Stand up and be counted

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2088458,00.html
A couple days ago I posted a piece in which I stated boot camps reduced the recidivism rate. That was based on an admin of justice class I took at PSU a couple years ago in which a prominent Oregon warden was the instructor. That was one of his favorite programs for that reason. At the time statistical evidence backed up the assertion.
It is interesting to note the referenced article states otherwise...that only short term benefits are attained and long-term recidivism is unaffected.
This is particularly interesting since it also says attitudes show "positive shifts"...one of the goals of reform proponents as opposed to those who view the justice system as designed to punish as opposed to rehabilitate.
Have I changed my view on boot camps? No...but they are more susceptible to shift and certainly I would like a better look at the statistics and if they bear this out then yeah...I would change my mind. I am not afraid to be wrong, only afraid to be unwilling to change when I am.
I only wish certain others felt the same. For instance, the initial news reports all stated the kid collapsed, then was beaten. This one says the kid was beaten earlier....then collapsed. That is a fairly significant change. One way presents the case as anger that someone quit on an assigned activity...the other that they had beat him so bad he physically could not finish...and if they beat him ahead of time, beat him so badly he could not breathe...already a criminal activity...and then were negligent in his care to the point he could not breathe and subsequently died...there are a whole host of other crimes.
While on the one hand, at the risk of seeming even more cold-hearted than I already do, losing a dude so bad that his probation violation was stealing his Grandmothers car...well, in my book, no big loss. Other than direct family and close friends, I find the outcry over his death somewhat misguided and pathetic. Yes, they lost a loved one and for them I am sorry. But the rest of you...let it go. Instead of mourning his loss, mourn the system that allows killers to go unpunished regardless of the victim. Until every crime is prosecuted the same without regard to monetary status, that will continue to be the real crime.