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Prison and Why We Send People There: Does it Work? Should it? - Professor Sir Geoffrey Nice QC

2,033 views · Published 1 April 2016 · 58:45 · Indexed 24 October 2026

Channel: Gresham College · 2016 · Education

Why do we use prisons? Does the legal use agree with the public conception? Is it working? http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/prison-and-why-we-send-people-there-does-it-work-should-it

‘They deserve to be put away’; ‘Appeal the sentence – too short’; ‘They should lock him up and throw away the key’. How civilised has it ever been to imprison other humans – or to want to do it? How many prisoners had their fates determined by circumstance, how many by truly free will? How often has increasing prison building been used to increase a politician’s vote? How impossible would it be for most politicians to argue for fewer prisons because they do not work, when as a society we have to assume they do?
Modern experience in diverse countries - from Norway to the USA - may suggest that money can be better spent than on keys, bars and walls.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/prison-and-why-we-send-people-there-does-it-work-should-it

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently nearly 1,900 lectures free to access or download from the website.
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Prison and Why We Send People There: Does it Work? Should it? - Professor Sir Geoffrey Nice QC

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