Placing Them in Need of Money can be Placing Them Back in Prison

 Perhaps, with our prisons overfilling, we are tempted to punish convicts with fines instead of with prison time.

   But, it isn't wise.

   I think of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. Wasn't he sent to jail for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's children? He needed money, so he stole.

   I think of Max Hall, a former BYU and NFL quarterback, who ended up shoplifting after falling on leaner times. Good guy, perhaps. But his being on a thinner income might have contributed to what he did.

   I think of others, people I've known, and how their need for money has led them to steal.  And, actually, we shouldn't have any problem coming up with examples, because it is obvious, the reason anyone steals, is they need money.
  Note also: Sometimes, it can be harder for them to find a job after jail than it was before. Some businesses do not like hiring ex-cons.

   I think of how, if a person needs money, he is likely to go about getting it the same way he got it before. With criminals, that sometimes means stealing, and it sometimes means dealing drugs.

   So, how wise are we, as part of our efforts to reform the criminal, to push him into a position where he is tempted to fall back on his old ways?

   We need a solution on what to do with them. We need an alternative to prison. But, this isn't it. We are fools if our reformation efforts pressure them to get money illicitly.