REHABILITATION

The early release of prisoners from England’s jails has started this week. While some prisoners are happy to be out, others are saying that they are not ready and expect to reoffend and be back in jail before long.

A lot will depend on the resources they can access to help them restart.

The new prisons minister, James Timpson, has been a pioneer in employing ex-offenders in his company and giving them an opportunity to build a new life. It will be interesting to see how effective he will be in extending his approach more widely.

A verse in this week’s parasha indicates the Jewish angle on offenders.

The context is the bringing to justice of an offender. The Torah is very specific in its wording. There is a precise punishment that must not be exceeded “lest your brother be degraded in your eyes.” (Devarim 25:3)

The Sages noted that at the beginning of the passage, the offender is referred to as ‘harasha’ – the guilty party. After his punishment has been administered, he is called ‘achicha’ – your brother. The Sages derived a fundamental principle from this, namely the rehabilitation of an offender. “Once he has been punished, he becomes your brother again.” (Sifrei.)

The Talmud writes that after the offender has received his deserved punishment he can be restored to his earlier status. He is no longer disqualified as a witness. The stain on his character is to be regarded as having been temporary. He is to be given a fresh start.

The Jewish teachings were many centuries ahead of their time. When former offenders can be offered a dignified return to society, they are much less likely to reoffend.

Of course, there are caveats. In recent years, we have become more aware of the particular nature of predatory offenders. We must not be naïve and think that an individual’s claim to have undertaken a sincere ‘Teshuva’ or repentance, means that they can be restored to positions of trust. It is simply unrealistic to rehabilitate a predatory offender. They can only be assigned to positions where there is no risk they can offend again.

As we approach a new year, we have the opportunity to create our own “Get Out Of Jail Free” card. The High Holydays provide an annual ‘rehab’ programme enabling us to correct mistakes of the past year and build anew.