For years we have talked about getting tough on crime. Usually that meant long prison sentences. If we incarcerated those who commit crime, our communities will be safer, and we have made a statement that we will not tolerate behavior like that the convicted committed was our reasoning.
Did we ever ask what happens to the children of those we have committed to penal facilities? Where will they live? What will the effect of the separation from their parents be on them? They are innocent of the wrong doing. Do we really want to punish them, too?
Is there any way we can design laws so that the welfare of these forgotten victims are considered in sentencing procedures?
This post was written by Jana Miars Minor, Founding Director of Companions Journeying Together. Photo credit: Zeroz Photography. Used under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.
