Should a person with an addiction go to jail or rehab? Honestly, I believe it is a combination. When someone commits a crime, they should go to jail. However, if that person has an addiction I believe a mandatory stent in a rehabilitation/treatment facility should go hand-in-hand with their sentence. The jail time is necessary to fulfill the punishment for their crime, but if they are not treated for the addiction, their behaviors will not change once released. Drugs are easily accessed in prisons. Their addictions are only being fueled in that environment. The disease must be addressed if we expect any change to come from their incarceration. Who should pay for the time in rehab? That is a hard call to make. If it is required as part of their sentencing, the burden would be placed on the government. I wouldn't imagine someone with a substance abuse problem being able to afford a few months in an inpatient rehab facility. We have to allow them a chance to change and if we throw them in jail with no counseling or detoxing time, we are setting them up for failure. I do believe that if a crime is committed, the person should pay their debt to society and serve jail time. With over-crowding in the prisons, it may be more cost effective to send them to treatment facilities rather that jail, but I believe some time in jail is necessary. The jail time proves the seriousness of the crime. Most people don't want to go to jail and a few months in a comfortable inpatient rehab wouldn't be as bad, so they wouldn't be paying for their crime. There has to be punishment, but there has to be rehabilitation. I do not think it is one or the other, jail or rehab, it is both.
Kerri,
ReplyDeleteI agree in both rehab and jail time when the behavior calls for it. Some people deserve a second chance at life. Those who are involved in drug or substance abuse should be sentenced to rehab to try to rehabilitate them. If a death occurs in the midst of their drug abuse, then jail time should also be mandatory. Don't some prisons offer therapy to their inmates as well? I didn't give much thought as to who the burden would be on...be it tax payers or government or whatever. I just have an opinion on the topic but the execution of my opinion doesn't always seem realistic! Nice post, Heather Noe
Kerri,
ReplyDeleteI think that this decision should be made based upon past criminal history, whether the charge is a first or second offense, if children are involved, if the offender is a primary caregiver, and importantly, the offender's willingness to take action (consistently) in the process. There will always be individuals who continue to choose drugs and crime. However, based upon prison and jail overcrowding and the drug legislation currently in place; one should be able to get the help they need and it should be provided to them under these circumstances.
Thank you,
Amy Hicks