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The Pros And Cons Of The US Prison System

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It is no secret that the US relies extremely heavily on our prison systems to hold citizens that are not currently properly following rules set forth by the US government. The US currently has twenty five percent of the world's prisoner population, despite only having five percent of the world's total population (Incarceration Nation). This clearly displays a problem within our prison system and a disconnect from the values which our country claims to have as our prison rates are currently most comparable to North Korea (Incarceration Nation). The US prison system is in desperate need for reforms to better rehabilitate prisoners and be more ethically responsible towards them; the US could have a positive effect on the treatment of our prisoners …show more content…

Currently, sixty six percent of prisoners return to prison within three years, often with a more serious offense (Gilligan). Prisoners are also still in our communities with more than ninety percent of inmates returning to communities within just a few years (Gilligan). If a rehabilitation program would be put in place that could reduce the rate of returning prisoners, then this would consequently help reduce the rate of overcrowding which will lead to better treatment of prisoners as there could be more funding per person. This would then lead to even better rehabilitation with more individual attention. Over time, the program would just keep getting more personalized and better and it would also improve the returning members of society. It would better the prisoners so they could live meaningful and productive lives after returning to society. This process of rehabilitation has been tested in San Francisco jails on violent offenders and it reduced the level of violence to "zero for a year at a time"(Gilligan). If we implemented this system of rehabilitating prisoners it would benefit the individual and the US prison

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People get incarcerated due to many reasons and sometimes they get harsh sentencing due to their crime. The crimes may either be intentional or accidental, but that is no excuse for the bureau of prisons. The prison sentences are sometimes doubled and tripled. These sentences are so harsh sometimes that the prisoners don’t get to see their family members anymore. Sentencing reform should be able to be in prisons not only statewide but globally because it will give prisoners a chance to fix their mistakes.

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169 Words | 1 Pages

La Greta, I really enjoyed reading your post as I have been a part of such programs since I began my career as a police officer 18 years ago. I started by conducting parole checks on violent offenders and quickly learned how little they were prepared to return to society. You are very correct in that an offender’s re-entry starts the minute they begin their sentence. This is going to require the cooperation and collaboration of the prison system, probation and parole, law enforcement, prosecutors, social services and public housing. The money is out there in the form of federal grants and it just takes a little work to find them on the internet.

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532 Words | 3 Pages

There are individuals who may be successful at changing their path in life and there is a good chance they could make the right decisions. With the four main types of programs provided to inmates such as Life Skill programs, Rehabilitative programs to address issues such as substance abuse, anger management and etc, education and literacy programs to work programs, there is a high chance that members who are successful In the program will not reoffend. Statistically speaking the re-conviction rate for reoffenders is 12% which is a good majority of people who want to better their lives, and an execution would not help anybody succeed with a new life (ND, N. D. (n.d.). 4 types of rehabilitation. ontario.ca).

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507 Words | 3 Pages

One possible alternative route to the prison system could be a boarding school type system where convicts are required to participate in an educational program that gives them the knowledge and ability to be released and given the needs to go make something better of the life they have been given. This system where they are required to participate in educational training would come along side a strict rule system that would encourage them to make the decision to choose something better. The debate is whether or not prison is beneficial or not for those who will be convicted, sentenced, and released. Whether we change the system or not there will always be crime and

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399 Words | 2 Pages

Contested political debates, regarding prison reform, date back to the early 1890s. During the following century and to date, considerable progress occurred towards a more fair and just prison system, however, not at a steady and consistent pace. Progress in prison reformed greatly slowed in the years following the 1890s and prison conditions declined during the 1940s (Sullivan), leading to countless prison revolts and lawsuits. For instance, in the 1950s, prisoners rebelled and fought back against the harsh living conditions and unfair treatment following the steady decline in prison conditions. These original prison reform movements laid the crucial framework for our modern prison reform movement based around the ideas associated with

