TOW #11: Article (Catch a Cold, Go to Prison: The Recidivism Debate)

"Catch a Cold, Go to Prison: The Recidivism Debate" appeared on the Los Angeles Times website on November 26, claiming to have been written by "The Times editorial board." Because I do not live in California (as most of the Times' readers do) I was previously unaware of the problem of high recidivism in the Californian criminal justice system. Recidivism is the rate at which previously paroled prisoners partake in additional illegal activity. Attorney general Kamala Harris recently opened a division to reduce California recidivism rates, an action which the authors say was pointless and unnecessary.

The article's main rhetorical strategy is to define the word "recidivism." By defining the subject, the Times editors can make their argument seem more relevant and accurate based on the descriptions that they themselves gave. "Because 'recidivism' has so many different meanings [...] it has no meaning at all," the authors write. "Clearer language is needed to produce clearer results." The topic can be spun many different ways based on how one describes it, a fact that the authors cleverly noticed and effectively used to make theirs appear to be the only rational argument.

The definition is given through a comparison of two people: a man who missed a probation appointment after being paroled, and a cancer patient who developed a cold. You would not say that the cancer patient relapsed, the authors reasoned. Similarly, missing one appointment should not mean the criminal "relapsed," as is implied with the current, broad definition of recidivism. Juxtaposing these two people led the audience down a logical path: if the cancer patient did not relapse, and the criminal is in a very similar situation, then it holds that the criminal did not relapse, either. This current miscategorization drives up recidivism measurements.  "When technical parole violations are stripped out and the measure of recidivism is a new crime with a new arrest and a new conviction," the authors argue, "California's recidivism rate is [...]  just about the same as most other states." This logical argument was strong and seemingly effective at persuading the audience that Californian recidivism is not as urgent as it appears from the measurements.

CA Attorney General Kamala Harris