ipl-logo

Prison Reform Essay

1403 Words6 Pages

Prisons are a huge part of the criminal justice system that is for punishing individuals who’ve committed crimes. A prison reformation is an absolute critical issue today, the system right now is very outdated and honestly needs to be changed and under action now. Overcrowding, ineffective rehabilitation programs, and costing are just some of the issues that make it clear that change is desperately needed. In this essay I will argue that it is time to implement comprehensive prison reform that prioritizes all of these struggles along as it is a necessary step towards a “just society”. The first reason why the current prison system in the United States is in need of a reform is that it lacks rehabilitation programs throughout the prison. While …show more content…

This emphasizes that it is critical for punishing agencies to prioritize the development and implementation of evidence provided rehab programs. And from that, the prison system can reduce relapsing rates and promote successful reentry into the world for offenders. Reforming the system to focus more on rehabilitation and preparing inmates for life after prison could not only reduce recidivism rates but also help to address the underlying issues that led to their incarceration in the first place. The second issue is the critical effects of overcrowding inside of prisons. The issue of overcrowding in prisons has become a significant problem in many countries, resulting in dehumanizing living conditions, increased violent rates, and reduced access to essential services for inmates.The first point of the topic will focus on how tough sentencing policies have led to an increase in the number of citizens being imprisoned for longer periods, resulting in overcrowding in prisons. …show more content…

The quote above emphasizes how tough sentencing policies have resulted in an alarming increase in the number of imprisoned citizens, causing overcrowding and degradation of living conditions in prisons. Overall it highlights the urgent need for reforms in sentencing policies to attack this issue and improve the overall function of the criminal justice system. The second point that will be stated is that overcrowding in prisons has a negative impact on the well-being and safety of the prisons, as it can lead to high barbarity among the environment, and reduced access to healthcare or other essential services. “The research is clear: overcrowding leads to higher rates of violence, inmate misconduct, and suicide, as well as greater risk of infectious diseases”, Stated by Nation Insitiuate of Corrections. This quote above emphasizes the damaging effects of overcrowding in prisons on the safety and well-being of those imprisoned, increased violent activity, and health risks.

Show More
Related

Remarkable Court Decision And The Future Of Prisons In America, By Jonathan Simon

1084 Words | 5 Pages

From healthcare to personal safety, inmates are suffering illnesses, abuse, excessive sentences, and maltreatment at an astronomical rate. There has been a vast debate on the issue. There are many arguments for lesser prison sentences and better prison conditions. Mass Incarceration on Trial, A Remarkable Court Decision and the Future of Prisons in America, written by Jonathan Simon, illustrates how our nation has become far removed from treating prisoners as human beings who deserving dignity and our nation has failed to properly address this grossly flawed prison system; particularly California. We as a society know very little about mass incarceration and the atrocities that happen behind the concrete walls of the numerous prisons in

Read More

Are Prisons Obsolete By Angela Davis

1097 Words | 5 Pages

With such traumatic experiences or undiagnosed mental illnesses, inmates who are released from prison have an extremely hard time readjusting to society and often lash out and commit crimes as a result of their untreated problems. It is for this particular reason that Davis says we must focus on rehabilitation and provide services for inmates while incarcerated and before they are released. Solutions she proposes are shorter sentences, education and job training programs, humane prison conditions, and better medical facilities and service. With adequate care and conditions, released inmates will able to find jobs, start families, and become functioning members of society rather then returning to

Read More

Summary: History Of US Jails

1086 Words | 5 Pages

From an incapacitative through retributive and to what it is today, the U.S prison system has endured. This institution has for years served as a tool for coping with evil and crime through various measures such as retribution, deterrence, and rehabilitation. However, some major challenges still exist. The overreliance on prison as the paramount means of handling the offenders has led to a system that is overburdened. Still, the history of the U.S jail shows an institution that has gone through changes and challenged its functions and practices in the effort to achieve justification and bring order in the

Read More

Lavette Mayes: Victims Of Mass Incarceration

1788 Words | 8 Pages

With drug treatment, more probation, and community service, inmates will get the true chance to change for the better without having to face imprisonment. Cullen’s research says “... Sometimes, longer stays can even increase recidivism” (Cullen). Sometimes, serving a long sentence for a small crime makes the inmates worse off instead of better. This is why alternatives to incarceration are so important not only for the inmates, but it helps with overcrowding. Although the alternatives solve mass incarceration, it does not solve the agendas being pushed out that cause a lot of people to be arrested.

