is always difficult to regain esteem in society - although it should be stated that unless that criminal has power, like Martha Stewart or OJ Simpson, these people are able to either regain self esteem with the community or avoid prison entirely.
I completely agree and think that you do an outstanding job at pointing out all of the flaws in our current system. Regardless of shame not being an aim in the punishment of our current system, criminals still experience shame indirectly. It was obvious in class on Tuesday that my position on the purpose of criminal punishment leaned towards rehabilitation but no matter what the purpose of criminal punishment, if shame is present crimes will never be able to decrease significantly. Once someone is convicted of a felony, it follows her around for the rest of her life. No matter how much she has changed or repented for her crimes, whenever she applies for a job, an apartment, or an education, she will be required to check a box on her application stating that she is a criminal. The shame she experiences from her crime will follow her around for the rest of her life; even if she wants to turn her life around, the likely hood of an employer, landlord, or admission reviewer is unlikely to put her over another candidate. Maybe I am just naïve that people are able to change and should have the opportunity to turn their lives around, but when shame is present it makes it near impossible. But if people do not have the chance to turn their lives around, they will be in bad situations that will increase the likelihood to engage in criminal behavior. It is very disturbing that the system does not allow for anyone to reconstruct their lives after being convicted of a crime. If we allowed people to keep their privacy and provided means for reconstructing their lives in ways that discouraged criminal behavior, we might be able to finally see a decrease in crimes.
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