[Hayashi]

IMO one cannot consider the role of prison without taking into account the role of law.

Why do we need laws? Essentially to regulate the behaviour of people in society. Without laws, without enforcement of laws, society would be anarchic.

This is where prisons come in - as punishment for persons who break the law. It needs to be harsh so that a prison sentence acts as a deterrence.

That said, prisons should also aim to rehabilitate & assist prisoners to reintegrate into society. Ex-convicts face many obstacles, a key one being the stigma associated with being an ex-con. Not many employers are willing to give a person who has served a prison sentence a chance, for example. Some countries have a "name & shame" policy for people convicted of certain offenses. All these act as a huge obstacle for a person who wants to go straight.

We should also recognise that not all prisoners are alike. There are some who are genuinely remorseful for their crimes; there are others who are "hard core".

Hence a prison should serve the following objectives:

a. Rehabilitation & help the offender integrate into society.
b. For those who refuse to act within accepted norms of behaviour, to keep them out of society to prevent the innocent from being harmed.
c. A tough regime so that those on the borderline can be deterred from committing a crime.