Motivation

Erin,

A comprehensive paper on a topic that you clearly know a lot about. I certainly learned a lot reading it. A couple points. Your paper operates from the normative assumption that “rehabilitation” is a superior ideology. If people don’t buy that assumption, then much of the paper is lost to them. So perhaps in your discussion on the three ideologies you could say a little more about why rehabilitation is the better ideology.

In your discussion on access to courts, you make some interesting points. However, I found the part on proportionate justice in sentencing a bit distracting. That’s a huge subject, and I wasn’t sure how much work it was doing here. You’re on much stronger ground when your discussion revolves around the idea that access to courts matter in so far as courts embrace rehabilitation as a guiding principle on issues. Overall, a meaty, interesting discussion.