Reforming the U.S. Prison System: Rehabilitation over Incarceration

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Criminal Justice Or Criminal Housing Prisons and correctional facilities in the United States have changed from rehabilitating people to housing inmates and creating breeding grounds for more violence. Many local, state, and federal prisons and correctional facilities are becoming more and more overcrowded each year. If the Department of Corrections (DOC) wants to stop having repeat offenders and decrease the volume of inmates entering the criminal justice system, current regulations and programs need to undergo alteration. Actions pushed by attorneys and judges, in conjunction current prison life (including solitary confinement), have intertwined to result in mass incarceration. However, prisoner reentry programs haven’t fully impacted positively to help the inmate assimilate back into society. These alterations can help save the Department of Corrections (DOC) money, decrease the inmate population, and most of all, help rehabilitate them. After inmates are charged with a crime, they go through the judicial system (Due Process) and meet with the prosecutor to discuss sentencing. Prosecutors are getting less and less reluctant to tag on felony charges. David Brooks is a professor Yale University and teaches criminal justice. David Brooks explains that prosecutors “have gotten a lot more aggressive in bringing felony charges,” stating that felony charges carry a longer prison sentence than misdemeanors. When a felony charge is used, the judge can give any term sentence because the “mandatory minimum” sentencing will be voided. Mandatory minimum sentences are the least amount of time that a convicted inmate must serve for his sentence. In the past, minimum sentencing laws were useful due to the fact that crime rates wer... ... middle of paper ... ...e goal or objective. With the change to prisoner reentry programs, the high recidivism would drastically decrease due to the fact that the programs would be federally funded and supported therefore, inmates would have a higher chance for success. After all, we are all human, and no one deserves to be tricked into plea bargain due to the prosecutor’s pushing their own agendas, or because of mental issues derived from solitary confinement. Most of all, how is someone supposed to support himself or herself if they don’t have a backbone support from reentry programs. The criminal justice system needs to undergo reformation and address the real reasons to high crime rates and inmate failures to sustain a successful life after the time they served. So who are we to deny a person the right to happiness if they serve their time and want to live a crime free life?

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