A Christmas Challenge to Our Criminal Justice System
Questioning the Punishment Paradigm
On the day before Christmas, Justice Voices host David Risley challenges both the philosophical and moral foundations of our current punishment-focused criminal justice system. He advocates for a shift to a problem-solving approach instead.
Fundamental Questions About Justice
Risley begins by questioning common assumptions about justice:
“Most people think justice means giving wrongdoers the punishment they deserve. But there are at least two huge problems with that view.”
He then raises critical questions:
“First, since when did anyone other than God know enough about why people do what they do to sit in judgment about what they deserve?”
“Second, since when did doing deliberate harm to a captive become an act of righteousness?”
A Christian Perspective
Speaking from a Christian viewpoint, Risley adds a third consideration:
“In the spirit of Christmas, speaking as a Christian, I will add a third: In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that we should rise above a spirit of retaliation.”
Jesus taught that judgment should be left to God. He urged us to treat wrongdoers as we would want to be treated ourselves – the Golden Rule.
The Failure of Punishment-Based Approaches
After exploring Jesus’s teachings, Risley turns to practical matters:
“If imprisonment as a form of punishment worked in reducing crime, then at our current world-leading rate of incarceration per capita in the United States, we should be living in an almost crime-free society.”
“But, we are not. Far from it.”
Questioning Our Current Methods
Risley challenges the logic behind current practices:
“It is not getting ‘tough on crime’ to keep doing or even doubling down on the same failed things and expecting different results.”
“No one in their right mind would say that continuing to adhere to an approach to criminal justice that breeds crime, rather than reducing it, is either rational or a responsible use of taxpayer money.”
Looking Toward Solutions
He questions why we maintain ineffective approaches:
“So, why do we keep doing the same things and expecting different results?”
“There are better ways, exploring which is what this podcast is all about.”
A New Vision for Criminal Justice
In advocating for a problem-solving paradigm, Risley argues this approach is:
- More functionally rational
- More morally justifiable
- More effective in achieving safer communities
- A more responsible use of taxpayer funds
As examples, he refers to the principles and practices of restorative justice introduced in Episode 14, part 2, and to trauma informed approaches to policing and criminal justice such as those described in recommendations by a Pennsylvania criminal justice action team.
As his bottom line on the eve of Christmas, he cites the Golden Rule: Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.
