Kent on Crime

Jim Kent's column in the Rapid City Journal today deals with capital punishment.

Kent says some of his opinions on crime and punishment come from his experiences in the Marine Corps where he did some corrections work. Having also worked in law enforcement and corrections, I concur with his first hand assessments of criminals in general.

I came to understand two realities during the time I spent "behind bars." First, of the thousands of prisoners I dealt with during my years at the base brig, I met just one individual -- a 30-something, African-American sergeant -- who actually admitted he deserved to be incarcerated.

Lesson learned: nobody’s "guilty." That’s why there are defense attorneys.

More importantly, I realized there actually are those in our society who live to be criminals. They don’t desire anything else in life and they don’t seek "rehabilitation" (something I’m not sure can actually be accomplished anyway ). They’re not only quite content, but also fare quite well in a prison environment.

Many people have a problem understanding this mindset, because most people want much more out of life. So do I.

Kent's endorsement of the death penalty isn't as ringing as mine would be, but it nevertheless makes solid, accurate points.

Go read the whole thing, and pay special attention to the last two paragraphs; it's a way of looking at justice that isn't often mentioned.