The Growing Problems of the Prison System

997 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Prison reform in united states

Mr. Governor, there are many ways to reduce the current problem of prison overcrowding; unfortunately many of them are not popular as they are seen as being soft on crime and as we both know that is not favorably looked upon. Some of the options would provide a temporary decongestion of the prisons while others would be a more long term reduction in inmate populations. After reviewing I believe that there are a few that we could possibly accomplish and still portray an acceptable persona to the public. These few include reviewing the mandatory sentencing laws, education opportunities, good time credits earning, conditional release of elderly inmates, foreign national occupation and after prison employment incentives.
Traditionally judges were allowed to weigh the facts of a case when determining sentencing, but since the passing of the mandatory sentencing laws judges no longer have any discretion in these matters. It was believed that the mandatory sentencing would catch the upper end of those in the drug trade and discourage others from starting to participate in it. Unfortunately it catches mostly lower level individuals and has not discouraged people from the use or selling of drugs, leaving judges caught with imposing penalties that many of them have come to resent. These penalties are stiff, mandated by Congress and are tied to the type and weight of the drug as well as if there was a firearm (legal or not) present, most of the entry level sentences are five to 10 years. Another problem with the mandatory sentencing is there are only two ways to reduce or avoid it. First is to implement another person or in some way provide “substantial assistance” to the government. The second way is a safety valve which has such a ...

... middle of paper ...

...: the mass incarceration of the elderly. (2012, June). American civil Liberties Union. Retrieved from https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/elderlyprisonreport_20120613_1.pdf
FAMM. (1997). Mandatory sentencing was once America’s law-and-order panacea. here’s why it’s not working. Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Retrieved from http://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/famm/Primer.pdf
Davis, L. M., Bozick, R., Steele, J. L., Saunders, J., & Miles, J. N. V. (2013 ). Evaluating the effectiveness of correctional education a meta-analysis of programs that provide education to incarcerated adults. In J. N. V. Miles (Ed.), Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR200/RR266/RAND_RR266.pdf
Petrella, C. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nationofchange.org/10-ways-reduce-our-out-control-prison-population-1348927431

Show More
Related

  • America's War on Drugs - The Prison Industrial Complex

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    After viewing the documentary: America's War on Drugs - The Prison Industrial Complex, it is clear that the Criminal Justice System is in desperate need of reconstruction and repair with policies such as the mandatory minimum sentencing act which has proven to be unsuccessful and unjust in its efforts to deter 'criminals from committing illegal acts' as seen with the increase of incarcerations of the American people and the devastating effect it has had on those in prison and the family members of those incarcerated.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Mass Incarceration

    958 Words  | 2 Pages

    A 1997 RAND Corporation study found that treatment of heavy drug users was almost ten times more cost effective in reducing drug use, sales, and drug-related crime than longer mandatory sentences (Echols, 2014). Other studies have shown that mandatory penalties have no demonstrable marginal or short-term effects on overall crime reduction either. Congress established mandatory sentences in order to incarcerate high-level drug criminals, but according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, only 11 percent of drug charged prisoners fit that description (Echols, 2014). Most of those incarcerated are low-level offenders, whose spots in drug trafficking are easily filled by other people. Mandatory minimum sentencing is essentially a waste of scarce criminal justice resources and federal funds that could be used elsewhere, and The Smarter Sentencing Act’s reduction of mandatory minimums can be the first step in eliminating minimum sentencing altogether. Ideally, given the opportunity for discretion, judges would be more inclined to issue more effective alternatives to incarceration, such as rehabilitation programs and/or

    Read More

  • Netherlands vs. United States

    1116 Words  | 3 Pages

    Brinkman, Phil. “Day 1: Filling Prisons is not a cure-all.” Wisconsin State Journal. 16 Jan.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography On The Effects Of Education In The Prison System

    1679 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is to no surprise that America has a large amount of its people incarcerated for a variety of reasons. One must ask themselves how we can help these individuals get back on track. The answer is America’s most powerful weapon known to man; an education. This is an annotated bibliography for research on the effects of education in the prison system and if these effects are worth taxpayer’s money.

    Read More

  • Prison Overcrowding in California

    2479 Words  | 5 Pages

    The proliferation of prison overcrowding has been a rising concern for the U.S. The growing prison population poses considerable health and safety risks to prison staffs and employees, as well as to inmates themselves. The risks will continue to increase if no immediate actions are taken. Whereas fighting proliferation is fundamentally the duty of the U.S. government, prison overcrowding has exposed that the U.S. government will need to take measures to combat the flaws in the prison and criminal justice system. Restructuring the government to combat the danger of prison overcrowding, specifically in California, thus requires reforms that reestablishes the penal codes, increases the state’s budget, and develops opportunities for paroles to prevent their return to prison. The following context will examine and discuss the different approaches to reduce the population of state prisons in California in order to avoid prison overcrowding.

