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Pope Francis laments how societies have become overly punitive, thereby losing the capacity to practice the “primacy of life and the dignity of the human person.”
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<p><span>by Alex Mikulich, Ph.D.</span></p>
<p>“The criminal justice system is out of control,”[1] proclaimed Pope Francis to the International Association of Penal Law on October 23, 2014. </p>
<p>Francis laments how societies have become overly punitive, thereby losing the capacity to practice the “primacy of life and the dignity of the human person.” </p>
<p>Sadly, Louisiana is a prime example of a criminal justice system out of control, as the state “locks up more of its people than anywhere in the world.”[2]</p>
<p>Newsmedia headlined the Pope’s call for the abolition of the death penalty and his declaration that the “life sentence was taken out of the Vatican’s Criminal Code” because a “life sentence is just a death penalty in disguise.” </p>
<p>Louisiana serves as exhibit #1 of applying the “death penalty in disguise,” as it incarcerates the highest percentage of inmates serving life sentences without the possibility of parole (LWOP), including some who never committed a violent crime. </p>
<p>As the Times-Picayune observes in an op-ed that underscores the Pope’s message, Louisiana’s “wasteful approach denies any possibility of redemption—throwing away lives but also throwing away money. An offender who begins a life sentence at 20-something and lives to be 70 will end up costing the state $1 million.”[3]</p>
<p><a href="https://t.e2ma.net/webview/7gw3f/b66f8c4f17b0fc0aaa15eada7010aa38">MORE>></a></p>
<p>“The criminal justice system is out of control,”[1] proclaimed Pope Francis to the International Association of Penal Law on October 23, 2014. </p>
<p>Francis laments how societies have become overly punitive, thereby losing the capacity to practice the “primacy of life and the dignity of the human person.” </p>
<p>Sadly, Louisiana is a prime example of a criminal justice system out of control, as the state “locks up more of its people than anywhere in the world.”[2]</p>
<p>Newsmedia headlined the Pope’s call for the abolition of the death penalty and his declaration that the “life sentence was taken out of the Vatican’s Criminal Code” because a “life sentence is just a death penalty in disguise.” </p>
<p>Louisiana serves as exhibit #1 of applying the “death penalty in disguise,” as it incarcerates the highest percentage of inmates serving life sentences without the possibility of parole (LWOP), including some who never committed a violent crime. </p>
<p>As the Times-Picayune observes in an op-ed that underscores the Pope’s message, Louisiana’s “wasteful approach denies any possibility of redemption—throwing away lives but also throwing away money. An offender who begins a life sentence at 20-something and lives to be 70 will end up costing the state $1 million.”[3]</p>
<p><a href="https://t.e2ma.net/webview/7gw3f/b66f8c4f17b0fc0aaa15eada7010aa38">MORE>></a></p>