An Important Post To Read

Ezra Klein writes about prison rape and quotes a horrible, horrible story. The whole concept of punishment in the legal system has similar problems. "Locking them all up" does not mean that this would be the extent of the punishment, and it sounds like prisons are a place where some crimes (such as rape) are now considered a legal part of the punishment and not crimes at all.

What is it that the inmates are stripped of? What rights do we think they should no longer have? Note how many states have decided that ex-felons should never be allowed to vote again or not for a long time at least. Perhaps we should list all the different types of punishments in a legal form so that everybody knows what it means to go to prison. It's not just the restraints on a person's freedom of movement.