Zogby Poll Shows Americans Want Rehab, Not Just Punishment, for Prisoners

The "throw 'em away and then eat the key" Republicans are apparently also way out of touch with the desires of most Americans with regard to the penal system where, since we stopped doing rehabilitation, the recidivism rate has gone through the roof, even as much as the GOP favors prisoners eating rotten food and being forced to wear pink undies.

From Zogby (and I find this enormously encouraging because it goes so counter to what Republicans and politicians always tell us):

From every age, gender, economic, political, cultural and ethnic group and every geographic area, Americans overwhelmingly support the rehabilitation of non-violent criminals both before and after they leave prison, a new poll by Zogby International shows.

Three out of four Americans expressed either fear or concern about the 700,000 prisoners who are leaving U.S. prisons each year, and the fact that 60% of them are likely to commit crimes that send them back to prison, Zogby International’s national survey showed. The poll explored what people think ought to be done about the situation.

The survey, sponsored by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, a leading criminal justice research organization, reveals that by almost an 8 to 1 margin (87% to 11%), the U.S. voting public is in favor of rehabilitative services for prisoners as opposed to a punishment only system. Of those polled, 70% favored these services both during incarceration and after release from prison.