To help gain perspective, you can read these generic opinions about "criminals" by replacing the word with "rapists" in your head. Does this feel just as noble?:
... resort to rape to try to stay afloat
... resort to killing your son to try to stay afloat
... resort to beating their wife to try to stay afloat
Yea, it's hard for them to avoid those actions but they still destroyed other people's lives and opportunities. I think we should be helping troubled people before they become so desperately troubled that they resort to violent crime. That includes all the people who restrained themselves and don't get the sympathy for being an ex-con but still have a terrible life and desperately need help.
It is funny, because neither rapes nor domestic violence are why people are actually in prison. Both are actually crimes that pretty low successful sentence and incarceration rates.
The prisons being full is not about law enforcement locking up these. It is more of them ignoring these.
... resort to rape to try to stay afloat
... resort to killing your son to try to stay afloat
... resort to beating their wife to try to stay afloat
Yea, it's hard for them to avoid those actions but they still destroyed other people's lives and opportunities. I think we should be helping troubled people before they become so desperately troubled that they resort to violent crime. That includes all the people who restrained themselves and don't get the sympathy for being an ex-con but still have a terrible life and desperately need help.