That's a tough one for me. I don't know if I can accept that anyone is completely beyond hope, but there are certainly those who are too dangerous to let them loose in society.

I'm with you on the rest though. Rehabilitation is in the name of our prisons (The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, for example), yet very little rehabilitation is taking place. Yes, there are programs that aim to do that, but for too long, the majority of the programs have been administered by folks just looking for a paycheck and not actually caring about the people they are serving.

We are fortunate that the people we are working with in Grafton Correctional Institute and Judge Russo's Reentry Court seem to be genuinely concerned about helping folks succeed.

Out of curiosity, what sort of punishment do you think appropriate for those who are beyond hope? It seems to me the lack of hope might be punishment enough.