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Smartthinking provides many different beneficial services that help students all over. It provides help in nearly any subject such as math, reading, science, writing, etc.. Many of these services are useful however, the one that I think will help me the most whether now or in the future is essay submission. Essay submission stood out to me the most because I am a student at Bethel University and we have to write a lot of essay papers instead of actually taking test. When using essay submission it helps people correct any issues or mistake that they may have in there essay paper that they have overlooked. Since I just started school again I will be using this tool quite often. Smartthinking provides a demand for any student. Tutoring is another good service that I can see myself using as well. A tutor is always useful to a student. Therefore I am glad that gives us the option to use …show more content…
It started in May of 2011 when I got sentenced to 5 years in prison. Honestly, it was my first time, and I did not know what to expect only from what I saw on t.v. Therefore, Before and even during incarceration I experienced many different mixed emotions such as sadness, anger, anxiety and even the fear of the unknown. However, now I notice that I actually used some of the key points from the article "Where there's a will, there's a way". According to the article "Resilience has been defined as an attitude that enables the individual to examine, enhance and utilize the strengths, characteristic and other resources available to him or her." (Harrington, 2012, p.1) One of the key points I used the most during my obstacle of incarceration was physical. In order to help my time go by faster or to keep my mind off negative thoughts, I decided to workout daily. It made me less frustrated and have a healthy in shape body. "A healthy body composition is an essential requirement of the physical aspect of resilience."(
Throughout his novel, Texas Tough: The Rise of America’s Prison Empire, author and professor Robert Perkinson outlines the three current dominant purposes of prison. The first, punishment, is the act of disciplining offenders in an effort to prevent them from recommitting a particular crime. Harsh punishment encourages prisoners to behave because many will not want to face the consequences of further incarceration. While the purpose of punishment is often denounced, many do agree that prison should continue to be used as a means of protecting law-abiding citizens from violent offenders. The isolation of inmates, prison’s second purpose, exists to protect the public. Rehabilitation is currently the third purpose of prison. Rehabilitation is considered successful when a prisoner does n...
The goals of incarceration according to penological principles are incapacitation, rehabilitation, retribution, and deterrence. When exploring the outcomes of a time served in a supermax facility, rehabilitation can be immediately ruled out. Supermax facilities have been said to be potentially damaging to an inmate’s mental health and inflict irrational emotions of rage and lead an individual to lose touch with reality (Haney, 2003). Incapacitation is achieved through the incarceration of inmates in supermax facilities. Inmates are removed from society, preventing future crime. Incapacitation is achieved through all forms of incarceration, not just incarceration in supermax facilities. Deterrence is a heavily debated aspect. From a study done in 2005 by Roy King, the interviews of 42 supermax inmates had interesting findings in terms of deterrence. King’s findings suggested that some inmates spend their sentence in supermax reflecting on the wrongfulness of their actions. Inmates have stated that placement in these facilities have allowed them to release themselves from harmful influences of other problematic stressors and exercise self-control (King, 2005). Lastly, retribution.
Zamble, E., & Porporino, F. (1990). Coping, imprisonment, and rehabilitation: Some data and their implications. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 17(1), 53-70.
Convicts rarely serve their entire sentences in prison (Ross and Richards, 146). To alleviate the costs of imprisonment on taxpayers and lessen the staggering populations of prisons across America, it is simply prudent to let inmates out on parole. Unfortunately, the parole system is imperfect and often leads to many ex-convicts recidivating. With the various trials and challenges that ex-convicts are bound to face when rejoining society after prison, Ross and Richards provide valuable lessons in their book of how a convict might survive beyond bars.
The 1970s in the United States was a time of incredible change, doubt, as well as reform. The many issues happening throughout the country helped to lead to the discomfort in many prisoners that eventually lead to their e...
Grounds (2004) contends that twelve of the men met criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their symptoms are directly related to specific threats of extreme violence. Victims gave examples which included nightmares of assaults that occurred while incarcerated and panic attacks in response to police sirens. In sixteen cases, other psychiatric disorders were evident. Ten of them suffered from a type of depressive disorders, five had features of a panic disorder, four had symptoms of paranoia, and three had acquired a dependence on drugs and/or alcohol. In addition, chronic sleeping problems, moodiness, and irritability were increased in all cases. Exonerated victims are often suddenly release which creates problems with adjustment. Their functioning of practical tasks, such as using ATM’s or crossing busy roads, mandated humiliating struggles with coping. Adaptation to new physical surroundings creates tension because of the change in predictable and ordered prison cell environment. Friends and family report confusion about the victim’s withdrawal and avoidance of social contact. These individuals have often lost their sense of purpose. They may have lost their family, homes, and most importantly- hope. Coping with lost time involves managing circumstances that occurred during incarceration such as deaths, weddings, relating to their children, and cultural changes.
