Substantial desistance from re-offending is one pragmatic goal of punishment. But that goal seemingly is not achieved in the contemporary experience of corrections within the U.S. This article marvels at how the abysmal record of desistance failure has characterized American penological practices in an age of mass incarceration. It notes prison programs are operationally desirable with short of empirical evidence for reduced recidivism. Religious immersion provides a promising avenue for lower recidivism. The article discusses a private prison in South Korea, built and operated by a church organization, that now has a decade of operating experience with sizable lower recidivism. The preliminary analysis shows a 3-year recidivism rate (re-incarceration) of about 10% compared with about 23% in comparable Korean prisons.

切实防止再次犯罪是惩罚的务实目标之一。但在美国当代的惩教经验中，这一目标似乎并未实现。本文惊叹于在大规模监禁时代，终止失败的糟糕记录如何成为美国刑罚实践的特征。报告指出，监狱计划在操作上是可取的，但缺乏减少累犯的经验证据。宗教沉浸为降低累犯率提供了一条有希望的途径。文章讨论了韩国的一所私人监狱，该监狱由教会组织建造和运营，目前已有十年的运营经验，累犯率相当低。初步分析显示，三年累犯率（再次监禁）约为 10%，而韩国同类监狱的累犯率约为 23%。