nishment is to act as a deterrent to more crime -- but each one believes there is more to it than that.
These writers believe that much of the current reaction to crime, such as three-strikes laws and calls for more and longer imprisonment, are reactions based on fear. While that fear is justified, the authors also hold that the answer is not just more punishment. Jenish and Chisholm, writing in the Canadian magazine Maclean's, begin with a discussion of a famous murderer who was not caught until fifteen years after his crime. He was convicted, received a life sentence, jailed for ten years and then released. He has a job and, the parole board insists, shows no sign of being a danger to the community. The victim's family is protesting his release. The authors then discuss sensational cases of violent criminals who have been released or paroled and have committed further horrifying crimes and note that politicians are listening to people, reacting to these cases, who are calling for harsher, longer sentences and far less parole. They hold that this position ignores the fact that violent crimes are down in Canada and reflects great fear rather than a reasoned response to the problem.
Politicians and parole boards have responded to public demand and paroles were severely reduced. Jenish and Chisholm argue that by responding to public hysteria over a few cases the authorities are ignoring the importance of the parole system in hundreds of other cases. They believe that parole boards do not make sufficient distinctions between habitual violent criminals and others and that the numbers who can be helped by parole (especially those who are serving fixed sentences in which an additional year, that could be spent on parole, is not going to make any difference). Deterrence is the point of punishment in the authors' opinion but getting the individual back into society is an important part of the process. Not addressing the drug ...