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Prison overpopulation in the us
Prison overpopulation theory
United states prison overcrowding
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Prison overpopulation in the us
Prison overpopulation theory
United states prison overcrowding
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
It shouldn’t be that way. For those who commit a lower-level crime like drug possession, petty theft, or selling marijuana, prison is not just unfair, it is also a bad sanction for society at large. Reduce sentence minimums and maximums currently on the books. If someone commits a serious crime, like robbery, they should be punished. But there’s little evidence that staying in prison for such long periods of time, such as the 20 or 30-year sentences imposed, will rehabilitate prisoners.
Over the past 40 years U.S. incarceration has grown at an extraordinary rate, with the United States’ prison population increasing from 320,000 inmates in 1980 to nearly 2.3 million inmates in 2013. The growth in prison population is in part due to society’s shift toward tough on crime policies including determinate sentencing, truth-in-sentencing laws, and mandatory minimums. These tough on crime policies resulted in more individuals committing less serious crimes being sentenced to serve time and longer prison sentences. The 1970s-1980s: The War on Drugs and Changes in Sentencing Policy Incarceration rates did rise above 140 persons imprisoned per 100,000 of the population until the mid 1970s.
The prison system itself is corrupted and unfair to those individuals in it. Even though there are reform programs within the prisons, many prisoners return to prison due to inconsistent follow ups and the absence of these programs outside of prison. This creates high recidivism rates because they have a place to sleep and guaranteed meals and outside of prison it’s harder from them to have access to all of that. Elliot Currie states, “As we have crammed more and more offenders into prison, we have simultaneously retreated from the already minimal commitment to help them reenter productive society.” When the Eastern State Penitentiary was first opened in 1829, its main focus was to rehabilitate prisoners so they could reenter society (Eastern State Penitentiary).
First and foremost, the biggest pro, in my opinion, is that they reduce the prison population and the cost. Prisons have not seen a bigger success rate than intermediate sanctions. (Clear et al., 2017) If prisons are not proven to reduce recidivism then why waste the money keeping people in prisons where they are separated from family and friends? Second, keeping those who committed petty crimes with people who committed felonies doesn’t make sense.
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.
This Article I chose Goal of Corrections speaks about Four type of Corrections that are espoused and known as: rehabilitation, deterrence ,incacipitation and retribution. They say punishment is as old as civilization but Imprisonment did not standard until the Seventeen Century. The level of public and professional support for each of these goals has changed over time. In Colonial times, jails were designed only for those who were awaiting trial and those who not pay their fines, the primary purpose of the jails was for Incacipitation. Back then as it is know there has been a lot of changes in history,you can see as you are reading the article, alot has changed since then the punishments have changed they are no longer that cruel as they used
Designed primarily to pick up the slack of probation departments and correctional facilities, intermediate sanctions can be defined as criminal sentences that fall between regular probation and incarceration. The sentences can include house arrest, boot camps, intense supervision, besides other means. To be put into immediate sanction means that tools are in place for anoffender to be re-programmed. To give them coping skills for such things as dealing with theirmental illness or to give the offender understanding as to why they need to quit causing pain to others in society and why those actions are wrong. Intermediate sanctions mean’s to give the offender back values that he or she had lost in their life and to reintegrate them back into
Not only does this lead to prisons being dangerous, dirty, and overcrowded, but
It means reducing recidivism and imprisonment. It means giving more opportunities, care, and treatment to all Texans. Crime prevention can be achieved by making alternatives to imprisonment more available, not behind a barrier of high
These programs are cheaper than incarceration, and they can require the convict to pay part of the cost such as the substance abuse treatment. Convicts can continue working and caring for their families, which is very important. Prison space for violent criminals is freed up by keeping nonviolent and first time offenders in the community. The purpose for intermediate sanctions are used as another method of punishment to lower the pressure on probation departments and correction facilities.
In their defense, by sentencing people to severe punishments and jail term, they can instill fear among the general public, thereby reducing crimes. One example of this is the mandatory minimum sentencing policies for drug offenders. In the Article “What Conservatives Are Saying About Criminal Justice Reform & Right on Crime” by Grover Norquist, it mentions that in 2008, taxpayers spent about $5.4 billion on federal prisons which is an astonishing 925% increase since 1982. This is due to the surge of the use of prison sentences for drug crimes and the use of the mandatory minimum sentencing policy which usually begins with ten years. Drug offenders are the largest category of offenders entering federal prisons each year.
This creates problems because it adds to the eminence amount of tax dollars spent every year. In the article “The high price of incarceration in America” by Aimee shows that the average American taxpayer spends about $260 a year that is almost 80 billion dollars a year for incarceration (1). There have been many voters who have been trying to reduce the amount of mass incarcerations that have been going on since the 1980’s. The majority of prisoners who were released between 2014-2015 returned to crime but the rate that they were committing the crime and returning was dropped at an astonishing degree. In the article “Prosecutors Fight to Plan to Lower Drug Sentencing “ by Sari, Horwitz (1) shows how government officials are trying to cut back on the amount of long term sentencing for first time offenders.
Another example of how the prison system harms the economy is that ever since 1950, the number of people in the prison system has increased exponentially over the last 40 years. There are around 1.46 million people in the United States prison system and 39% of them were in prison for no public safety reason and could have been punished in a less costly and damaging way (such as community service) (Source B). Having low-risk offenders do community service helps the environment and gives the offender a less harsh
It is argued that if the offenders pay their costs, there will be social benefits, such as the costs of the public reducing, and this could eventually lead to lower taxes or the use of funds for other projects. A policy as such could also raise the costs and make the offenders take full responsibility for their conduct. If not, sanctions would take place, such as reimbursing the public, and this would serve as a deterrent as well. Also, if offenders are forced to reimburse for the misconduct they create, then more than likely they will appreciate the costs of their actions and
This approach also prevents overcrowding in prisons because it also deals with rehabilitative