Why the prison system is flawed The american prison system is flawed and should be changed because it is very expensive to keep it running the way it is, the prison system is helping gangs grow and it can be fixed it is possible. I believe that it needs to change so that cities will have more tax money to fix other things and the people who don't deserve to get released won't be. The prison system is very expensive for taxpayers because they have to pay to employ the officers, they have to pay for the building, the tools, the food for them to eat, there clothing and bedding. As stated here “The more money a state spends on building and running prisons, the less there is for everything else, from roads and bridges to health care and public …show more content…
That sounds crazy but it's true because when people go to prison they want to be guaranteed safety. The officers can provide that most of the time. Because ”Officials could not be relied on to protect prisoners" Most of us have wives and kids or grandkids" exclaims one. "Are you going to risk your life by stepping in front of a knife when you have one lousy piece of shit trying to kill another lousy piece of shit?" (Skarbek). Also ”gangs offer protection and governance in places where established institutions fail, and that it makes sense for prisoners to join them,” (Skarbek). This is the main reason people join gangs they are forced to in order to insure their safety. The reason the leaders of the gang allow people to join and keep the safe is explained here ”Gangs can trade far more effectively than lone inmates. Prisoners listen when they threaten violence; members can ease trade from the outside after their release. Consumers, in this case buyers of drugs, benefit too. Gangs are long-term sellers, so they have an incentive not to drive customers away by abusing their power.”(Skarbek). Most inmates who are recruited mostly for their protection are usually the ones who get out of prison in 1 year or less. Therefore the gangs use them once they are out or threaten them. The gangs in prison are very bad and that's why we need to fix the prison …show more content…
The prison system is able to change it just takes the government not being as stubborn. They outlaw the death penalty. If the death penalty was still used the prisons would have about ⅔ of the inmates left then what is has now. As seen here ”people talk about how the death penalty is not a deterrent. Well, we do it so infrequently. Even if you're sentenced to death, you're probably not going to get executed. That's why it's not a deterrent,”(Horn). People don't even see the death penalty as a punishment so people aren't afraid of commiting crimes. With how dangerous prisons are with overcrowding they are just costing more money for providing the medical attention the inmates need. ”There have been any number of reports about overcrowded and dangerous prisons, and while the Commission presented its conclusions and recommendations to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, it's not clear what - if anything - will come of that,”(Horn). When people get out of prison they are afraid of going back. They don't have a reason to change. Most people don't have a way of even getting a job once there out as stated here, ”I work in a medium security prison in North Carolina that serves young men ages 18 to 25. There is one segment of our population that no program addresses. This is the group that will probably never be able to get a GED, and therefore they do not qualify for many of the programs designed to help with job