Topic: Prison overcrowding General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: At the end of my speech, the audience will be able to identify and describe the key reasons and issues of prison overcrowding. Introduction Attention Getter Imagine being locked up in a confined space with little to no air conditioning, concrete walls, concrete floors, poor sanitation, rowdy peers, no soft comforts of a home, and a lack of the everyday basic needs. What I am describing to you is a little thing called prison overcrowding. Establishes Speaker Credibility I personally began to become interested in the overcrowding of prisons when my own brother was let out early due to it. My brother described the horrid situation that the …show more content…
Preview of Main Points Today, I will be describing to you what prison overcrowding is, the reasons behind it, what it results in, and how it can be reduced. Body Transition to First Main Point: To begin, let’s take a look at what prison overcrowding is. I) Prison overcrowding is the social phenomenon that occurs when the demand for space in prisons in a jurisdiction exceeds the capacity for prisoners in the place. A) According to Portland State University, “Approximately one in 35 U.S. adults are incarcerated, on parole or on probation”. B) According to Penal Reform International, “In most prison systems, prisoners do not have the minimum space requirements recommended by international standards, spending up to 23 hours of the day, if not all day, in overcrowded cells. Overcrowding can be so severe that prisoners sleep in shifts, on top of each other, share beds or tie themselves to window bars so that they can sleep while standing”. Transition to Second Main Point: Now that we have defined what prison overcrowding is, let’s identify common causes. I) Repeating offenders A) Past B)