Judging by the photo of the happy couple, they've just returned from a fabulous ski trip to Aspen, where they spent the weekend snuggling up in a rustic lodge in the mountains and schussing down the slopes.It's a pretty interesting service, but I'm not so sure that I agree with the praise that it's getting:
Well, not quite. You wouldn't guess that he's doing time in prison, and she's waiting patiently for his release. The picture's a composite created in Photoshop, courtesy of a service that caters to prisoners who can't physically get to the places in which they'd like to be photographed.
Reactions from prison-system observers and other experts is generally quite positive. "I think this is an absolutely wonderful idea and see no downside to it," says Joan Petersilia, a visiting professor of law at Stanford University and author of When Prisoners Come Home: Parole and Prisoner Reentry. "It allows inmates to see themselves differently.... Why not give them something pleasant to aspire to?"Of course, I'm no expert on prisons, so my thoughts on the matter are pretty much from the gut and without any real deep study of the issues involved. But yeah, that's right, it quickly ventures into the rehabilitation vs. punishment question of the role of prison. I'm not really interested in getting into that discussion here, so don't go there. If you start trolling, I'll probably delete your comments.
Petersilia says the service is also good for those on the outside. "Why should family members have to be embarrassed and have to further explain where pictures of their loved ones came from? They suffer enough."
I just thought it was a pretty interesting service.
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