Private prisons were constructed as a response to the overcrowding in federal prisons during the 1980s; many people speculate whether or not private prisons are good or bad. Critics argue that private prisons like any business are driven by profit, and prisons profit from the amount of criminals they are able to contain which gives the private prisons and their shareholders incentive to keep the prison population high and expenses low. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency estimates that over the next ten years state and federal expenditures on prisons will amount to $351 billion6. These government subsidies along with the support of private prison shareholders allow the prison industrial complex to keep their power and influence
The Things They Carried details a young naive man’s life that changes after being drafted into the Vietnam War. The author Tim O’Brien shares with us the many tragedies that are engraved in his memory. Throughout the book he tells stories about the lives(right) of the dead. As he writes the stories, he dreams about the dead, so in his mind they are alive and have returned back into the world. The reader can feel the struggle that Tim has in relieving the pain of losing these people.
Throughout all the terror and dehumanization the Jews faced, their real human relationships with others were what kept them truly living. While the Nazis attempted to turn the Jewish people against each other and diminish them to animals, the basic human relationships formed between prisoners, and their continual acts of kindness were the true act of Nazi rebellion and what kept them sane. While “Help was often of a minimal and/or symbolic nature… ability to retain part of his personality and self-respect, and this is given considerable importance in relation to the capacity for survival” (Davidson). The dignity that the Jewish prisoners fought to maintain came from their inclusion and importance in their social group. Therefore, while they attempted to, the Nazis could not steal their dignity.
Other guards joined in, and other prisoners were also tormented. The prisoners were taunted with insults and petty orders; they were given pointless and boring tasks to accomplish; and they were generally dehumanized. The prisoners soon adopted prisoner-like behavior, too. They talked about prison issues. ” The prisoners assume the roles they are given due to the environment, and so do the guards.
The poem “Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane” by Etheridge Knight is a commentary on the twentieth century American prison system. It invokes within the reader a feeling that many of the processes used to ‘correct’ a prisoner is dehumanizing. Solitary confinement is one such method. Solitary confinement should be outlawed because it is ineffective as it traumatizes the victims and is a violation of human rights. To begin, solitary
Private prison began booming in the 1980s, under the presidential terms of Ronald Reagan and Bush Sr., however, it slowed down in 1990. When prison sales began to slow down in the 1990's, Clinton who was the acting president, wanted to cut the program but the Justice Department took over and began contracting private prison out to corporations again. Private prisons are the largest business in the prison industry. About 18 corporations guard 10,000 prisoners in 27 states.
Mountains of prison garb. As we ran through, they threw clothes at us, pants, jackets, shirts… In a few seconds, we had ceased to be men” (Wiesel 36-37). This is relevant because the removal of the prisoner’s clothes takes away their freedom to dress and express themselves how they want, taking away their identity. This relates to dehumanization because making every prisoner wear a prison uniform makes them look the same as everyone else around them, almost like livestock in a pen.
Roy Barron Jr. October 15, 2014 Intro to Philosophy During the moments in the concentration camps, Frankl describes the three stages of the psychological reactions of inmates. The stages were that shock during the initial admission phase to the camp, disinterest after becoming familiar to camp reality; inmate uses only what helps himself and his friends survive, and reactions of a psychological condition, moral abnormality, bitterness, and disappointment if he survives and is unshackled. One of the main issues focused throughout the book is the handling of dead bodies and the cold-hearted and inhumane methods to remove them. These actions were allowed because the prisoners were already in shock and dehumanized that they could not react in a revolting manner.
When one is being forced to endure the abysmal conditions of those who were imprisoned by Nazi soldiers, one becomes desperate. In times of desperation, the morality of individuals is questioned, to others as well as themselves - whether they realize it or not. Prisoners of
Current policy allows government agencies to fund private, non-profit correctional facilities (also referred to as private prisons). While new policies to end federal contracts with private prisons have been issued, government agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), continue to work with private prisons now known as immigration detention facilities. The continued support of private prisons by government agencies for the last four decades has sparked public debate. “Conflict over the direction of government policy” on private prisons has resulted in the use of private prisons to be an unresolved public policy issue (1). Modern private, for-profit correctional facilities emerged in the 1980s that allowed private corporations to have full operational control for the first time.
Some individuals find solace in being alone; however, imagine being alone in a concrete cell for months or even years? Isolated from the entire world into a small box seems intimidating, but this tactic is used throughout the US prison system. Solitary confinement is as a disciplinary action on the prisoners to ensure their safety and serve as punishment. This issue has raised both ethical and practical questions on its usage through US prisons because of its benefits and drawbacks. Isolated and cramped, for the next months or years, in a small area where the prisoner would sleep and eat is implemented into the prison systems.
INTRODUCTION The United States incarcerates a greater percentage of the population than any country in the world (CBS, 2012). According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, over 2.3 million adults were incarcerated in federal and state prisons, and county jails in 2013. There are an additional 820,000 people on parole and 3.8 million people on probation (Wagner & Rabuy, 2016) Jail and prison differ primarily in regards to the length of stay for inmates.
Sholem Aleichem’s “Otherwise, There’s Nothing New” weaves the themes of Labor and Capitalism seamlessly into the story. The story engages the ideas of child labor and capitalism versus socialism all functioning to critique not just Jewish immigrant communities in a comedic wrapper. As one begins to unwrap the treat that is “Otherwise, There’s Nothing New”, similes and allusions are revealed to deliver the theme of unfair labor treatment, highlighting the harsh realities of not only America, but also the world for those underprivileged.
What are your thoughts about the prison system? Today 's prisons are so bad that prisons in the United States hold 5 percent of the US population. Many people get sent to jail cause of the 3 law strike because a lot of minorities are caught with drugs. Plus the government is wasting 75 billion dollars on these facilities instead of using the money in a better way like making programs for the prisoners that need help with mental health or other stuff.
During this period, Zimbardo observed the radical change in the personalities of the participants embodying the role of the prison guard, as they changed from ordinary young men to men with a vicious and sadistic character. Zimbardo stated that he was trying to portray what transpired when all of the individuality and dignity was stripped away from a human, and their life was completely controlled. He wanted to demonstrate the dehumanization and loosening of social and moral values that can happen to guards immersed in such a situation (“Stanford Prison Experiment”). This experiment has been used to exemplify the cognitive dissonance theory and the power of authority. In addition, the findings advocate the situational explanation of behavior rather than the dispositional one.
