I also agree with your assessment, and I see some possible solutions. If the government were to simply give an increased tax-break or tax-based incentive to non-profit organizations that are dedicated to physically going to prisons, then perhaps the U.S. (and other countries) could get a firmer grip on the actual root of crime.

Also--as someone else pointed out--in this system mercy is usually up to a jury, not common sense or truth; a female or racial minority may very well get out of a sentence altogether when she/they committed a crime equal to someone serving years, all dependent on the jury. On the flip side, the inverse may happen--especially with minorities--and someone who had performed a lesser crime can "do more time" than a person who has done worse.

But one of the biggest underlying points I see from this is of simple mercy. When do I give up on someone for hurting me, after they've done it over and over? What if they do not show signs of improvement after a while? What if they DO, but still slip-up sometimes? How does our current system respond to this? It doesn't. How do I, as a person, respond to it? Should I? Should you?