As a former head of the Illinois Department of Corrections, I strongly support the proposal to reinstate “chain gangs” for state prisoners.
The March 15 Op-Ed piece by Tracey L. Meares opposing this program (“Land of Lincoln shouldn’t revive chain gangs”) repeats the tired mantra of prisoners’ rights that so many people find offensive. Voters are concerned about government that appears to be more sympathetic to criminals than to the people they victimize. If Ms. Meares had spoken with some victims of violent crime, I would suspect she would find their experiences were much more degrading than those of a criminal who is required to work as part of his sentence.
Prisons serve two primary purposes: to detain and punish criminals who threaten our safety. Participating in a work program while incarcerated not only punishes the criminal but provides a community service as well.
Ms. Meares also suggested that inmates be “chained” to a desk and forced to learn how to read and write. Many educational programs are currently offered at Illinois prisons, including high school, college and post-graduate courses. Unfortunately, most inmates choose not to take advantage of such programs. If adult inmates are committed to improving their lives, the opportunities certainly exist in prison to do so. It simply requires a dose of personal responsibility.
It is encouraging to see the pendulum finally swinging in the other direction in terms of accommodating criminals. Taxpayers are refusing to tolerate costly expenditures for sophisticated workout gyms, television sets, VCRs and a host of other luxuries that most hard-working people must pay for themselves.
Bring the chain gang back to Illinois prisons. At the very least, it will make prison a little less comfortable. At the very most, it will demonstrate to taxpayers that some benefit can be derived from their substantial cost to detain and house violent criminals.
