In this country, law and order has been an increasing talking point. No, I am not referring to the series cooked up by Dick Wolf. Issues of crime, homelessness and immigration have been a focal point in politics for the last decade. All the way back in his 2016 run, Donald Trump took to calling himself the candidate of law and order. In general, we believe that those who do wrong against society should be punished.
Most people have a strong sense of justice from a young age. When Little Timmy got in time out after hitting you, a small smile probably crossed your lips. Your first sense of vindication had hit you, a feeling you would not soon forget.
However, things get muddier after we take those concepts and apply them to more than the simple assault you experienced at the hands of Little Timmy. When he grows up and hits someone in the street, Little Timmy, now affectionately referred to as Big Tim, gets arrested and prosecuted.
This is a good thing. We can’t have Big Tim going around handing out knuckle-sandwiches left and right; he’s dangerous! But what about after he serves his time? Surely we won’t imprison a man for the rest of his life for punching people. So, we would hope that Big Tim would serve his sentence, learn his lesson and reintegrate into society.
However, our system rarely does that. We got our vindication. Big Tim was appropriately punished for his transgressions. But now that he is out, according to the most recent study from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there is a 62% chance that he will be arrested again within the next 3 years. This and many more factors lead me to the regrettable conclusion that our justice system and our society more broadly is simply not built for these people to be reformed.
Most people have heard of the awful conditions inside American prisons. We understand that in prison, people are often beaten, stabbed, raped, or even killed. Even here, our great State of Alabama can claim the title for the deadliest and most violent prisons within the nation.
Some would argue that the terrifying conditions within prison should simply act as a deterrent to any would-be criminals. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case. Despite the overwhelming cruelty exhibited in Alabama’s prisons, the violent crime rate in the state remains slightly above the national average. In fact, there is no good evidence that harsher prison conditions lead to less crime.
So, what is the solution? How do we reduce the likelihood of people to reoffend? It is my opinion that more humane prisons could help to reduce the problem. Norway is an example of this, boasting a low recidivism rate at only around 20% in the following 2 years after release. They do this by a principle called normality. In normality, the loss of one's freedom is itself the punishment. The Norwegian Correctional Service states, "[...] life inside [the facility] will resemble life outside as much as possible." Accordingly, other rights, such as access to health care, education, libraries and faith services, remain the same as they would outside of prison.
In addition to the lacking conditions inside of U.S. prisons, conditions outside can exacerbate problems. Ex-convicts can struggle to get over structural barriers to reacclimate into society. Those who lack a strong support system can find it difficult to find a job or housing due to the social stigma that plagues them. Mental health services, more broadly, are lacking in this country. The combination of these factors can lead to even more violence.
On Aug. 22, 2025, a Ukrainian refugee, Iryna Zatuska, was riding a light rail train in North Carolina when she was violently attacked and killed. The footage of the attack went viral for its horrifying nature. A senseless murder like this sticks with us and diminishes the sense of safety we have while functioning in public life. Police have charged Decarlos Brown Jr., a multiple-time felon, with the first degree murder of this woman.
As for the alleged motives to this crime, evidence seems to suggest that this senseless murder was caused by nothing more than a psychotic episode. The suspect’s mother, Michelle Dewit, said that after his prison stint ended in 2020, he “was different.”
Dewit alleged that her son was diagnosed as schizophrenic, that he refused to take his medicine, that she had tried to get him mental health services, and after all of these efforts failed, she dropped him off at a homeless shelter.
Police records from his January arrest for misusing 911 say that when the police arrived at the scene, Brown told them that he believed someone gave him a “man-made” material that controlled his actions.
In a jailhouse phone call with his sister after the murder of Zatuska, Brown can similarly be heard saying, “The material used my body to stab the lady.”
Many conservative political figures have since used this event to call for harsher and longer prison sentences. However, it is my opinion that positions like those attempt to fit a square peg into a round hole. Despite the shock and horror of this event, it is my honest belief that a concerted effort to reform ex-convicts and get them the help they need to re-enter society, rather than focusing on our own desires to see those who have wronged us suffer, is one of the first steps that need to be taken to prevent further violence like this.
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