Mallory Kavanagh is a junior from Cleveland. She is a two-time OSDA State Tournament qualifier in Lincoln-Douglas Debate. She also qualified to the NSDA National Tournament in World Schools Debate and placed 3rd at the Cleveland District tournament in Lincoln-Douglas Debate.

Affirmative Arguments

Recidivism Rate

One of the easiest ways to argue for the affirmative is to state that rehabilitation decreases recidivism rates. As the statistics are very much in favor of the affirmative for this argument as 15% of criminals are repeat offenders, they can impact many different things. This includes a safer society since fewer people will be committing crimes, the impact on families because their family members will be getting better and will be committing fewer crimes, and the overcrowding of prisons since fewer repeat offenders will be in prison. Since 44% of people return to prison within their first year out of prison, the impacts of this argument are very substantial. 

Cost

Another key argument for the affirmative would be cost-effectiveness. Rehabilitation ensures that people have the resources to be law-abiding citizens and contribute to society as a whole. While reforming the entire prison system might be costly at first, the long-term benefits are substantial. First, decreased recidivism rates and less intergenerational criminality are less costly because there will be fewer people in prison. Second, fewer people in prison can lower maintenance and upkeep costs.  Third, rehabilitation can increase employment opportunities and allow more people to be integrated into society which can be very beneficial for the economy. 

Human rights

Arguing the moral aspect of rehabilitation could also be a very strong argument for the affirmative. Stipulating that someone often goes to prison for factors outside of their control (racial bias, intergenerational criminality, mental health issues, etc…) could be very key to winning the affirmative ballot. The affirmative could state that all humans deserve a second chance, and rehabilitation gives them that opportunity to be better. This then allows them to combat issues outside of their control, thus upholding the human right of forgiveness and second chances. Since every human deserves the right to better themselves, the affirmative could state that rehabilitation gives them that opportunity. The affirmative could also state that the tactics used in American prison systems like solitary confinement restrict human rights and rehabilitation would ensure these tactics do not exist. An argument like this also works hand in hand with the value of justice or morality.

Mitigating The School to Prison Pipeline

An additional strong affirmative argument could be mitigating the school-to-prison pipeline. Rehabilitation can be used to ensure that criminality stops before it begins. By focusing on education and support for at-risk individuals, youth can be kept out of the justice center, leading to many impacts such as recidivism rates, quality of life, and a stronger and safer community. 

Negative Arguments

“Primary” Objective

Since the resolution states that the primary objective of the criminal system ought to be rehabilitation, the negation can state that rehabilitation ought to be a key factor in rehabilitation but not the primary objective. They can state that the prison system needs to find a balance between punishment and rehabilitation. They can say that without enough focus on punishment, the safety of communities can be compromised, victims will not face justice, accountability will not be upheld, etc. However, they can turn much of the affirmative arguments because they can say that the US prison system needs to have more focus on rehabilitation, however, we can do that in the negative world while still focusing on punishment. 

Justice for Victims

Another substantial argument for the negative could be not upholding justice for victims. Oftentimes, victims face drastic impacts due to crimes and they are seeking justice for what occurred to them. Focusing on rehabilitation can make victims feel as if their offender didn’t receive punishment for the harm they caused them. This would work very well with a justice value since victims will not be receiving justice for what a criminal did to them.

Resource Allocation

The negative could also argue that the resources used to reform the prison system to focus on rehabilitation could be used elsewhere. They could argue that money could be better spent on preventing crime and addressing the systemic causes of crimes. However, the affirmative could claim that if recidivism rates are decreasing due to rehabilitation it would be more effective than a plan to address the causes of crimes. In turn, the negative could say that crimes are going to decrease through preventing crimes which will not only decrease crimes as a whole but will also decrease recidivism rates.

Increased Inequality

An additional argument for the negation could be that rehabilitation programs increase inequalities. They could state that economically disadvantaged communities might not have as strong rehabilitation systems as strong economic communities. They could say this exacerbates inequalities because some people will be receiving better treatment and rehabilitation than others. This could work very well with values such as justice, morality, or minimizing inequalities. 

Forced Participation

One of the key parts of rehabilitation is the willingness to participate. Since forced rehabilitation makes rehabilitation mandatory for all, someone who does not want rehabilitation can be forced into it anyway through coercion, threats, or abuse. This raises concerns over whether someone should be forced to participate in someone against their will. Unwillingness to participate not only raises key ethical issues but also can lead to ineffectiveness since rehabilitation often only works if the consumer wants it to work.

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