THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 8, 1995 TAG: 9508080011
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
Not content with promoting his own get-tough-on-criminals initiatives to a sympathetic audience, Gov. George Allen ridiculed those who think there's more to fighting crime than just putting everybody behind bars and throwing away the key.
That's no surprise, not even new. The governor likes the us-vs.-them approach, appealing to emotions of the frustrated instead of trying to throw public light on complex issues.
Addressing the national Fraternal Order of Police convention last week in Virginia Beach, he characterized as ``criminal apologists'' those whom he accused of blaming society for a criminal's behavior. ``This misguided philosophy regards the criminals as the victims and not as the victimizers. Today, we are living in the societal wreckage of this kind of thinking.''
We don't know any responsible campaigner for genuine criminal-justice reform who thinks those guilty of serious crimes should not be tried and, if convicted, punished appropriately.
To acknowledge that lack of education, job skills and a decent upbringing can contribute to the making of a criminal is not to be soft on crime but to try to deal with societal ills.
To question whether no-parole edicts make good policy is not to call for rash leniency but to acknowledge that even prisoners can respond to incentives to turn their lives around, hence benefiting society.
To push for programs that may help inmates, when released, to become law-abiding, contributing members of society is not to coddle wrongdoers but to treat problems such as alcoholism, drug addiction and sexual abuse that contributed to their lawbreaking.
Like much of the nation today, Governor Allen rejects serious efforts to achieve a reasonable investment balance between incarceration and prevention, between punishment and rehabilitation.
It is a modern American tragedy that this nation - with Virginia prominent among the states - continues to squander billions of dollars building and operating ever-larger corrections plants while mindlessly shortchanging positive programs that can do some actual correcting. by CNB