Regarding Nicholas Williams' April 29 letter, "Prison is about rehabilitation": No, Mr. Williams, prison should not be "only about rehabilitation." It should be about keeping some people very securely locked up who are not safe to be at large.
In the United Kingdom, Graham Young was sentenced to confinement as a teenager who had poisoned members of his family in 1962. In 1971 he was deemed to be rehabilitated and was released. After poisoning several of his workmates, some fatally, he was again incarcerated, this time indefinitely.
Some of the psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, sociologists and other self-appointed experts who had recommended his release might perhaps have belatedly realized that they, like Williams, did not know what they were talking about.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.
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