I awaken to the sun beaming through my tiny window. I place my bare feet one by one on the cold concrete floor, standing and stretching as high as I can, until that satisfying pop sounds as my spine loosens up. Then it's a reach for the toes as my calves feel loose again. I trot out of my small cell and begin jogging, as I have every morning for a really long time. The air is stale, cold and crisp. The staleness doesn't bother me much. You can't expect much in a prison that was built to contain one prisoner. That prisoner would be me. It's fully functional, even still, with the energy being drawn from core heat and everything built to last. They had to build it this way. They expected that I'd be here for a long time. The cell I sleep in exits to a large rectangular room with exercise equipment gathered in the middle and a running track around the perimeter. At one end is the kitchen with a hydroponic farm and breeding pen or what sustenance I require. Food is the hardest thing to deal with now. Each day, I barely eat enough to last. At the other end is the library, stocked to my request. I didn't expect I'd have this long so everything has been read quite a few times. …show more content…
Just, not this long. As my running comes to a stop, I bend over. Taking deep breaths to slow my heart rate again, letting the sweat drip slowly off the tip of my nose to the floor. As habit will do, I look up to the viewing station where the guards had once kept vigil. Not for years now, many, many
What disturbed me is that although the prisoners have committed a crime, it is wrong for the wardens treat them like “animals”. It is astonishing that the inmates are able to survive through each day. If I was expected to eat the rotten food, I would choose not to eat, which would have eventually lead to starvation. I am aware that the feeling of starvation is unbearable, it’s almost like if there was something stabbing through your guts. Previously mentioned, I would rather just get shot because if I was an inmate in the cell, I would end up not eating anything at. This will then lead to death, whereas getting blasted by a gun would be faster and significantly more
People expect a penitentiary to hold inmates, especially dangerous ones, for as long as the court determines they should serve. Kingston Penitentiary has been doing that for many years. But it has also dedicated to the reform of inmates. What that means has changed dramatically over time. (Curtis et al, 1985)
Typically, the cells have no windows. Lights are controlled by guards who may leave them at night and day. For exercise, there is usually only one room with high concrete walls with one tiny window opening on the ceiling.
I whole heartedly believe we are too soft on offenders in the US. You know the old saying, I would never want to be in prison in Mexico, or any Latin country for that matter. Well, there is a reason for that. It is not a safe and pleasurable place to be. Per a poll on Gallup, when asked if our US criminal justice system was too soft, “a firm majority (65%) said that the criminal justice system is "not tough enough" on crime. 26% said the system is "about right," and just 6% said it is "too tough" (Kiefer, 2004).
In the 1970s, prison was a dangerous place. Prison violence and the high numbers of disruptive inmates led prison authorities to seek new ways to control prisoners. At first, prison staff sought to minimize contact with prisoners by keeping them in their cells for a majority of the day. As time went on, the prison authorities began to brainstorm the idea of having entire prisons dedicated to using these kind of procedures to control the most violent and disruptive inmates. By 1984, many states began construction on super-maximum prisons. In California, two supermax facilities were built by the state: Corcoran State Prison in 1988, and then Pelican Bay in 1989. The federal government soon followed suit and in 1994, the “first federal supermax opened, in Florence, Colorado.” It was not much longer before supermax prisons could be seen all over the country (Abramsky). In Wisconsin’s supermax facility, with similar conditions being found in a majority of supermaxes, there are “100-cell housing units” that are in groups of 25 cells. These cells all face a secured central area. Technology plays a major role in keeping the facility to the highest security standards. Every cell’s doors are controlled remotely and the cells include “video surveillance, motion detection and exterior lighting” (Berge). With these technological securities, there are also procedural precautions. Inmates are kept in their cells for 23 hours a day until their sentences are done. This is said to be for prisoner and staff safety, although some feel otherwise. In 2001, 600 inmates at Pelican Bay went on a hunger strike, demanding reform. Those on hunger strike believed that the isolation and deprivation they faced was against their Eighth Amendment rights. ...
