Opinion: The Suicide Squad could be a good rehabilitation program
Disclaimer. For the sake of this piece of writing we will primarily be focusing on the 2016 movie as reference.
The Suicide Squad. For those of you who aren’t familiar, no, it’s not what Charles Manson called his followers. The Suicide Squad is an elite task force made up of some of the worst criminals and meta humans in the DC comics universe. They are called the Suicide Squad because they go on some of the most dangerous missions in order to get time removed from their prison sentence, and if they try and escape the explosive that’s been implanted in their necks will detonate, killing them instantly.
With the release of James Gunn reboot I decided to go back and watch the original 2016 movie for the very first time and I gotta say I enjoyed it more then others. Don’t get me wrong it’s not a masterpiece but I was intrigued by it, mainly by three characters ; Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and Diablo. But what really got me interested in this story is that it’s a story about redemption and that got me thinking, with what little I know about moral ethics and the prison system, would an actual Suicide Squad be a logical and effective way to rehabilitate the worst of the worst.
A problem with our prison system is that there is very little actual rehabilitation going on. The fact that 45% of prisoners return to prison within a year of being released shows that very little is being done to help these men and women. And that’s just the first year. Overall it is reported that only 23% of released prisoners stay out of prison (factretriever.com) Obviously there are more that return after that year mark. So that brings up the question, is Amanda Wallace’s Suicide Squad just a way to exploit these peoples special skills while also saving the lives of innocent soldiers who would other wise have to go on these dangerous missions, or is the Suicide Squad program an insane, out of the box rehabilitation program for the people who are just as insane and out of the box?
It is my belief with some modifications the Suicide Squad program can bring some positive light to these villains life. The first argument that might come up is why would someone serving a triple life sentence need to be rehabilitated? The main reason… Arkham Asylum doesn’t exactly have the best track record with keeping their inmates behind bars, so if we are able to change the way they think and rehabilitate them, the safer the streets would be once they are accidentally left out.
The first changes that needs to be made to Amanda Wallers Suicide Squad, also knows as Task Force X, is that the participants must be given the option to join. They can not be forced into joining as they are in the movie. It is one thing to take away a persons everyday freedoms for a crime they committed. They were aware of the risk of breaking the law and what would happen if they got caught. It’s an entirely different thing to take away someone’s freedom of choice or basic human rights. According to German philosopher Immanuel Kants our individual freedom of choice and decision making is what makes us human. So when Waller is taking away that freedom for these individuals she is further dehumanizing these people. If you treat someone like a criminal they will act like a criminal. So if you treat someone like a good human being it is possible they will act as a good human would, even if they look like a crocodile. By giving people the freedom to choose to do something, like joining the Suicide Squad, you are inadvertently telling them you see them as an individual, and not just an inmate number.
One part that the Task Force X has correct is that it is believed the best inmates to focus on for rehabilitation are the highest risk criminals, and there’s no higher risk criminal then Harley Quinn (although if this was real life, she should probably be omitted from the team do to her severe mental health problems). By putting your faith in these people and giving them a chance to redeem themselves during their sentence, you are showing them that you believe they are capable of doing good. The government in this world let people like The Flash and Superman roam the streets free as vigilantes, so there is no reason King Shark also couldn’t roam the streets free and even be a hero, if he was given the chance.
Another upside to being a part of the Suicide Squad is the fresh air. It is stated in the film that these criminals only ever see the inside of their cells, with their food being given to them through a hole in the door. If it's true that these facilities are keeping their top criminals in permanent solitary confinement it’s no surprise that they go back to a life of crime once they are able to escape. It is said that solitary confinement can cause emotional trauma and the United States even considers that “solitary confinement over 15 days [is] torture”. So not only are these inmates getting their basic human rights taken away but they are also being tortured at the same time, so imagine what being out of your cell, in the real world can do for your mind if all you see 365 days a year during a life sentence are the same four walls.
The final thing that needs to happen to make Task Force X a viable rehabilitation program, and this goes for any prisoner, is that help needs to be provided to them to be reintroduced to society. In the real world people with a record have a much harder time getting a roof over their heads, securing a job, and getting an honest fresh start at life. If Amanda Waller was able to make these couple of things part of the Task Force X program Gotham, Central City, and all other cities might be better off when these criminals are back on the streets possibly returning as heroes.
Is Task Force X an ethical thing to provide to inmates? I think it could be. It’s insane and can only happen on the pages of a comic book and there’s so many ethical arguments and logistics to be argued against it but it’s an interesting thought experiment. As far as rehabilitation goes though the benefits these inmates would be given through a program like is, provided the few changes, would be much better then the conditions they’re currently living in while at the same time hopefully turning them to the side of good.