Prison Rehabilitation Essay

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Historically, the prison system was formulated to house criminals before their trail or execution. Most cases had the prisoners paying for their own incarceration and conditions were dismal. Early conditions were deplorable, and it was not until 1787, that reform was presented by the Quakers. (Fagin, 2015). While the Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia was successful at first, overcapacity became a rising issue, causing the practice of rehabilitating criminals and preparing them for successful reentry into society to be crushed. The Supreme Court in 2011 decided a new landmark case regarding the prison sentencing system. The Supreme Court decided in Pepper v. United States that lower circuit and appeals courts could use rehabilitation statistics of individuals to reconsider sentencing …show more content…

The man in charge of the research was an American Sociologist, Robert Martinson. There were no specific hopes or predictions of the outcome; however, ultimately, research concluded with there being no evidence to support that prison rehabilitation programs are effective. According to Robert Martinson, an American sociologist who was hired by the New York State Government to do researcher on the prison systems and whether or not rehabilitation is effective, “nothing works.” There is generally no empirical evidence to support the idea that prison rehabilitation is effective, and as a result, money and efforts should not be spent on the initiative when those who are predisposed to commit crime are destined to contribute to recidivism rates. Generally, those who participated in rehabilitation programs in prison, such as educational and vocational trainings were those who were the worst parole risks due to being in prison longer (Martinson,

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