A prisoner incarcerated inside a private or public institution, will always face negligence and violence amongst other inequalities. Prisoners are people like you and me, therefore they deserve to be treated fairly instead of how they are treated now in many facilities. Society and most importantly the government, should take action and intervene in both private and public sectors of the prison system, in order to achieve a reform. I think, the government should eliminate private institutions and reform the system in order for all of the prisons to be just and equal. In return, this will lower the percentage of sentences, the number of inmates incarcerated and raise the number of inmates rehabilitated. There have been many similar reforms proposed …show more content…
This is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health standards of care within the public prisons in the United States. Although, this organization has been around since 1980’s, they have had little impact in our prison health system due to the lack of funding and support from our government. If both support and funding were available for the NCCHC, it could form laws and policies based on their goals which consist of; helping inmates with disabilities, evaluate and set standards, along with helping both women and juvenile detainees. But what differs in my proposal is that inmates would have adequate and quality access to health care in all facilities without having to pay a large amount of money in co-pay fees. Also, there would be an excess of trained and professional staff available to assist inmates during all hours of the day, all throughout the year. By implementing policies and laws such as these, the number of deaths and injuries due to the lack of health care will lower since the copay will be affordable to all inmates and assistance will be available when …show more content…
Currently, the eight amendment which grants protection against cruel and unusual punishment, is the biggest and most important defense against abuse in prisons. In the last few decades, there has been little to no course of action regarding abuse against prisoners from staff. The Prison Rape Elimination Act was enacted in 2003 and there has been no major laws or acts passed since in order to reduce this problem. More laws need to be set in place in regards to staff training and evaluation. This reform in training will not only insure the safety of inmates but also insure the credibility of the prison staff and the government when it comes down to any potential lawsuits. Our prison system needs a reform and it needs it now, because although crime has gone down in the United States, the number of inmates has gone up and that is all because of the corruption that needs to be addressed within our prison and justice
In most prisons, you will find that prisoners are ill-treated by the prison officials yet suing them is a whole lot of bureaucracy. To sue such officials one need to have first raised his or her grievances prior, lest the case is termed to have not followed the required stages hence rejection. This thus promotes stigmatization amongst the prisoners and such policies require amendment. In most cases, you find that prison officials punish inmates to extents that are excessive of what is required. There several scenarios where we have heard of prison deaths due to bullying and even sponsored fights between inmates and such fights could be sponsored by guards who have prejudiced over some inmates. Through the litigation reform acts, and with evidence and following of appropriate procedures, prisoners can thus be able to get some relief and more important enjoy their rights as humans as well (Jail House Lawyers Handbook,
The correctional system is based on helping offenders become part of society and not commit any crimes. Many prisons begin the correcting criminals since they are inside the jails, but many prisons do not. Prisons provide prisoners with jobs inside the prison where they get very little pay close to nothing and many have programs that will help them advance their education or get their high school diploma. There are various programs prisons provide to prisoners to help them get a job or have a skill when they are released from prison. In contrast, prisons that do not provide programs or help to prisoners rehabilitate and enter society again will be more likely to commit another crime and go back to jail. The Shawshank Redemption prison did not
The system of the Prison Industrial Complex operates within the law. The law allows private companies to infiltrate the prison, while keeping prisoners in a subjugated position. The law, under the Eight Amendment obligates prison officials to provide prisoners with “adequate” medical care. This principle applies regardless of whether the medical care provided is by governmental employees or by private medical staff under contract with the government (Project, 2012). If prisoners believe they are being denied their constitutio...
According to Mark Early, president of the Prison Fellowship International, the Bureau of Justice Statistics report shows that there are 19 states that have prisons operating at 100 percent capacity and another 20 are falling right behind them. There is no wonder why the overcrowding of prisons is being discussed everywhere. Not to mention how serious this predicament is and how serious it can get. Many of the United States citizens don’t understand why this is such a serious matter due to the fact that some of them believe it’s not their problem. Therefore they just don’t care about it. Also, some Americans may say that they don’t care about what could happen to the inmates due to repercussions of overcrowding, because it’s their own fault. In order to cure this growing problem people have to start caring about what’s going on, even if it’s to people who might deserve it.
One in every 108 adults were placed behind bars in 2012 (Dimon). That made for 2.2 million prisoners in the United States ("The Sentencing Project News - Incarceration"). This is almost the population of Houston, Texas ("Facts and Figures"). In the years following its creation, the correctional system has become a rougher place to live with nearly one percent of the whole United States population behind bars. Both the mental illness and murder rates have increased, along with return rate of prisoners. The increase of problems can be blamed on the many factors including the unstable prison environment, the rapid spread of disease and the high return rate. In general, U.S. prisoners are far worse off than those in other countries in terms
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).
In dealing with Prison Procedure, I feel that many things are put into perspective all the way from intake to the release of an inmate back into the community or until they have served their sentence and their time is up. Everything in a prison must be on close watch. The workers should be watched just as well as the inmates. All the prisons procedures should be followed under a very strict manner to ensure that the prison functions properly and effectively.