According to Goomany & Dickinson (2015), there are many concerns that prison may not be an applicable setting for prisoners to be rehabilitated. Many prisoners have pre-existing mental health complications, and prison life can lead to deteriorating mental health issues, increased severity of the disease, and increased risk of prisoners harming themselves. In fact, mental health problems within the prison system are the leading cause of illness for prisoners. Scheyett, Parker, White, Davis, & Wohl (2010) states “A recent report by the United States Department of Health and Human Services indicates that an estimated fifty-six percent of state prison inmates had symptoms or recent history of a mental health problem; forty-seven percent of these reported three or more symptoms of major depression, compared with 7.9% of the general population of the United States” (p. 301). Research has shown that inmates that experience mental health issues are far higher than other prisoners in the general population to commit suicide during their first week of incarceration. Moschetti, Stadelmann, Wangmo, Holly, Bodenmann, Wasserfallen, & Gravier, (2015) comments that 35.1% of prisoners examined during a recent survey suffered from some form of mental disorder and among all inmates forty percent had at least one physical chronic health
The most common disorder reported after being in jail for an extended amount of time was Post Incarceration Syndrome (Gorski). Post Incarceration Syndrome can be defined as “a set of symptoms that are present in many currently incarcerated and recently released prisoners that are caused by being subjected to prolonged incarceration in environments of punishments” (Gorski). It causes the prisoner to have a difficult time connecting and coping with normal daily life. This can be due to the PTSD or antisocial personality traits that the prisoner gains with this disorder (Gorski). It can also cause the victim to become addicted to drugs and alcohol (Gorski). This disorder often causes people to struggle once they are released from prison, causing life on the outside to be a difficult one. This was illustrated in the case where one of the prisoners who suffers from this disorder said, “ It’s not to the point where you want to commit suicide,” he said, “but sometimes, I’m at the point that I’d be wanting to write the judge and say, ‘Just give me the death penalty. Just give me the death penalty, man” (Goode). To add to the problem 73% of prisoners reported chronic depression while 78% said that they felt “emotionally flat” (Goode). Depression is a huge problem in the correctional system because the prisoners often do not receive the care they need. This can also lead to jail suicide and self
The current prison and criminal justice system has not proven to be helpful in rehabilitating offenders and preventing recidivism. To successfully alter this situation it is important to understand what steps and measures are available to assist those who find themselves imprisoned. The techniques used in cognitive behavioral therapy have proven to be effective in treating depression, anxiety and drug addictions among other things. Analyzing the techniques developed in cognitive behavioral theory and applying them to psychotherapy in prison environments can assist in making improvements in the prevention of criminal activity, rates of incarceration and safety and security of the general population. The literature shows that the use of cognitive behavioral therapy has been effective in the treatment of a variety of criminal offenders.
The reasons as to why individuals desist from crime can range from genetic, environmental, social, or psychophysiological. One belief focuses on the idea that criminals desist from crime through pro-social development and a worthwhile career path. In a study conducted by Aresti, Eatough and Gordon (2010), five ex-offenders participated in interviews about their lives as offenders, and their new found lives as productive members of society. Results show that four major themes emerged from the five men. First “being stuck” in their offending ways, second “defining moments” or moments of self-change, third “life in transition” or moments in the self-change process, and fourth “a new world” which encompasses the men’s new and reformed lives. The men in the study each had defining moments, typically the realization that they were going to be locked up for many years or losing out on time of their lives acted as this defining moment. This produced angst and made the men question their existence;
Attending recovery classes while incarcerated is limited and generally looked upon as an escape from a prison cell. Most inmates use recovery programs while incarcerated as a distractio...
Today, our country’s correctional facilities are filled with many people, ranging from juveniles, teenagers, adults and the elderly. To get to where they are, these people committed a crime, if not several crimes and are now incarcerated. Incarceration is a process which is meant to “treat” and to “punish” those who have exhibited criminal behavior. However, in order for a criminal to fully recovery, a behavior modification program may be implemented. Ranging from operant techniques to systematic desensitization, individuals who are incarcerated can shape their criminal behavior into law-abiding and socially accepted behaviors.
Sung, L. G.-e. (2011). Rethinking Corrections: Rehabilitation, Reentry, and Reintegration. Thousand Oaks : SAGE Publications.
Recidivism is a major problem in the United States, as nearly two-thirds of those released from prison, reoffend. In fact, in many cases those who were initially incarcerated for non-violent crimes, often escalate to violence, after release from prison. A U.S. Department of Justice special report released in 2014, entitled: Recidivism of
In his essay Critical Thinking: What Is It Good For? (In Fact, What Is It), Howard Gabennesch explains the importance of critical thinking by drawing attention to how its absence is responsible for societies many ills including, but not limited to, the calamity in Vietnam. Yet, at the end of his essay, Gabennesch also mentions that, despite “the societal benefits of critical thinking, at the individual level, uncritical thinking offers social and psychological rewards of its own.”(14). Similarly, it is these rewards that, like the bait on a fishhook, often make individuals hesitant to engage in critical thinking despite the resulting harm to both them and society.