The Idea of an Essay, Volume 3

10 The Idea of an Essay: Volume 3 religion, but lack of participation in religious life. Leila’s unexpected parole is reasonable within the context of Finland’s transition from a philosophy of harsh sentences to lenient releases that occurred throughout the 1970s. Leila was originally sentenced to a life term for killing her brother-in-law, a draconian punishment for defending her sister from further abuse. Surprisingly, after only serving 10 years of her sentence, Leila receives a pardon. Criminal Justice professors Ikponwosa Ekunwe and Richard Jones believe that Finland’s justice system significantly altered the treatment of criminals between the time of Leila’s sentencing to 1973, the year of her pardon. Prior to 1960, criminal justice policy had its roots in the Russian authoritarian model of the nineteenth century. Around 1960, a social revolution took place in Finland which led to sweeping changes in social welfare and criminal justice policies. The result was that the old Finnish system was replaced by a forward looking, socially aware new way of thinking...Finnish policy makers were heavily influenced by a growing body of research that raised serious questions about the efficacy of harsh penal policies. Instead, these policy makers were struck by the growing body of literature from Nordic countries that supported the idea that recidivism could be greatly reduced by policies that focus onmaintaining the connection between prisoners and the outside world and providing them with tools to survive in it. (Ekunwe and Jones 2) Leila was tried and sentenced in the 1960s before Finland’s justice system was reformed and made more lenient. However, after the revisions to the justice system, the prison system would offer parole to older convicts who were sentenced to longer sentences. Finland regularly tries alternative forms of punishment, stemming from their skepticism that hard punishment discourages criminal behavior (Garner 1). Leila’s imprisonment aided her escape from the emotional pain of her past crime and broken relationship with her sister. The prison system promoted her own self-loathing and inhibited her rehabilitation to function in society. Sending Leila to Father Jacob was her best hope for reversing the apathy in her life and successfully rehabilitating her. Leila’s pardon in 1973 is realistic because of Finland’s transformation from focusing on punishment to rehabilitation. The postman’s attitude towards Leila reflects Finnish society’s