Assignment 1: The Prison Experience And Programming

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#1 The Prison Experience & Programming When individuals are sent to prison for committing a crime, the goal is to incapacitate, to punish the offender and to protect society (Beccaria, 1764; Class Discussion). That is the immediate outcome of incapacitation and the focus of prison programming. However, the longterm outcome of prison is more concerning. Prison programming is focused on punishment, by restricting the individuals autonomy and using their availability to the maximum benefit of the state. The state benefits from free labor and with limited social support for providing additional services to inmates, such as education and mental health, the state invest funds into more prisoners for more labor (Reckdahl, 2004; Class Discussion). Free labor is as any …show more content…

That is the working outcome of prison, though, the social environment has a larger impact on the offender. In a box, filled of criminals, how can one expect to act other than criminal or violent, without proper guidance as provided by health services that the prison program lacks. The outcome; rather than realizing the wrongfulness of the criminal act, as results of the social environment of prison, the offender becomes more efficient in tactics to survive in the box. Therefore, disregarding all structures of life outside the box and if granted release, the offender is without the guidance needed to readjust to the external world. Soon, to behave criminally, to report back to the environment learned best, prison (Peterslia, 1998). The results of the prison programming and experience, indicates the breeding of more criminal behavior than productive citizens, proving the

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