Prison Reform Outline

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

In prisons today, rehabilitation, deterrence, incapacitation, and retribution are all elements that provide a justice to society. Prisons effectively do their part in seeing that one if not more of these elements are met and successfully done. If it were not for these elements, than what would a prison be good for? It is highly debated upon whether or not these elements are done properly. It is a fact that these are and a fact that throughout the remainder of time these will be a successful part of prison life.

Prison reform was a viable aspect of the Reform Movements in the 1800s. Reformers wanted to evidently punish prisoners but they also wanted to make sure they maintained a sense of humanity. They did this by reconstructing prison systems, seeking ways to treat the mentally ill and more. Document A highlights the importance of good treatment to prisoners in order for them to be rescued and eventually work to become viable members of society. This document

Punishments are no longer as cruel, the death penalty has been lifted in multiple states, and prisoners are being treated in a more equal manner, but the system should continue to be improved even more to accomplish what needs to be done in order to make the streets safer. Crime has changed from what it once was in the past. Rates have gone up and people appear to be behaving in a more difficult manner. The government cannot afford to continue treating prisoners the way they once did in the past. Reform is not just for the prisoners. Reform is for the people in the communities of America. But there appears to be a few setbacks when it comes to reform, and one of those setbacks is cost. Though according to Gary C. Mohr, “Criminal justice systems can be people-oriented, evidence-based and cost-effective while remaining focused on the safety and well-being of those living in the different communities.” Therefore, cost should not be an excuse as to why the system cannot be reformed, especially when it comes to public safety. In fact, there should be no excuses when it comes to public safety. Prisons should do what must be

In order for this trend to be stopped, prisons should focus more on how to reform criminals so that they can go back to their communities and do good for the people and not bring harm to those around them. Prisons should work to reform prisoners because most of them can be rehabilitated.

She argues that the reforms suggested by the conservative party would cause unintended harm to the people they are attempting to help. The author forms her argument by analyzing the prison reforms initiative put forth by republican politicians. Bruenig concludes that these attempts to bring needed modification to the criminal justice system have not improved the lives of disadvantaged people. By focusing on cutting prison costs the author states, the conservative’s suggestion for reform will fail to provide support to community programs that help people stay out of prison. This would make the reform meaningless. It would also rid communities of prevention programs.

Prison reform must be implicated for the general public to feel safe once again. Society has trained us from a very young age to believe that that anyone who committed a crime belongs in jail despite “recent studies find no correlation between incarceration and low crime rates” (Machelor). There has actually been more studies that has suggest children who are raised in homes where the parents has spent most of their lives in jails are five times more likely to grow up to commit similar crimes of their parents. This is especially true in poverty stricken areas where children will resort to petty crimes like their parents. Government officials should consider crimes that correlate to economic and social disadvantages in society and “create

Within this paper, you will find a comprehensive review of the United States prison system, and why it needs to analyzed to better support and reform the people of this country. I plan to persuade the other side (politicians and society) into seeing that the way the prison system is now, is not ethical nor economical and it must change. We have one of the world’s largest prison population, but also a very high rate of recidivism. Recidivism is when the prisoners continuously return to prison without being reformed. They return for the same things that they were doing before. So, this leads us to ask what exactly are we doing wrong? When this happens, we as a nation must continuously pay to house and feed these inmates. The purpose of a prison needs to be examined so we can decide if we really are reforming our inmates, or just continuing a vicious cycle. What is the true purpose of prison besides just holding them in a cell? There must be more we can do for these hopeless members of society.

The United States is home to five percent of the world population, but 25 percent of the world’s prisoner. There must be a change to the current prison system which is doing more harm than good in American society and must be reformed. Reasons for this claim are that American prisons are too overcrowded with inmates, which creates a dangerous and unhuman environment. The cost to run a prison has gotten too expensive for tax payer pockets, and lastly the prison system is more as a punishment instead of rehabilitation with about sixteen percent of inmates most serious offence being drug charges. Prisons fall short of reforming criminals and the government is obligated to completely reform the prison systems in the United States.

Prison life can be harsh, and time spent in a isolation is even worse. A majority of those in prison spend countless hours in idleness. It would be much better if they used that time to reeducate themselves for a productive life on the outside. Some of the prisoners have serious emotional and mental problems that are never addressed and it is illogical to not attempt to correct these problems before they are released.

     The idea of sentencing a criminal for a period of time in a prison isn't working, so prisons should focus more on changing their rehabilitation programs. Life in prison should be like the outside world as much as possible, given the fact of imprisonment. Prisoners would be less prepared if the prison environment is artificial and abnormal compared to the outside world they will have to encounter later on. A prisoner also needs to keep family ties. Research in

that fail. I think that the only way that the prison service can rehabilitate offenders is if

Prison reform is a significant issue that the United States government should enforce. It would aid in creating a more organized system of incarceration. Prison reform is an attempt to improve, change, or eliminate certain conditions in prisons. It is believed that it should be enforced due to the cases of overcrowding, lack of proper education, and the lack of rehabilitation that could inform prisoners of societal values. Prison reform would increase the self-esteem that was diminished in the prisoner’s personal history. Prison reform is significantly important as it will heighten the amount of self-worth in the prisoner and cause a decrease in the population of prisoners who return to a life of crime. Recidivism, or chance of recommitting a crime, will therefore be reduced. Prisoner who are released will not have all the negative ideals or influence from the prison that is usually spread until their release. Prison reform will help society if the increase in education and decrease in overcrowding is ensued upon the prison system with this policy.

For most that have spent their lives in prison, the outside world is a place that is being missed out on. When freedom is received to be part of the outside world again, living a normal life is valued, making it easy to fit into. There are many people who only experience prison for a short period of time and don’t get to fully learn that the outside world is a place not to be scared of, and learning from mistakes can change lives forever. People who don't learn from mistakes usually go back into the real world with the same or even worse behaviours than when they first entered, this is why prisons need to be better equipped to rehabilitate prisoners in a shorter time frame.

Whenever someone commits a crime, no matter what the scope of it is, the first thing that comes to everyone’s minds is that the person should be put into prison and they need to be punished for their actions. In a way, it’s true because when someone breaks the rule or decided to do something bad, the nature thinking would be that they need to, and should, be punished so that they can learn from their mistake and become a better person. However, if only people know what really happens inside prisons and how the system works, many would have to reconsider their ways of tackling this kind of problem. And Locked Down, Locked Out by Maya Schenwar is the perfect illustration about ways to deal with the problem. In here, Mrs. Schenwar gives her in depth look about the current US prison system, analyses and thoughts about the way the system works, and combining with very vivid real life examples of her own as well as others, Mrs. Schenwar points out the multiple flaws of the system that suppose to rebuild lives rather than taking them away from people. In short, the current prison system is an old and broken system that does more harms than good, and so, we must change it to make it a better one.