Stripped of Humanity: Are Prison Systems Helpful or Rather Harmful?

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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.
For centuries, prisons have been attempting to reinforce good behavior through various methods of punishment, some more severe than others. There are several types of punishments which include “corporal punishment, public humiliation, penal bondage, and banishment for more severe offenses, as well as capital punishment”(Linklater, V). Punishments in which are more severe pose the question “Has it gone too far?” and is stripping away the rights and humanity of a criminal justified with the response it is for the protection of the people? Is justice really served? Although prison systems are intense and the experience is one of a kind for sure, it does little to help them as statistics show “two-in-five inmates nationwide return to jail within three years of release”(Ascharya, K).
The population of people entering the prison systems nationwide is increasing exponentially. Often times, it is due to the living conditions in which they return to such as facing the same poverty, limited prospects and minimal network connections that make them turn to crime to survive. For obvious reasons, income is the solution to many of their problems which can only be obtained with their “by any means necessary” mindset. Prison has almost become a second home for recurring inmates a...

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...rison time, amongst other things would be provided. Anything that would ultimately contribute to an inmates success is needed. Whether it be mandatory employment and trainings or curfew and other factors that benefit them.
For sure, there are criminals who have no conscience to guide them as they walk these streets. For sure, there are sick people in the world whom rather molest a child before one of age, which neither is justified. And for sure they are people who would act as God and take ones life away because they feel like it. It is the reality of society, however, we must not incarcerate people for the small things, instead we must help them as citizens.

Works Cited
Linklater, Veronica. "Veronica Linklater." Absolute Astronomy. Absolute Astronomy, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2014

.http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/01/31/us-injustices-filling-prisons

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