With a variety of people upset over C-Murder’s creative activities while incarcerated, I’m reminded of the obvious fact that our approach to incarceration is designed for punishment rather than rehabilitation, thus ensuring future increases in crime. While I understand why the families of victims don’t want criminals making money from crime while incarcerated, I am also disturbed by the fact that the president of Victims and Citizens Against Crime does not believe that a suspect who is ostensibly innocent until proven guilty should be able to take on productive activity behind bars.
Although C-Murder’s situation is unique, many inmates are more than willing to work at tedious and repetitive jobs at below minimum wage rates because it allows them to feel like they’re accomplishing something while relieving the bizarre mixture of stress and boredom always present in such a setting. This incident comes at a time when a number of rappers are working on their careers behind bars, when clothing lines are being created that emphasize their prison construction and when some business people and legislators are attempting to shut down such operations because they take away jobs from American workers.
I’d say American prisoners should be supported in their desire to be American workers, especially since all signs indicate that working reduces recidivism by fostering self worth and developing skills in a population that needs our support in order to rejoin society in a positive manner. Of course, as an article entitled Waiting for Stewart: home detention, salary indicates, not all criminals face the same obstacles upon re-entry.
