Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Prison reform in united states
Prison reform research paper
Supermax prisons pros and cons
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Prison reform in united states
California overcrowding prisons conditions has gain National attention. The U.S. Supreme court has found that California is in violation of the 8th Amendment. California has been required to reduce their prison inmates by 40,000 inmates. California has utilized many options to reduce the inmate population within the prison system. California has to two years to reduce the inmates count in the prison system.
Super Max prisons house the worst of the worst, those inmates who are prone to violence and or escape, and those inmates who cannot peacefully coinhabit congregate style prisons (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). The inmates who are confined in Super Max prisons are those who were convicted of some sort of especially heinous crime or have attempted, or been successful in escape, inciting fatal riots, or offenses similar. Super Max prisons are also known as Administrative Control Units, Special Handling Units, or Control Handling Units and are standalone housing units inside an already existing prison (Ross, 2007), or in the case of federal prisons, can be an entirely separate prison
Second, the Bureau could prohibit the construction of new super-max facilities and implement alternatives to limit the negative impact of indefinite super-max confinement. Although it is clear that super-max facilities will continue playing some role in American prisons, some adjustments could be made to alleviate the risk of mental harm afflicting inmates. The state could adopt a number of different alternatives. First, the State could disperse or concentrate the most violent and disruptive inmates throughout the system by meticulously planning the best options (Mears 2006). Second, the State could build segregation cells in each prison for each facilities ' most disruptive inmates (Mears 2006).
The Texas prison systems have many pros and cons that can be easily observed. A beneficial thing about the prison system is that they provide an added level of protection for the public. Every single day there are a variety amounts of criminals who are incarcerated to not only serve their time but to also keep them all under one roof so that they cause no harm to the public. The crime rate in Texas has risen up; from un-resolved homicides to sexual assaults; therefore, when they are incarcerated they will be locked up and the public’s safety will be at ease. Another factor that contributes to the pros of the Texas prison system is the satisfaction that the interests of the victim’s family and members of the public are happy with the result
A supermax prison is a prison facility that represents the most secure level of custody in the prisons system. This prison is intended for inmates who are unmanageable in the general population or inmates who are classified as high security risks. Examples of inmates in these prisons include Sulaiman Abu Ghaith who was convicted for providing material support to terrorists, Naser Jason Abdo who was convicted of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and Eric Rudolph who was convicted of carrying out bombings. All these inmates are housed at ADX Florence. These prisoners should be in supermax because they pose a high security risk.
Since early times supermax prisons were used as a deterrence for extended criminal activities. We have seen facilities such as Alcatraz as early examples of supermax facilities which has been around since mid-1900. . There are many interesting points I found out about supermax prisons after reading this week article. The purpose behind super maximum security prisons is to prevent hard criminal from committing further crimes and keep them away from committing more crimes while incarcerated or inflict injuries t themselves therefore they are locked away from the rest of prison population. Supermax prison are not new and have been around for a long times as well as have been used in many different countries throughout the world.
Some important facts to consider. Between 1970 and the start of the 1990’s, we saw an increase of prisoners by nearly 332%, with an increase of incarceration of 200% per 100,000 persons. When you have such an increase of prisoners in an institution, you are going to obviously have an increase in violent inmates, but you also as time goes on have courts coming down on guards and prison admin saying what they can and cannot do. Obviously the combined problems above created a need to our prisons to better manage the inmates, thus, supermax prisons started popping up. Supermax prisons just like the death penalty have those who agree with it, and those who disagree with it.
The former director (Morris Thigpen) of the National Institute of Corrections said, “It is imperative that all inmates placed in Supermax be fully aware of how they can work their way out” (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015, p. 458). Remembering these words, I would first ensure all supermax inmates fully understood the behaviors that were acceptable and those that were not. Respect between inmates and staff would be the foundation of the behavior expected. It’s imperative these inmates respect the officers and other staff working in these facilities.
Supermax prisons are designed to house those offenders who are deemed the worst of the worst, either by committing extremely violent and heinous crimes or by being disruptive and violent in a non-supermax prison (Mears, 2005). Supermax prisons are designed to limit inmate contact with other inmates and even prison staff by keeping the inmate confined to their cell for most of the day (Schmalleger, 2015). Supermax inmates are allowed one hour of recreational time by themselves. What can inmates do to work their way out of a supermax facility? Due to inmates limited ability to interact with other inmates, there is limited opportunities to get into trouble; therefore, it is also hard to show an improvement in ones attitude.
The United States Government spends a lot of money($75 billion) on locking people up and helping big businesses than helping prisoners. Many prisoners probably spend hours, days, or probably months in solitary confinement. Once they get out of solitary confinement the prisoners behavior changes like they won’t talk to no one and they just rather be by themselves cause they can’t be around big groups of people cause that 's what solitary confinement does to the mind of people. Haney’s research has shown “that many prisoners in supermax units experience extremely high levels of anxiety and other negative emotions.
Mass Incarceration is a term used to describe the increase in the number of people put in jail over a certain period. In recent years, America has had more than two million people put in jail. Most, for minor crimes that were not worth the sentence they received. Privately owned prisons actually make more money based on how many prisoners are in the jail. Organizations like the ACLU are working to cut the number of citizens in prisons by half by the year 2020.
Those who find themselves sentenced to time in a penitentiary, jail, or prison are at risk of either being broken or strengthened by the time they spend behind bars. There is a great debate of whether or not the prison system in the United States is positive or negative. The following will briefly highlight the positives, negatives, and possible alternatives for our nation's prison system. First, there is a long list of negatives that the prison system in America brings. The prison system is filled with crime, hate, and negativity almost as much as the free world is.
olitary confinement, in 40 states have super-maximum security (“supermax”) facilities specifically used to hold people in long-term confinement. States such as Colorado consistently uses excessive confinement that dehumanize one’s well-being. The inmates are basically put in cages and they don’t really have the freedom to have any free time. They have a 15 minute shower three times a week. “ Mental Health clinicians visited at least once a month, and a librarian delivered books and magazines once a week.
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.
2. The Prison-Industrial Complex introduced by Eric Schlosser, is a theory that claims that the prison system is constructed by political pressures, economic requirements, and commercial demands. The prison system has been continuously growing in the last three decades, regardless of the actual need for it. The PIC is specifically harmful to the most vulnerable of people, such as homeless people, mentally ill, etc. The PIC does more harm, than good, therefore, it is a poor system all-around.