By Del Cassidy
Two young men order a pizza. When the delivery man arrives they rob him and beat him senseless with a baseball bat. Not an uncommon scenario in the United States, arguably one of the most violent countries in the world. In this instance, however, the apparent perpetrators are caught and the story takes an interesting turn.
The suspects are American Indians from a tribe in Alaska. The crime occurred in Washington State and its courts have jurisdiction. If convicted the two face several years in jail. Typically each would be placed in a cell, seven feet by nine, although due to overcrowding it is not uncommon for two prisoners to share that space. After doing their time they would be given a few dollars and released back into the community.
The two would meet a much different fate if the state of Washington were to relinquish jurisdiction and allow them to face tribal justice. Back home, these young men would be brought before a council of elders who would determine their guilt or innocence. If found guilty, the tribe, shamed by the actions of two of its members, would pay restitution to the victim; the perpetrators would be sent to two small islands where each would be left to fend for himself for a year.
Twelve months alone in the Arctic sounds like a death sentence. But Alaskan Indians are trained as children to survive in the wilderness. This isn't a death sentence, nor is it punishment. Instead, it is time for each to contemplate the shame his actions have brought to his family and his tribe. There might be little time for reflection during the brief Arctic summer as the young men, each on his own island, struggles to prepare shelters and lay in enough provisions to survive during the long winter nights to come. But during those months of darkness there would be ample time for each to reflect on the course his life had taken and what it should be in the future.
The case of these young Indians brings into sharp focus two different philosophies in dealing with criminal behaviour, that is punishment versus rehabilitation. In the US, as in most of the world, society has focused on the first assuming it would result in the second, but the two are in large measure mutually exclusive. Struck in the face, our tendency is to hit back, an act that provides some momentary satisfaction but does little to prevent another attack. We return violence for violence, but as Martin Luther King Jr said, "An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind."
The goal of the Indians is not punishment but reintegration. The offender isn't seen as some sort of mad dog that can be controlled only by constant beatings, but as a valuable human being who should be a productive member of the community. As a result the tribe has developed a method of dealing with deviant behaviour that emphasises the offender's value as a person and as a member of a community rather as a cancer attacking society from within.
Unlike these native Americans, the US is not a homogeneous society with centuries of tradition behind it. Nor does it possess a tribe's close community and well-integrated family structure, or, for that matter, enough islands or long, cold solitary nights for reflection. But it can take a cue from them. Americans can come to the realisation that getting tough on criminals s isn't the same thing as "getting tough on crime". Instead of "lock 'em up and throw the key away", the focus should be on rehabilitation.
Every society has its Hannibal Lecters, individuals who are simply too dangerous to be permitted free access among us, but the vast majority of "criminals" are not dangerous, and given the opportunity, would be productive members of society. Even our violent members however, once separated from society, should be treated as human beings.
Vengeance may make us feel better momentarily but it does little to make us safer. Americans can indulge their emotions and continue down the road that has made the US one of the world's most violent societies, or take a cue from some Alaskan Indians. Most "criminals" will eventually return to society bringing what they have learned with them. When ex-convicts come to your community, where would you prefer they were coming from — the American-style prison or the Alaskan island?