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Essay On Mass Incarceration

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Compared to other countries, the United States has the highest incarceration rates. Americans, know that the prison system exists for the simple fact of punishing those in our society who have done wrongful acts. However, not many Americans know about the social cost that mass incarceration causes. In fact, we rarely even see our prisons or know about the full functions of it because they are tucked away in plain sight and considered to be invisible for your average citizen to comprehend. Unfortunately, policymakers of this country believe our prison system to be fully functional and productive across all boards, but it is not. Our prison system is nothing more than a people mill, where more than hundreds of individuals go in for the crimes they commit, and they do not necessarily come out. Policymakers and the public see mass incarceration as a useful tool for a swift and stern justice system but mass incarceration, in fact, has a negative impact on crime and carries collateral consequences with it. Mass incarceration and …show more content…

Instead of being a deterrent, it is more so considered a revolving door since the number of prisoners we place release from our jail is the same number we put in. Mass incarceration does nothing but fails to reintegrate the prisoner back into everyday life, though most prisoners deserve to be in jail, they also deserve a chance to be a law-abiding citizen once again. Our criminal justice system fails to see this, we thrive on the idea of punishment, but we do not know that we are making individuals worse than when they went in. How can we consider an inmate who was released from prison to have lived a legitimate path, if we take away specific privileges that can help them do so? All in All, mass incarceration or shall I say imprisonment in general increases the probability of an inmate becoming involved again in criminal

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