Prison Reform, We Need Change

The United States prison system is considered today to be one of the most flawed and corrupt systems of the modern world. Given this fact, it is unsurprising that one of the most talked about issues in the US today is prison reform. Prison reform is a phrase which refers to the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, establishing a more effective penal system, or implementing alternatives to incarceration. The US has spent the past twenty years gradually working to improve its prisons, and even recently strives to better the federal and state prison system as a whole. One of the main goals of prison reform is reducing recidivism, which is the chance of an incarcerated person re-offending. One of the main ways to do this is to give inmates ways to spend their time that will better them and prepare them to re-enter society as a fully productive, rehabilitated citizen. This facet of prison reform is the basis for the Prison Reform and Redemption Act of 2017. This bill, which was to be reviewed on Wednesday, April 25 but is

The most heinous crimes committed in the prisons are done by the hands of prison gangs. Gangs compete with other gangs to be the most dangerous of them all. There are many reasons why an inmate would join a prison gang. Some do it for the power although others do it for protection from rival gangs or people who don’t like them. CBC News reported that in the last 5 years the numbers of inmates who are affiliated with gangs has risen by 32%. Some people believe that prisons are the breeding grounds for gang initiation and joining. Adult gang members in prison range from ages 18 to 65 years old. Many prison gang members are brainwashed. They are used to being fed, clothed, and sheltered in prison that they are unable to walk a straight line once released. With little to no skills of surviving by themselves in the real world, gang members return to prison because that is what they are used to. It is common to find ex-con gang members panhandling on the streets or resorting to crimes such as robbery, burglary or theft. Gang members do what they know instead of trying to become better. My topic is about prison gang and violence. Why they join gangs, How they took over prison, How they affect other inmates, How to prevent it in the correctional facilities.

There has been debate over whether non-violent drug offenders belong in prison. Some believe all drug offenders should be put in prison, others believe that it depends on circumstances, and, still others believe only violent drug offenders should be incarcerated. Overcrowding is one point of contention. It seems as though the slightest infraction can land a person in prison. Violence is rampant, whether inmate versus inmate or inmate versus guard. Rehabilitation or education is practically non-existent, unless an inmate teaching another inmate how to commit the ‘perfect’ crime is counted. Evidence shows being in prison does little to rehabilitate an inmate. Clearly, the system does not work.

Whenever you imagine prison, you think up ideas and violent images that you have seen in the movies or on TV.   Outdated clichés consisting of men eating stale bread and drinking dirty water are only a small fraction of the number of horrible, yet “just” occurrences which are stereotypical of everyday life in prison.   Perhaps it could be a combination of your upbringing, horrific ideas about the punishment which our nation inflicts on those who violate its’ more serious laws that keeps people frightened just enough to lead a law-abiding life. Despite it’s success in keeping dangerous offenders off the streets, the American prison system fails in fulfilling its original design of restoring criminals to being productive members of society, it is also extremely expensive and wastes our precious tax dollars.

Prison reform is an issue that has been a concern for a long period of time. The problems that Angela Davis brings up throughout her book are only some of the problems with the prison system. Whether it be the influence of corporations on prisons and legislators, the role that racism plays, or the safety of the prisoners. Her solution to these problems is the abolition of jails and prisons by creating policies that will reduce the number of people sent to prison. This would destroy the prison system as the main concept of punishment. The ways that she aims to do this is by providing physical and mental care to everybody, demilitarize schools, and change the justice system to one based around reconciliation rather than retribution. I find myself to agree with many of the concerns that she lists and believe her argument to be somewhat convincing. However, I do not believe that a complete abolition of prisons is what is necessary to fix the prison system. This paper will explore the concerns that she voices in her argument, how convincing I find them, and what I believe to be the flaws in her conclusion.

