THE GARDENER’S LAMENT: REHABILITATION AND RESPONSIBILITY INSIDE LEAVENWORTH PRISON

In this thesis, I assess the debate over whether inmates should have privileges as a means of rehabilitation within United States prison populations. I focus on the example of Carl Bowles, a convicted murderer residing in Leavenworth Prison, who was given a garden to tend, only to have it taken away by a new regime. My argument is twofold: I will first discuss the normative question of whether an inmate like Carl Bowles ought to be given his garden in the first place. I will then address the empirical question of whether giving him the garden is beneficial to him and society. I unfold my argument by first discussing some central theories of punishment and then applying these theories to the distinct questions concerning treatment of inmates.