But in actuality, we are no greater than the homeless man on the train, or the convicted killer currently incarcerated. When we treat people like they have no dignity, they ultimately start to believe it themselves. When we throw people in prison, taking no rehabilitative measures, we treat them as less than human. I’m not suggesting we open up the prisons and let everyone go – but we need to have some healing go on in these jails. If the wards of these prisons, and the legislators that expand our prison culture spent an ounce of energy in developing hope and encouragement in the hearts of inmates, then I would gladly refer to those cages as CORRECTional facilities. Nothing is being “corrected” there. We punish without a lesson at the end, we never forgive, we ensure their spiritual demise… Our current prison system here in the US strips inmates of whatever dignity they might have ever had.

One of the distinctive things about the German consitution (basic law) is that the first proviso immediately following the preamble speaks on the value in human dignity. The soul of a man is given great deference and respect in the Basic Law of Germany. I am not familiar with the effects of this provision in practice, but at the very least, the text is inspiring! “Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority.” – Article I (1). Unlike the “negative rights” of our US consitution that limit government intrusion, the German basic law provides for “positive rights” that the government itself seeks to ensure. This is why we lawyers in the US are so busy. Injustice is not rectified unless it is our behomoth of a government that is committing the offense. By the time we can ever come close to rectifying a government-inflicted wrong, the true victim has lost their home, lost their livelihood, and may turn to crime. And this is where I attempt to perform ‘clean-up’ as a defense attorney – after the victim has spent years living with no hope.

Thanks for sharing Professor Lewis!

But in actuality, we are no greater than the homeless man on the train, or the convicted killer currently incarcerated. When we treat people like they have no dignity, they ultimately start to believe it themselves. When we throw people in prison, taking no rehabilitative measures, we treat them as less than human. I'm not suggesting we open up the prisons and let everyone go – but we need to have some healing go on in these jails. If the wards of these prisons, and the legislators that expand our prison culture spent an ounce of energy in developing hope and encouragement in the hearts of inmates, then I would gladly refer to those cages as CORRECTional facilities. Nothing is being “corrected” there. We punish without a lesson at the end, we never forgive, we ensure their spiritual demise… Our current prison system here in the US strips inmates of whatever dignity they might have ever had.

One of the distinctive things about the German consitution (basic law) is that the first proviso immediately following the preamble speaks on the value in human dignity. The soul of a man is given great deference and respect in the Basic Law of Germany. I am not familiar with the effects of this provision in practice, but at the very least, the text is inspiring! “Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority.” – Article I (1). Unlike the “negative rights” of our US consitution that limit government intrusion, the German basic law provides for “positive rights” that the government itself seeks to ensure. This is why we lawyers in the US are so busy. Injustice is not rectified unless it is our behomoth of a government that is committing the offense. By the time we can ever come close to rectifying a government-inflicted wrong, the true victim has lost their home, lost their livelihood, and may turn to crime. And this is where I attempt to perform 'clean-up' as a defense attorney – after the victim has spent years living with no hope.

Thanks for sharing Professor Lewis!