What Dr. Karl Menninger thought about our jails

There are other  MDs- on the left- who have a lot to say about crime and punishment in our capitalist society.The famous psychiatrist Dr.. Karl Menninger wrote way back in 1973 : " People refuse to believe that jails are almost without exception horrible, destructive,ruinous,hideous atrocities of which every citizen should be ashamed ". The good doctor then suggested that our jails should be " outlawed tomorrow by popular demand ". Dr. Menninger observed that most of the wretches in jail are not a violent threat to the public, but have " illegally taken someone else's property , and this is a cardinal sin tremendously important in a capitalistic society ".
Since Dr. Karl Menninger wrote " Whatever Became of Sin " our prison system has only become worse. So with regard to CRIME , this brilliant psychiatrist wrote about " the crime of punishment ".
That is a real left-wing intellectual speaking, Dr. Stephens .No ,he did not ignore crime. He just tried to understand it, to see its roots in a disordered society.
And speaking about CRIME, I don't think Dr. Menninger would have been a fan of President Bush and his criminal war in Iraq.I recall a number of Dr. Stephens' previous letters- to- the editor..

           

Dr.Karl Menninger on the cover of Time Magazine--