You raise some good points. I personally believe that all humans have the capacity to change. There are two things necessary for that change to occur. One is a desire to change. Second, is the opportunity to change. One can have the desire, but if one is prevented from having the opportunity, then change cannot occur. People do what they do because it is all they know to do, not necessarily because they have no desire to do anything else.
Let's look at it in the form of an analogy. A toddler will often throw a temper tantrum. It is the only way they know how to deal with their frustration, or their desire to get their needs met. When a toddler engages in this behavior, we put them in time out to calm them and get their attention. We then tell them, "If you want the toy truck, and you can't reach it, ask me to help you. Having a temper tantrum is not the way to get your wishes." We discipline them to show them that a tantrum is not acceptable behavior, while at the same time, teach them that there is another, acceptable solution to their problem. That is, in effect, rehabilitation.
A drug addict uses drugs because that is their solution to dealing with day to day problems. They don't have the skills to find an alternative solution to dealing with their problems. They must be taught coping skills that make the use of drugs unnecessary. Those skills allow them to do what they are attempting to do with the drug use...manage and control their life.
The same holds true for the majority of crimes. Murder may perhaps be the one exception, but often violence is the murderer's only way to cope with extreme emotion. Keep in mind that the vast majority of murders committed in this country are "crimes of passion". They are committed during an episode of extreme emotional reaction. The same with many crimes involving violence. The individual does not have the skills necessary to control and deal with strong emotion, and does the only thing they know to do to release it. Goes right back to the toddler having a temper tantrum. He sees something he can't control, it prevents him from getting what he wants or needs, that evokes a strong feeling of frustration and lack of control, and he releases his frustration the only way he knows how...through a tantrum. When we teach him different skills, the tantrums stop.
Punishment alone does not effect lasting change. It only temporarily controls.
