Preaching to the choir

I just had to share this commentary I just read on CNN. First and foremost, I agree wholeheartedly with the piece. The crux of it is that we spend a ridiculous amount of money incarcerating people with very little payoff; we would be much better served by intervening in the lives of juvenile offenders with intensive therapeutic programs rather than focusing on punishment, punishment, punishment. An ounce of prevention and all that.

The reason this particular piece struck me so much is because of who wrote it. The author, Jane Velez-Mitchell, has always been associated with Nancy Grace in my mind. I remember first seeing Velez-Mitchell as a panelist on Grace's awful, horrible show. (I know, I know, I shouldn't watch Nancy Grace!) She eventually parlayed her recurring appearances on Grace's show into her own show on HLN. The focus on her show, from what I have seen, has been crime stories. She never struck me as someone who would want to be confused with being pro-criminal. Of course, suggesting a correctional system focusing more on rehabilitation than just punishment really isn't pro-criminal, it's pro-fighting crime, but the tough-on-crime crowd don't get that.

But maybe I misjudged her. Maybe she's not really anywhere near as bad as Nancy Grace.