Throughout history into today, there have been many problems with our prison system. Prisons are overcrowded, underfunded, rape rates are off the charts, and we as Americans have no idea how to fix it. We need to have shorter sentences and try to rehabilitate prisoners back to where they can function in society. Many prisoners barely have a high school education and do not receive further education in jail. Guards need to pay more attention to the well being of the inmates and start to notice signs of abuse and address them. These are just a few of the many problems in our prison systems that need to be addressed.
The overall goal of correctional facilities can be broken down into three main functions which are retribution, deterrence, and rehabilitation of the inmates. Today, there is much debate on rather private or public prison admiration is best to suit those goals. In a private prison the inmates are contracted out to a third party from either local, state, or federal government agencies (Smith 2012). Public prisons are where the government themselves house and supply the inmate’s basic needs with no third party involved. However, a large portion of the argument of private verses public prisons is over, which is best in achieving those goals more efficiently.
...inical professor at the University of Colorado. Unless the country develops a decent mental health care system, this issue will continue (Qtd. In “Prison Health Care, 3). More than 2 million inmates in U.S. prisons suffer from mental illness, addiction, infectious, or chronic diseases like HIV/AIDS and diabetes (“Prison Health Care”, 1). About a quarter suffer from severe depression and a fifth from psychosis (2). The majority of prisoners have no health problems at the time they became incarcerated; once imprisoned, they acquired a mental disorder (1). In 1976, the Supreme Court ruled that prisoners have the right to free health care due to the Eighth Amendment (4). Yet, prisons fail to provide health care of decent quality. Some prisons do not even have licensed physicians (5). Most doctors do not wish to work in a prison, therefore resources become substandard.
Every civilization in history has had rules, and citizens who break them. To this day governments struggle to figure out the best way to deal with their criminals in ways that help both society and those that commit the crimes. Imprisonment has historically been the popular solution. However, there are many instances in which people are sent to prison that would be better served for community service, rehab, or some other form of punishment. Prison affects more than just the prisoner; the families, friends, employers, and communities of the incarcerated also pay a price. Prison as a punishment has its pros and cons; although it may be necessary for some, it can be harmful for those who would be better suited for alternative means of punishment.
Prison has been around in human society for many millions of years. Having someone who disobeyed the law of that village, town, city or country punished in some form of institution, cutting them off from people, is a common concept – a popular and supposedly “needed” process society has taken to doing for many years now has been put under the spotlight many times by many different figures and people in society. The question remains – do prisons only make people worse? Many articles have been published in many journals and newspapers of the western world (mainly the USA, UK and Australia) saying prison only makes a person worse yet no complaint of the method has come from the less liberal eastern societies; this only proves how in countries where the rights of humans are valued such issues as if prisons only make people worse are important and relevant to keeping fair to all.
Although it may not seem like a major problem to most people in the United States, prisons are becoming overcrowded, expensive to maintain and have little to no effect on the moral discipline of inmates. The current prison system is extremely inefficient and the purpose of prisons has been completely forgotten. According to Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, the primary purpose of prisons is to punish, to protect, and to rehabilitate. Not only is there an increase in prisoners, but there is a rise in the number of repeat offenders. Alternatives such as counseling, drug rehabilitation, education, job training and victim restitution must be better enforced and organized. People do not understand the severity of the problem mainly because
Prison was designed to house and isolate criminals away from the society in order for our society and the people within it to function without the fears of the outlaws. The purpose of prison is to deter and prevent people from committing a crime using the ideas of incarceration by taking away freedom and liberty from those individuals committed of crimes. Prisons in America are run either by the federal, states or even private contractors. There are many challenges and issues that our correctional system is facing today due to the nature of prisons being the place to house various types of criminals. In this paper, I will address and identify three major issues that I believe our correctional system is facing today using my own ideas along with the researches from three reputable outside academic sources.
In the 1970s and 1980s, a massive amount of inmates began fillin up the United States prison systems. This huge rate of growth in this short amount of time, has greatly contributed to the prison overcrowding that the United States faces today. In fact, the prisons are still filled to the seams. This enormous flood of inmates has made it practically impossible for prison officials to keep up with their facilities and supervise their inmates. One of the main reasons why many prisons have become overcrowded is because of states’ harsh criminal laws and parole practices (Cohen). “One in every 100 American adults is behind bars, the highest incarceration rate in the world” (Cohen). The amount of inmates in corrections systems, throughout the nation, sky-rocketed to 708 percent between 1972 and 2008. Today, there are about 145,000 inmates occupying areas only designed for 80,000 (Posner). Peter Mosko, “an assistant professor of Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice” (Frazier) stated, “America, with 2.3 million people behind bars, has more prisoners than soldiers” (Frazier). There have been studies that have shown “there are more men and women in prison than ever before. The number of inmates grew by an average of 1,600 a week. The U. S. has the highest rate of crime in the world” (Clark). Because of this influx in inmates, many prisoners’ rights groups have filed lawsuits charging that “overcrowded prisons violate the Constitution’s 8th Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment” (Clark). It is clear that the United States corrections system needs to be reformed in order to eliminate this problem. Prison overcrowding is a serious issue in society due to the fact it affects prison ...