How many of have a relative or a friend who is staying in prison? I believe we have or at least we had, so what we can do is seek for reform for them. According to UNODC that prison reforms are necessary to better the conditions for prisoners to enable the creation of an efficient and reliable correctional system. In reforming the prison system, it is essential for alternatives to imprisonment to be explored. There has been large number of people serving prison sentences in American prisons. In fact, America has the world’s highest number of prisoners with over 2.2 million Americans in prison.

Gang violence is nationwide and is one of the most prominent problems in the prison system today. Gangs are known to attempt to control the prisons/jails, instill fear within the prison system and throughout the society, and bring negative attention to the system. “Gang affiliated inmates comprise about 18 percent of the 18000 inmate population.”(Seabrook) A growing numbers of inmates and a large amount of them serving longer sentences for violent crimes suggest a notable increase in gangs and violence in the prison system in the upcoming future.

In the essay "Prison "Reform" in America," Roger T. Pray points out the much attention that has been devoted to research to help prevent crimes. Showing criminals the errors of their ways not by brutal punishment, but by locking them up in the attempt to reform them. Robert Pray, who is a prison psychologist, is currently a researcher with the Utah Dept. of Corrections. He has seen what has become of our prison system and easily shows us that there is really no such thing as "Prison Reform"

The United States Criminal Justice System has been what most citizens ask for a reform, but we’ve seen little to no change through the years. Currently, our country has less than 5 percent of the world’s population but almost 25 percent of the total prison population, meaning that we have the highest incarceration rates in the world and it’s been increasing through the past years. The United States of America in 1974 had 100 out of every 100,000 people incarcerated; today, roughly 700 out of the 100,000 people are prison (Madden, 2015, p,14). Mass incarceration has been one of the biggest problems in our Criminal Justice System and one of the biggest issues to be solved. American citizens have has several

[Additionally, an enormous change to the system is the increase in crime. Evidence shows that between 1982 and 1992 the number of people behind bars in America doubled to one million, and arrest rates continue to soar (Moyers, 1992). There are several schools of thought on the increase of crime, some attribute the influx of “crack” cocaine, and other

Despite the large amount of criminals in prison, the crimes: murder, rape, and others has only “accounted for 10.6 percent of the total Crime Index” (Access Integrity Unit). The vast majority of criminals locked up are held on drug addiction or petty theft charges and not more serious offenses such as murder or assault. To put it simply, the cells that were built with taxpayers’ dollars holds 89.4 percent of criminals that are of no real threat to society. While the jail cells continue to fill up with occupants that has no business being behind bars, the general public will not feel any safer until new laws are passed to insure lesser offenders can get the help they so desperately need.

Few, such as Webb, are courageous enough to describe the United States prison system as “flawed” in its approach for targeting, punishing and releasing individuals identified as criminals. Truthfully, our current prison system unfairly incarcerates people who do not belong in jail and does an inefficient job at protecting its citizens from violent criminals. It is crucial, then, to devise a way in which to tackle the issues of crime such as drug trafficking and nonviolent criminal behavior, while working towards minimizing violent crime and large-scale gang activity in order to fix the current prison system (Webb 1). Currently, the voting public is largely uniformed regarding the criminal justice system. And it is this lack of education

The United States has reached a state of emergency in dealing with the opioid crisis. Change needs to occur by decriminalizing all drugs. Decriminalization would look like reducing prison time as well as expunging the criminal record of a minimal offender, the money that was previously used on jail would now be used on rehabilitation. This hopeful policy will be brought to the institutional level of the state, also known as the state legislature. The policy would be important to bring to this level because the state has the power to reduce jail time for drug crimes, as well as change drug felonies to misdemeanors*. A recent example of this state power has been seen in Oregon. Starting in July 2017 the state reduced jail

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.

In the TEDTalk titled Less Law, more Order - Smart Crime Control presenter Irvin Waller’s argument and ideas want individuals to get engaged and help offenders find a way out of prisons, through action that will allow for a difference to be made towards violence. He mentions how the U.S. has one of the highest level of homicide rates, and incarcerates offenders the most out of any other affluent democracies.