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163 Words | 1 Pages

In order to reduce the population of inmates, those released need to continue to stay out of prisons. The rate of recidivism, in which inmates go back to jail after release, is about sixty-eight percent. This is a surprising percentage, and that jail cells have become revolving door as it’s only a matter of time after release, does an inmate end up back in jail. Changing the methods of prisons and how inmates are treated, is an idea providing to solutions of the major issues. The current system of dehumanization of inmates and locking them behind cell walls twenty-three hours a day, is proving to be an ineffective way of dealing with criminals.it is time to change ways and stray away from a strictly punishment ethic and move to a more rehabilitation

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752 Words | 4 Pages

Statistics shows that 52 percent of prisoners return back to prison within 3 years of their release. This can be related to the fact that the nature of the prison experience causes psychological and economical problems within the prisoner that leads them into recidivism. Along with prisoners who are released with parole they are more likely to go back into prison for the same crime they committed rather than a new crime. I believe a way to better integrate ex convict into society and prevent them to returning is by putting them into professional counseling to fix the psychological problem they may be facing, the government should give them $40,000 to start them off when they reenter society or find them a place to stay a shelter or a government housing and the government should provide them with a job. This way they would have money, a job, and a place to stay which would be probable to keep them out of prison.

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136 Words | 1 Pages

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

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199 Words | 1 Pages

The United States needs a better approach to how they hand rehabilitation of prisoners young and old. One of the questions is “can everyone be rehabilitated?” Another question is “should everyone be?” And finally “how should they be?” These are all important questions when it comes to the subject of

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707 Words | 3 Pages

Something will always need to be fixed in society because society is a reflection of us, and we are not perfect. Recently, there’s been many issues that have caught the attention of people living all across the world. Things such as police brutality, sexual assault in the workplace, and immigration law, just to name a few, but there’s also been an underlying issue that people are becoming more informed about, and that I believe matters - prison reform. Prison reform matters because in many instances, prisoners are treated inhumanely when they are locked up, and aren’t treated as humans when they have served their time. I believe we can bring about change in the prison system by changing the way we punish people who do commit crimes and focusing more on actual rehabilitation.

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679 Words | 3 Pages

Thesis: It is very important for the sake of Americans tax dollars that we change the way that prisons are run and increase the productivity of inmates so when they are released from jail they are ready to be a productive member in society and have the confidence to achieve new goals. Introduction: Day after day, millions of inmates sit in jail doing nothing productive with their lives. We are paying to house inmates that may not even have a good reason to be there. For example, drug offenders are being kept with murderers and other violent offenders.

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1016 Words | 5 Pages

The Land of the Incarcerated “The land of the free and the home of the brave” is a timeless saying that truly resonates with United States citizen’s and sums up the morals this country was founded on. The land of the free may not be as free as people think, as Americans find themselves in an era in we have the largest prison population in the world. Due to judicial stipulations such as minimum sentencing laws most crimes have the same punishment regardless of the circum These people are first time non-violent offenders who may be headed for prison. The times are changing and so should the way we handle our prisoners.

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380 Words | 2 Pages

With well over two million people incarcerated in the United States and countless more tied up within the criminal justice system, alternatives to incapacitation are needed now more than ever. Jails and prisons are feeling the strain on their resources due to overcrowding. This overcrowding has debilitated their ability to function as a place to serve out sentences and to rehabilitate inmates. Alternatives to incarceration could reduce prison populations as well as reduce economic costs. A few programs that have shown to be effective are probation and restorative justice.

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400 Words | 2 Pages

Though, this issue can be solved by implementing more rehabilitation and improving our re-entry programs. Due to the releasing of about 95 percent of criminals, our community needs to better our treatment and rehabilitation programs. If more offenders went into a treatment facility, rather than serving time, they would most likely not

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2091 Words | 9 Pages

This approach also prevents overcrowding in prisons because it also deals with rehabilitative

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