In The Ethics of Punishment and Rehabilitation: Part I and II, I talked before about rationales, or justifications, for punishing persons who have broken the law (retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and incapacitation), and about broad ethical issues surrounding punishments for breaking the law.  I want to focus here on the specific ethical issues surrounding rehabilitation.Read More

According to the retributive ideology, justice is served when offenders are made to suffer pain that is proportional to the harm the victim suffered as the result of the crime. In this theory of retribution, justice is about achieving balance; when a judge is applying the retributive ideology, he decides what type of sentence equates...Read More

The role of corrections is to carry out the punishment administered by the court.  But what exactly is “punishment”?  According to Joycelyn M. Pollock, author of “Prisons Today and Tomorrow,” punishment is defined as “unpleasantness or pain administered by one in lawful authority in response to another’s transgression of law or rules.”Read More

There are currently 1,506,800 people incarcerated in the United States according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Our nation has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. Where do we house all of these people? In the U.S., these 1.5 million people are being held in either public prisons or private prisons. You...Read More

The COVID-19 crisis has impacted our daily lives in dramatic fashion.  Public and private agencies have had to alter their ways of doing business to protect themselves and others against this pandemic.  Prisons and jails are no exception.Read More

EKU Online’ s 2017 Outstanding Student of the Year Award was presented to Deborah Blanchard, an undergraduate student majoring in Corrections & Juvenile Justice.Read More

Jim Johns chose to earn his bachelor’s degree in a field he is passionate about. Several years ago, he was assisting GED instructors in jails and halfway houses as a favor to a friend. One evening the instructor did not show up, so he agreed to teach.Read More

EKU offers one of the nation’s top online degree programs in criminal justice according to The Community for Accredited Online Schools. The organization released a “Best Online Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice” list and placed Eastern Kentucky University at #2 of 50 schools.Read More

The consequences and the stigma associated with the label of “criminal” make successful rehabilitation a difficult task. After leaving a correctional facility, former prisoners continue to face post-sentence consequences that limit their societal freedoms. A prime example of these post-sentence consequences is the restriction placed on voting rights.  Currently, 6.1 million Americans are prohibited from...Read More

Toby Coyle is a 16-year veteran of the Kentucky State Police. Sergeant Coyle is a 1999 graduate of Eastern Kentucky University and is currently enrolled in the EKU Online master’s degree program in justice, policy and leadership.Read More