Read More

Mass Incarceration Literature Review

1728 Words | 7 Pages

The United States has a larger percent of its population incarcerated than any other country. America is responsible for a quarter of the world’s inmates, and its incarceration rate is growing exponentially. The expense generated by these overcrowded prisons cost the country a substantial amount of money every year. While people are incarcerated for several reasons, the country’s prisons are focused on punishment rather than reform, and the result is a misguided system that fails to rehabilitate criminals or discourage crime. This literature review will discuss the ineffectiveness of the United States’ criminal justice system and how mass incarceration of non-violent offenders, racial profiling, and a high rate of recidivism has become a problem.

Read More

Essay On Why American Prisons Do Not Work

886 Words | 4 Pages

Prisons can now focus on the prison's conditions and find ways to make the prison better. When the prison population is lowered it helps with the danger of overcrowding (ProCon.org). When there are more prisoners there is more violence between the inmates. When the prisons are less crowded the prisoners are less stressed. These arguments are not valid because not all prisons do this.

Read More

Essay On Mass Incarceration

959 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

Essay On Mass Incarceration

644 Words | 3 Pages

Mass incarceration is a large issue in the United States. Largely due to drug-related crimes. Researchers, government officials, and citizens are all attempting to push anti-drug policies to attempt and reduce the level of drug usage in the United States. Many individuals, myself included, believe that alternately there should be more focus on prevention and treatment of criminals rather than harsher punishments imposed. While anti-drug policies and harsher punishments may help deter crimes from happening it does not address the issue of inmates and their actions after incarceration.

Read More

Prison Overcrowding Speech Outline

994 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

African American Prison System Essay

1529 Words | 7 Pages

The punishment is that they are with us” (Paragraph 2). Instead, prisons focus on rehabilitation. Most citizens understand that in order to have long term effects, it take long processes that take a while to get used to. “The country’s well-education population [appreciate] that almost all prisoners will return to society. They understand [...] that the more the penal system can do within the small window of opportunity during a prisoner’s incarceration, the better it will be in the long run” (Paragraph 15).

Read More

Pros And Cons Of Prison Reform

852 Words | 4 Pages

V. PRISON REFORMS The main part of this research paper is the reforms for the conditions of prison and make prison a better place for prisoner and make an alternative for incarceration. The prison Reform for prevention of overcrowding in prisons: A ten-point method for reducing the overcrowding in the prisons all over the world, these points are1: 1. Collect and use data to inform a rational, humane and cost-effective use of prison.

Read More

Persuasive Speech Outline For Prison

679 Words | 3 Pages

Thesis: It is very important for the sake of Americans tax dollars that we change the way that prisons are run and increase the productivity of inmates so when they are released from jail they are ready to be a productive member in society and have the confidence to achieve new goals. Introduction: Day after day, millions of inmates sit in jail doing nothing productive with their lives. We are paying to house inmates that may not even have a good reason to be there. For example, drug offenders are being kept with murderers and other violent offenders.

Read More

Prison Overcrowding In America

623 Words | 3 Pages

The issue of prison overcrowding has been an increasing in America. There are about 2.2 million Americans in jail or prison. The number of people in prison have gotten so large that about one in every 100 adults are behind bars. The increase in inmate population in the United States is a concern to me because some of these people have committed non-violent crimes or have drug related crimes. These people should be placed in rehabilitation centers or be counseled about drug distributing.

Read More

Thesis Statement For Rehabilitation

370 Words | 2 Pages

Thesis Hypothesis and Statement: Prisons in in the United States of America are definitely overcrowded, they are understaffed and I believe put very little effort on rehabilitation. The U.S. prison system was set up to rehabilitate prisoners so they can blend back into society as good people. But the factors as high crime rate and of course, mandatory sentences have caused a very high over crowding in our jail systems. This have caused a high increase in the budget deficit. Some citizens will say, where was the rehabilitation that we once used and it has all but now disappeared in our prison and jail system today.

Read More

Essay On Prisoners Rights In America

1294 Words | 6 Pages

One of the most common problems with prisons in America today is how they are all overcrowded. One reason that prisons keep receiving more prisoners is the fact that the reoffending rate among prisoners is extremely high. According to the article “Recidivism Rate by State 2023”, 44% of criminals released from prison return within their first year out. For comparison, according to the U.K government, the average reoffending rate in the U.K is around 25%. That is almost a 20% difference between the countries which just goes to emphasize the glaring issue of reoffending rates in America.

Read More

More about Prison Reform Essay

Related Topics

Open Document