Reforming The United States Prison System - 940 Words

Nathan Brand AP English 11 Ms. Westphald 1/19/2016 Reforming the United States Prison System The United States is the largest jailer in the world. With only 5 percent of the world s population and a disproportionate 20 percent of the worlds prison population the United States also has the highest incarceration rate in the world (Chamman). In fact one in every one hundred and ten adults in the United States will be incarcerated. Many of these adults will return to prison later in their life (ACLU). The Prison Crisis has become a recent phenomenon as from nineteen seventy four to two thousand and fourteen the prison population has increased four hundred and eight percent. The Prison System does not nurture the rehabilitation of prisoners well. A vindictive prison culture is created that nurtures violence. The United States prison system has the largest rate of people to return to prison (Williams). For many prisoners incarceration makes them more likely to return to prison (ACLU) For others prison leads to traumatic violations of rights such as rape, malnutrition, and systematic disparity. Through the obvious statistical evidence of the United States Prison system and the exploration of detrimental prison culture it becomes apparent that the system needs to be reformed. Prisons are not cost effective and they do not provide the right correctional help. The United States prison system is deeply flawed. Prison creates a culture that is detrimental to prisoners and allShow MoreRelatedHistory Of The Prison System1067 Words   |  5 PagesThe history of the prison system in the US is very extensive and encompasses nine different eras which include the Penitentiary era, Mass Prison, Reformatory, Industrial, Punitive, Treatment, Community-based, Warehousing, and the Just-desert era. Each era had its own strength and weaknesses that influenced each subsequent era that came after. the idea of a prison system came about from the colonist desire for a more humane method of dealing with criminal offenders. It was a key move away from corporalRead MoreThe Apocalypse Now : The Los t War On Drugs865 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to â€Å"The Apocalypse Now : The Lost War on Drugs†, the United States federal government began to become tough on â€Å"crime† especially drug offenses in the 1970’s under President Richard Nixon. Nixon stated that â€Å"drugs were public enemy #1† and that he was going to be tough on this crime. As a result, state level government began to create policies that were strict on drug offenses causing minimal sentencing for minor drug offenses. Instead of going after the root of the problem which was preventingRead MoreThe Death Of A Brooklyn Shelter For Domestic Violence1504 Words   |  7 Pagestwo weeks in prison which effectively destroyed the new life she was trying to create. Only after her lawyers moved the case to a more sympathetic judge, was she released. The fight was not over just yet. Her case was still not resolved, her spot at the shelter was gone, and she no longer had custody of her child. All for a bag of diapers. Thousands of cases just like Adriana’s are in the works every day in the United States. There are serious problems facing the American prison system that have pronouncedRead MoreThe Problem Of Democrats And Republicans Essay1583 Words   |  7 Pagesproperly reform the criminal justice system. This is an issue with nearly every topic and this is the main cause of issues in the country. The debates and lack of agreeable actions makes it seem nearly impossible for the country to change in positive ways in timely manners. This issue is the biggest issue in the United States of America, because it interferes with progress and reform. This is an integral part of why the current system remains in a dysfunctional state. This issues is more urgent thanRead MoreReforming Prisons : Reforming The Prison System Essay2140 Words   |  9 Pages Reforming our Prison System With the population of the United States prisons growing every day we need to evaluate if they are doing any good. Personally, I believe that we need to keep our prison system, but we need to take steps in reforming them rather than abolish them altogether. The United States has the highest number of incarcerated people than any other country in the world. We must sit down and look at other countries and see what they are doing different than the United States. In thisRead MorePros And Cons Of Solitary Confinement1001 Words   |  5 PagesOver the last couple of decades, prison systems have adopted the use of solitary confinement as a means of punishment and have progressively depended on it to help maintain obedience and discipline inside the prison structure. Solitary confinement is a form of incarceration in which a prisoner is isolated in a cell for multiple hours, days, or weeks with limited to no human contact. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the United Stat es represents only 5% of the worlds population yetRead MoreJuvenile Delinquency And Juvenile Criminal Justice System1475 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction: Juvenile delinquency is an ever growing issue in the United States, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, â€Å"In 2012, there were 3,941 arrests for every 100,000 youths ages 10 through 17 in the United States† (OJJDP, 2014). The way juveniles are treated in the criminal justice system is very different than the way adults are. In 1899, in Cook County, Illinois, the first juvenile justice system in the country was founded. This established an alternative wayRead MoreThe Debate Of Rehabilitation Vs. Reparation948 Words   |  4 Pages A common dilemma in the United States prison system is the debate of rehabilitation vs. reparation. Reparation involves strictly punishing the prisoner for their crime. On the other hand, rehabilitation aims to â€Å"fix† the prisoner for a potential eventual return to society. Ethically, reform makes more sense than reparation, as it aims to make the prisoner more useful to society, while increasing the overall safety of the society. A strong rehabilitation program would additionally cut down the numberRead MoreDealing With Repeat, Criminal Offenders, And The Justice System756 Words   |  4 Pages Dealing with repeat, criminal offenders, has become a hot-topic issue in the corrections community, as well as the justice system as a whole. Society demands to be protected from the criminal element, and rightly so, but how do we identify the career criminals, and keep them from harming others? Even though a small number of career criminals were responsible for the majority of the crimes being committed in the country, it was not until the mid-1980s that selective incapacitation began to beRead MoreCorrections Trend873 Words   |  4 Pagesobjectives that will be addressed are past, present and future trends of corrections. Also, analyze current and future issues facing prisons and prison administrators as well as the roles and issues of alternate correction systems as a developing trend. In today’s society the jails and prison pretty much function with the same protocol. In the past the history of the State prisons began at the Walnut Street Jail in 1790, it was the actually first American penitentiary located in Philadelphia. Punishments