<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Lucida Sans Unicode" LANG="0">Hello you all,<BR>
For more than ten years Belgium has applied an "Oikoten" quasi-punitive judicially approved, whereby young people, between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five years of age, who have been convicted of fairly minor penal offenses, may be sent to walk the Camino, under suitable supervision, in lieu of going to prison.<BR>
The Belgian authorities report that about 60% of these "oikoten" are reintroduced into society successfully, and that their recidivism is less than half that of those who have been imprisoned.<BR>
A plan has been sent to the Spanish parliament to apply the same system to young first-time offenders in Spain. Reportedly, the Parliament has accepted the plan for study and possible adoption. <BR>
I may add that here in New York we have a somewhat similar system. Representing a young, first-time offender, convicted of a not terribly serious offense, attorneys often request that the young person be given the option of enlisting in a branch of the armed services in lieu of being sent to prison. After taking into consideration the totality of circumstances surrounding the offense, and the character and history of the young person, our judges often agree. <BR>
Warm regards,<BR>
Rosina</FONT></HTML>