While Sarah Alton-Jones may be correct that too many criminals return to jail, several of her
arguments are faulty. First, she is incorrect that longer prison sentences will solve the problem. As
Dr. Joseph Markis shows, “There is no evidence that longer prison sentences help rehabilitate
prisoners better.” In fact, Dr. Markis shows that the key to rehabilitation is jobs: “84% of prisoners
who transfer from prison to a viable job have not returned to prison after ten years.” Alton-Jones is
also incorrect in stating that the fear of longer prison sentences will keep people from committing
crimes. This is clear from Rebecca Halston’s research that shows that violent crimes increase in
number and severity in states with the death penalty. This is so, she says, because “criminals do
not commit crimes rationally. They act irrationally first and then act violently to cover their crimes if
they believe that the punishment for being caught is severe.” Clearly, Alton-Jones’ argument goes
against the most current research.