Spending time in an overcrowded cell really lowers your social stability throughout time. Many of the prisoners tend to turn anti-social because they do not want to put up with the conditions in which they live. According to Terence T. Gorski the prisoners tend to develop an illness known as Post Incarceration Syndrome which is something developed through extreme confinement and lack of opportunity. The inmates are more often than not given very little opportunities to rehabilitate themselves with everyday things such as working and receiving an education in the overcrowded prisons. These prisoners are not given enough opportunity to assemble with one another because time is very strict and limited inside the prison walls. Resources are often stretched out to accommodate to everyone’s needs.The inmates tend to get treated in a very inhuman way, resulting in negative consequences. Dealing with the overcrowdedness of the prisons leads to the build-up of stress. Like every human being the prisoners will eventually get very tired of dealing with these conditions and will reach their melting point. When something like this occurs the inmate will most likely receive negative consequences such as complete solidarity. On the contrary being in an isolated cell for about 23 hours a day allows for the prisoners to ponder upon the choices
To me, that sounds awfully like a camp I was made to go to when I was young. Some people in prison even have television, others treat it like a hotel. This disgusts me a lot! This doesn't sound at all like a prison. A prison is a place where people are supposed to be punished.
Isolation and abuse are everything occurrences inside of a supermax prison. Each prisoner is forced to live in their own thoughts and cannot enrich themselves. People often have a difficult time imagining what it like to be inside of a supermax. Complete solitude is an extremely difficult situation to deal with. In Sasha Abramsky’s Return of the Madhouse, she discusses the treatment of the prisoners inside the supermax prisons all across the country. Supermax prisons were created for a reason; however, the techniques used are not always effective and can lead to the destruction of the prisoners.
Living in a prison for a long time becomes difficult for all inmates especially those who are mentally ill face stress when their environment suddenly becomes bars, harsh lights, and super maximum strict schedules. The inmates are forced to face the strict policies and conditions of custody in order to survive in the prison. These prolonged adaptations to the hardship and frustrations of life inside prison lead to certain psychological changes. Most of this inmates find it difficult to adjust in accordance with the prison rules. They get in trouble for destroying state property
Three walls. One toilet seat. Bars made of mild steel and a lock only accessible to men who government calls authority figures. Prison systems are known for three things: to protect the people, to punish the criminal and to rehabilitate the prisoner so that a crime will not be further committed. However, it has been causing ongoing controversy on whether or not it has been stripping away the earned rights of citizens or indeed helping them become “better” for society.
Solitary confinement is a penal tactic used on inmates who pose a threat to themselves or other inmates. Solitary confinement is type of segregated prison in which prisoners are held in their cell for 22-24 hours every day. If they are allowed to leave their cell, they will silently walk shackled and in between two guards. They can only leave for showers or exercise. Their exercise and shower are always done alone and inside. They can exercise in fenced in yards surrounded by concrete. Solitary confinement is either used as a punishment for prison behaviors, a protection method for targeted inmates, or a place to keep prisoners who are a threat to the general prison population. Many prisoners are put in Administrative Segregation for their protection. Many prisoners in this type of segregation are teenagers, homosexuals, and mentally ill prisoners. Many mentally ill prisoners are sent to solitary confinement because there are not rehabilitation services available, and prison officials have run out of options (Shalev, 2008, p [1-2]). Solitary confinement is a convenient method for prison systems, but the detrimental effects on inmates make it an unsuitable option for inmate control.
for youngsters who have a long history of convictions for less serious felonies for which the juvenile court disposition has not been effective” (qtd. in Katel).
Why should we care about education in prison? In today’s world people become more egocentric, so that no one’s longer care or even attempt to think about others problems and how to fix them. As a society, we have to begin to focus on the bigger picture, why so many people get behind bars in United States. All human beings should have an opportunity of better life even after committing mistakes before. Education is the key to success. By providing prisoners with opportunity to get education, our society will benefit everyone. Prison education should be provided to inmates for three significant reasons: reduces crime recidivism, gives job perspectives and helps prisoners to rehabilitate and commit themselves to a law-abiding life outside the prison.
Throughout this paper, one will obtain a better understanding of the correctional system and how it is an important aspect of the criminal justice system. Therefore, the history of corrections, their mission statement, and sentencing goals will be briefly discussed. In the correctional system, there are different alternatives to imprisonment, such as probation, parole, and intermediate sanctions. I believe that parole makes a significant impact on the criminal justice system because it gives inmates who have already served time and shown good behavior the opportunity to be released early from prison. For example, there are two primary models of parole. First, the parole board grants a prisoner their parole based on their judgement
Over 2.1 million inmates occupy the cells of prisons in the United States of America (Highest). Since the mid-1800’s, the prison population has almost doubled in size and still continues to grow. The amount of time spent in prison by an individual has also raised from 1993 (Espejo 21). Routines, crimes, and security contain similar structures in all prisons, but some involve worse circumstances and criminals; here is a look into the life of a prisoner.