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Critical reflection on prison education
Critical reflection on prison education
Critical reflection on prison education
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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
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.
Zuckerman abolishes some of the myths that most people believe to get the reader to better understand his argument. He refutes the argument that prisons correct behavior by using the statistic that about 60% of people that have been released from prison will return (Zuckerman). It is important to refute preconceived thoughts in order to get the reader to accept new ideas. People tend to have an “if isn’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality. After hearing this statistic, the reader can be made aware that the criminal justice system is broken. Zuckerman reveals the imperfections in the criminal justice system and allows for the audience to be more open to a different solution to the problem.
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.
Today’s court and justice systems, as well as our prison system, are flawed and don’t do enough to not only hinder any further crime from occurring, but put those who may cause further complications in our society in jail. In the article “Why Prisons Don’t Work,” Wilbert Rideau, a murderer sentenced to life in jail, explains his reasons and provides evidence on why our prison system is counterproductive. According to Rideau, many of those who are thrown in prison, were convicted due to their unskilled, impulsive, and uneducated actions. Putting these men in prison may seem like a good idea, but there are underlying reasons why prisons don’t work.
Scandinavian prisons are known around the world for their amazing success rates of prisoner reoffending rates and operating system compared to other countries. Inmates in one prison can even leave during the day; Scandinavian prisons run very casually compared to NZ and the rest of the world who have more formal approaches. In NZ 70% of prisoners reoffend after 2 years out of prison, in Scandinavia it’s 20%. Why does Scandinavia choose to operate their prisons this way?
he Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines controversy as, “a discussion marked especially By the expression of opposing views’’ (“Controversy”). There are many controversies that affect society today. Controversy can cause fights, destroy families and intimate political strife. Some of the major controversies affecting America today are racism, killing, and how kids just sit in a class all day.
As Westion points out, prisons have become “understaffed, overcrowded, violent schools for crime and brutalization” (p.78), in which punishment is prioritized over rehabilitation. There is clearly an issue with the justice system considering that the vast majority of inmates end up returning. I believe that if the Ethics of a Person was applied more in prison, many inmates would have more hope and drive to make the correct changes in their lives. United States prisons are dehumanizing, treating inmates more like animals than humans, this creates more resentment amongst the inmates and breeds more violence. German prison systems have applied these ideas of rehabilitation of the person, and have seen far better results in reduction of crime than the United States.
When the American prison system began, it was believed that rehabilitation, the act of restoring one’s character, could be beneficial for criminals to start over. According to Tom Wicker, “The system…began as a reform impulse, the idea that if offenders were isolated, shielded from the public mockery that had accompanied hangings and the stocks, given time to repent, and worked hard, they could be turned away from crime and transformed into useful citizens” (xii). Criminals could become better citizens and have a positive outlook for a future if they worked hard and were secluded from the outside world. Although this idea seems more humane, it did not last long in the prison system because many people believed that any crime committed deserved
Introduction In this paper, I will discuss prison issues as well as concerns of inmates in supermax prisons. Discussion There are numerous issues in corrections that have led to controversies and divided opinions on how to approach them (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). Such issues include prison overcrowding, privatization, attention to prisoners’ rights, capital punishments, and juvenile offenders.
Despite the beliefs of many citizens who have never experienced any form of confinement, individuals in custody at a jail or prison have the same right to healthcare as the unincarcerated citizen(). This issue was first addressed in Estelle v. Gamble in 1976, were an inmate sued the Texas Department of Corrections claiming they did not adequately provide him with medical treatment after he sustained an significant injury while working his assigned job at the prison. He advised that he was placed in solitary confinement due not going to work because of his injuries (Estelle v. Gamble, 1976). He claimed to be cruelly and unusually punished at the hands of the facility. The courts ruled that the facility did not violate his constitutional right.
As Emily enters jail, she has no idea what to expect in prison. She believes prison punishes people appropriately and gives people time to rehabilitate themselves. Adam believes our prison system is a complete failure and explains why. There are 2.2 million people incarcerated in the U.S 10x more then it was 50 years ago. A study conducted by the NYU school of Law found that the effect on the crime rate of increasing incarceration has been 0.
Given the number of issues within the United States prison system, a better and alternative solution to retribution is rehabilitation. In Norway, the country has successfully established an efficient prison system by replacing punishment with rehabilitation. For instance, Norway at twenty percent, has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world (Deady para 8). On the other hand, the United States recidivism rate is estimated to be between sixty to seventy percent with inmates who were released, going back to prison within a three-year span (2). Comparing both Norway and the United States prison system, the Norwegian prison system holds a unique aspect towards the way their system approaches its inmates.
Germany: An Alternative System Germany is an example of a country that has effectively reduced its total people in poverty, and kept prison populations at low levels. In the report Sentencing and Prison Practices in Germany and the Netherlands, Germany’s criminal justice system is organized around “resocialization and rehabilitation”, not law and order that is in the United States (Shames 2013). The authors researched Germany and the Netherlands policies around criminal justice. Germany’s Prison Act aims to “enable prisoners to lead a life of social responsibility free of crime upon release, requiring that prison life be as similar as possible to life in the community”.
Open prisons are usually for prisoners who were moved from closed prisons for rehab purposes. There are no external protection to an open prison. The prisoners with good conduct in the work force belong in this kind of prison area. Enforcement officers can go out under the supervision and protection, and also it is possible to discuss freely with visitors. Prisoners in the open prison are required to work hard labor for the government, it can also be community service.
