I am by no means a legal scholar but based on my frail experience, courses related to its end, and watching of legal scholars spout of the American legal system failings, I feel I do have some opinion I would like to present.

First, the adversarial system has proven to have its flaws in the determination of justice toward our people. It works too hard on pinning guilt on one side or the other and works little to spell out the truth and reformation of the guilty party. Sure criminals should be pursued, but in many cases the actions of the legal mechanisms working to put people in jail are just to solely fulfill an ineptly-sought legislative need or the put the case to rest for the victims of the crime (or crimes) without enough real evidence to support a conviction.

The criminalization of a variety of offenses is also weighing down America’s judicial system. The extreme and frivolous cost to provide shelter without dignity, without obligation to improve the inmate, without developing interpersonal skills of said inmate is actually causing more violence to occur while serving the sentence and further promotes it after service of their sentence in society. Yet some would argue people are solely responsible for their actions. That society is not at fault or has no blame in the proverbial ‘monsters’ that exist. They would be wrong.

Environment and genetics play more than just a passing role in our makeup as individuals. People instinctually are driven to what they know too well – ask any psychologist or psychiatrist. They take up the actions of their role models and care providers. Their genetic background is even more decisively influential than in others with less prevalent contact with negative influences due to how we find cyclical problems take place due to poor backgrounds and genetic misalignment.

But even more generally, stick a person in a run-down, crack-prevalent, fatherless, motherless, friendless atmosphere and barely provide them food, adequate shelter, and honest love, plus saddle them with alcoholic or addictive-obsessive tendencies and the cards are stacked against them more than 10,000 to 1. A remote few make it, but not without a extraordinary gifts, usually athletic, intellectual, or artistic endeavors drive a very few bright minds onward through these nearly overwhelming obstacles, but oftentimes, emotional baggage and self-confidence will lack and that will play a significant role in even their best relationships in life. On the other hand, the ones without a super gift – one that is easily seen – will most likely turn to anything that helps garner needs, dignity, and respect for self, without regard for society, usually because no one was there for them. And generally we punish this, without remorse, compassion or mercy, and then expect these lost souls to find all the answers. (God is all they can have. Because no one else cares enough.)

This has been said before and will be said countless times hereafter, that the best a society can do is focus efforts towards preventative treatment of these personal tragedies. This is the only way to overcome the truly tragic nature of a problem: to maintain it, before it gets broken.

In concert with that thought, I would ask for reduction of sentences for less heinous crimes to foster the reduction of convicts in the prison system. America is the most penal society in the world. (Over 2,000,000 prisoners) Why? Because many crimes involving lesser offenses are being considered for long jail time, instead of immediate rehabilitative and positive-reinforcing situations. We start many persons at such an early age toward a wrecked life, without nearly no possibility of correction, due to a society that judges the idea of someone "doing time" as being an irreparable human, not worthy of further consideration. It takes a long and lucky road to manage out of it. (Nearly 4 in 5 inmates come back.) It also takes love of an unusual sort, not found in many hearts I am afraid to say.

If this impetus was done appropriately the results would work in a decade or two of time – we would raise children in loving environments, remove at least the environmental aspect of destruction, give a better opportunity to make it out of the situations, and have punishment fit the crimes in many cases.

You may say what about the victims? Where is their justice? The justice sought is vengeful and not helpful. The reparation is meaningless if we continue generating more criminals, more prisons, and more judicial actions. Everyone is a victim. If a crime is committed, there is a victim, but is it always a needed policy to slap the hand hard and expect it to work in stopping a further crime later? Do we not think that the perpetrator most likely was victimized at an earlier age? Did they receive any justice for that crime committed? So who really does need that help? It takes great will to help someone without opportunities that most would consider just ordinary needs and wants when that person is so hurt and so lost to what we consider "normal" in our society... Think about your makeup and understand if miserable things had happen to you, most likely, you would be quite lost and without hope.

We may never reach a point in all society to eliminate crime. It exists in subtler and yet more detrimental forms – white-collar crime, ponzi schemes, fraud, and non-disclosure of inherent risks are just a sampling of situations that effect us all. What is their excuse? I can say the disenchantment with an otherwise normal life – or upheaval in that normal life is generally the case. Then again, improvement to a superior level is also a motive. The overall work to help all people is tough.

I know this from my own experience and my own personal failing as a human being in so many ways, even some that are nearly -criminal in small ways, but ways that have yet to be considered heinous. I wish I knew at times how to improve this world completely – the convergence of information, personalities, situations, cultures, and religious beliefs has to lead to a more forgiving, fostering, devoted and loving world of our own creation, or else it is in the hands of some 'God' to make it what it should be...sometime, if ever at all. 

Simplicity is tough to get –and we have to start with the biggest monster of our creation – persons without homes, love, or a life skill to harness the bare necessities we envision a baby should have. All is not easy – it will always take time, patience, and sacrifice. Mistakes will be made – and tragedy can happen even with the best of intentions – but throwing away the goal is not going to bring about the change we ultimately need and desire in the people we tend to overlook and dismiss most readily, prisoners of a bad life. Subjugation perennially to bad circumstance does create generations upon generations of persons never far from the cell or prison of life; that we as a society are obligated to take up the mantle of responsibility to better these people and inherently our very selves in every way.