--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The public expects sentences to be…" description: "\"“The public expects sentences to be punitive but also rehabilitative; however, what we expect and what we get from our prisons are very different thing..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d69/piper-kerman-8613_crime_the-public-expects-sentences-to-be-punit_358288.png" --- # The public expects sentences to be punitive but also… ![“The public expects sentences to be punitive but also rehabilitative; however, what we expect and what we get from our prisons are very different things. The lesson that our prison system teaches its residents is how to survive as a prisoner, not as a citizen - not a very constructive body of…” quote by Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d69/piper-kerman-8613_crime_the-public-expects-sentences-to-be-punit_358288.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d69/piper-kerman-8613_crime_the-public-expects-sentences-to-be-punit_358288.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d69/piper-kerman-8613_crime_the-public-expects-sentences-to-be-punit_358288.png) > ““The public expects sentences to be punitive but also rehabilitative; however, what we expect and what we get from our prisons are very different things. The lesson that our prison system teaches its residents is how to survive as a prisoner, not as a citizen - not a very constructive body of knowledge for us or the communities to which we return.”” [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prisons teach survival as inmates, not citizenship, creating a gap between public expectations of punishment and rehabilitation. **In simple terms:** Prison life teaches survival, not civic skills. Key Takeaway Reform prisons to teach civic reintegration. Themes justice rehabilitation social reintegration public expectation penology Mood critical concerned Type analytical policy When to use this quote - policy reform - community reentry programs - public education campaigns Key Concepts recidivism institutional culture systemic failure Questions to Reflect On - How can we align prison outcomes with societal expectations? - What incentives can encourage rehabilitative practices? A Different Perspective Changing prison culture is politically and financially challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) ## Related quotes > [“Prison is quite literally a ghetto in the most classic sense of the world, a place where the U.S. government now puts not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/prison-is-quite-literally-a-ghetto-in-the-most-classic-sense-of-the/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“We have a racially based justice system that overpunishes, fails to rehabilitate, and doesn't make us safer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/we-have-a-racially-based-justice-system-that-overpunishes-fails-to/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [I find very reasonable the Celtic belief that the souls of our dearly departed are trapped in some inferior being, in an animal, aplant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-find-very-reasonable-the-celtic-belief-that-the-souls-of-our-dearly/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Inside its crumbling walls the house is riddled with bullet holes, and in its garden only the crimson dahlias still hold their heads high.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shan-sa/inside-its-crumbling-walls-the-house-is-riddled-with-bullet-holes-and/) [Shan Sa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shan-sa/) > [Identity is not negotiable. 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