    Read More

  • Race to Incarcerate

    1569 Words  | 4 Pages

    In todays society the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. This high incarceration rate is due to the growing phenomena known as mass incarceration. This phenomenon has led to massive increase of people being placed in prison and the amount of money being used for these prisons. The book, Race to Incarcerate by Marc Mauer, focuses on mass incarceration as our default social policy because of the weak welfare state in the U.S. In the book Mauer discusses the causes and the problems with this policy.

    Read More

  • Effects Of Incarceration

    1316 Words  | 3 Pages

    Harris, H. (2017, March). The Prison Dilemma: Ending America's Incarceration Epidemic. Foreign Affairs, pp. 118-129.

    Read More

  • The Overcrowding of Prisons

    1779 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Prison Overcrowding: The Problem.” American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC-American Legislative Exchange Council, 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Mandatory Sentencing

    1772 Words  | 4 Pages

    To begin, Mandatory minimum sentences result in prison overcrowding, and based on several studies, it does not alleviate crime, for example crimes such as shoplifting or solicitation. These sentencing guidelines do not allow a judge to take into consideration the first time offender, differentiate the deviance level of the offender, and it does not allow for the judge to alter a punishment or judgment to each individual case. When mandatory sentencing came into effect, the drug lords they were trying to stop are not the ones being affected by the sentences. It is the nonviolent, low-level drug users who are overcrowding the prisons as a result of these sentences. Both the U.S. Sentencing Commission and the Department of Justice have determined that mandatory sentencing is not an effective way to deter crime. Studies show that mandatory minimums have gone downhill due to racial a...

    Read More

  • The Prison System

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    Studies have shown that in-prison education curriculums decrease recidivism while refining the eminence of life. However, majority of extra-curricular classes in prison have been eradicated, additional customs of job preparation have reduced, and access to exercise equipment and educational resources such as books is progressively limited. In the past five years the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has increased the federal budget by 40 per cent to $2.6 billion, majority bei...

    Read More

  • Essay On Drug Courts

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    The complex issues of dealing with offenders in the criminal justice system has been a point of ongoing controversy, particularly in the arena of sentencing. In one camp there are those who believe offenders should be punished to the full extent of the law, while others advocate a more rehabilitative approach. The balancing act of max punishment for crimes committed, and rehabilitating the offender for reintegration into society has produced varying philosophies. With the emanation of drug-induced crimes over the past few decades, the concept of drug treatment courts has emerged. The premise of these courts is to offer a “treatment based alternative to prison,” which consist of intensive treatment services, random drug testing, incentives

    Read More

  • Problems with the American Prison System

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wilson, Rick. "The Growing Problems of the Prison System." American Friends Service Committee. American Friends Service Committee, 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. .

    Read More

  • Current Issues in the Correctional System

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    The “Tough on Crime” and “War on Drugs” policies of the 1970s – 1980s have caused an over populated prison system where incarceration is policy and assistance for prevention was placed on the back burner. As of 2005, a little fewer than 2,000 prisoners are being released every day. These individuals have not gone through treatment or been properly assisted in reentering society. This has caused individuals to reenter the prison system after only a year of being release and this problem will not go away, but will get worst if current thinking does not change. This change must be bigger than putting in place some under funded programs that do not provide support. As the current cost of incarceration is around $30,000 a year per inmate, change to the system/procedure must prevent recidivism and the current problem of over-crowed prisons.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Educating Jail and Prison Inmates

    1886 Words  | 4 Pages

    Esperian, J. H. (2010). The effect of prison education programs on recidivism. Journal of Correctional Education, 61(4), 316-334. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/871418247?accountid=38223

    Read More

  • Issues in Corrections

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first issue that I would like to address is the overcrowding issues in prisons. In my opinion, overcrowding issues are the biggest issues in our correctional system that concerns every citizen. Running a prison required money, resources and manpower, with overcrowding issues, the government would have no choice but to increase the number of correctional facilities, privatized prisons and increasing manpower. According to (Levitt, 1996), “The incarceration rate in the United States has more than tripled in the last two decades. At year-end 1994 the United States prison population exceeded one million. Annual government outlays on prisons are roughly $40 billion per year. The rate of imprisonment in the United States is three to four times greater than most European countries.” (p.1). Overcrowding issues are not only affect prisons but the society as a whole as well. The reason is simply because prison population directly refl...

    Read More

More about The Growing Problems of the Prison System

Open Document