Surely if imprisonment was effective as a deterrent people would not commit crimes. No one expects to be caught so any form of punishment is no deterrent at all. If people were to sit down and logically think about actions and consequences then, yes, it could work, but people don't often do that. Far better surely then to educate and rehabilitate them. There is a place for prisons but they should not be about punishment. They should be about protecting the innocent and helping the guilty back on to the straight and narrow. In my opinion.

DtG