It is one of those supreme ironies that the United States of America, the “land of the free and the home of the brave”, has the highest per capita rate of of any country in the world.

It is also interesting that this fact, as with most, is always being used by “both sides of the aisle” and other special interest groups to support their respective positions depending on the argument they are trying to make.

For instance, one way of interpreting the U.S. being the world’s leading jailer is that it is just the cost of living in a free and open society and it comes with the territory.

Another viewpoint might take the “tough on crime” approach justifying long prison sentences as a deterrent against crime.

Others may blame the lack of genuine rehabilitation for the prisons becoming “graduate schools for crime” which also greatly contributes to the increase in recidivism.

In 1992 the Boston Globe reported that: few statistics about the United States are more startling than the growth of the prison populations during the quarter-century since Americans abandoned the war on poverty!

Of all of the suspected influences of skyrocketing prison populations, I believe that poverty is one of the greatest and most significant factors.

Thomas Jefferson’s favorite book by Cesare Beccaria is “Dei Delitti e delle Pene” (On Crime and Punishment) and is said to be one of the most thought provoking books on criminal justice. Among other things, Beccaria stresses that the law should not encompass more than what is necessary to  maintain the public order.

Even though I too subscribe to Beccaria’s school of thought, the expectation is that our Judges be blessed with the wisdom of Solomon. A tall order but certainly something worth striving for!