Torture And Abuse In The Penentiary System

One problem that is faced in the corrections system today is overpopulation in the prisons. Prisons all over the United States are becoming overcrowded and that leads to many other problems such as

Prison overcrowding has been a problem for many years in the Unites States. With overcrowding being a problem for many years an alternative such

High Prison population and Overcrowding also lead on to the fact that there will be problems within the prison concerning staff. One of the problems in terms of staff will be the numbers available. With the increasing numbers, and the reductions in the prison budget, means the staff to prisoner ratio will continue to worsen. With this means that the supervision of prisoners will be less available which will reduce time out of cells and time in classes working towards rehabilitation. This also leads on to another problem within staff in prisons, in terms of their relation with the home office. The more prisoners coming into prisons increases the workload for the staff, this is without the relief of additional staff being employed. Staff unrest can lead to industrial action, which will lead to the breakdown of the prison service.

Solitary confinement for juveniles has been a common problem for several years. Growing up in solitary confinement as a juvenile, prison life is the only life they will know. They will not know how to act in the real world. They will get sent right back to jail over and over again. The kids adapt to the prison lifestyle. They will start to lose their mind in jail if they are in there too long. Solitary confinement should be banned for juveniles because it has the potential to negatively impact one’s mind, which can be detrimental on the brain, which is not yet fully developed.

Solitary Confinement has been used as a punishment, to keep the prisons secure. However, with the changing of opinions from a few decades ago, to present time, more people want less solitary confinement used. With also corrections policies changing over time has also changed the dynamic of how a younger person could be charged and sentenced, compared to an older person who is not a juvenile could be put into solitary confinement. More facts about the use of Solitary Confinement, the policy is up for debate. Starting with do I agree with the New York Times, The Living Death of Solitary Confinement?

Gresham M. Sykes describes the society of captives from the inmates’ point of view. Sykes acknowledges the fact that his observations are generalizations but he feels that most inmates can agree on feelings of deprivation and frustration. As he sketches the development of physical punishment towards psychological punishment, Sykes follows that both have an enormous effect on the inmate and do not differ greatly in their cruelty.

While ‘Crisis’ may seem like an over-exaggerated term to describe the current state of the penal system, it emphasises the clear difficulties and potential dangers that which the penal system is facing. Factors related to a penal crisis include overcrowding, a breakdown of control, bad prison conditions, understaffing and a loss of security (Cavadino and Dignan, 2002).

David Figueroa Eng. 101A Professor Stern 4/20/15 Final draft In conclusion, in discussions of torture, one controversial issue has been on the use of it. On one hand, the people against torture argue that it is cruel and unusual punishment. On the other hand, those for torture argue that it should be used for the greater good. Others even maintain that under extreme circumstances, it may be admissible if it can save American lives. My own view is that no one should be subjected to cruel punishment because it is not only illegal, unreliable, ineffective, time consuming, it also has too many flaws that could potentially ruin innocent lives. The definition of torture is any act, whether physical or emotional, or maybe both, is intentionally subjected to a specific individual or a group for many reasons. Most of these reasons that torture is administered is for extracting information from an individual or just for punishing him/her for a crime that he/she has committed or is suspected of committing. The use of torture can be used to intimidate a person to give information that may be beneficial for a nation. The use of torture has been used for many centuries. The purposes of using torture have changed over the years as well as the methods in which a person is tortured. One crucial piece that has been established that separates us human beings from barbarians is the prohibition of using torture. There are many reasons why torture has been deemed a crime now in society. There are

With that said, while we are adamantly against torture, it is arguable that Canada does employ torture techniques. To clarify, currently every day, there are 850 offenders or roughly 6% of the Canadian prison population in solitary confinement (Kelshall, 2014, p.1345). While there are arguments that can be made on whether solitary confinement is torture or not, it is undeniable with the literature available that the form of punishment has the potential to cause permanent or long term psychological damage (Kelshall, 2014, p.1345), a claim reaffirmed by the correctional investigator in 2011. In his report, the investigator found that solitary confinement may cause irreversible psychological harm and elevate the likelihood of anxiety, depress,

Despite the fact that my parents have worked in the criminal justice system for many years, I have never given much thought to the treatment of prisoners. As we learned from the readings, the current state of the United States criminal justice system is imperfect to the point of cruelty to those involved in it. This is truer for individuals with a mental illness. Due to a lack of psychiatric facilities throughout Alabama and overcrowding of those that do exist, many criminal offenders with mental illnesses are sent to prisons instead. State prisons are currently overcrowded, leading to substandard conditions such in almost every aspect.

These measures were taken to ensure public safety but are now posing a problem for our correctional facilities. Overcrowding and budgets are among the problems brought about by these measures. Both the state and federal correctional population throughout the United States have steadily seen significant increases in their population, every year for the past decades. Based on the census found on the Bureau of Justice website, the data collected between June 30th 2000 to December 30th 2005 showed that prisoners held in custody between federal and state prisons increased by 10%. (“Bureau of Justice Statistics”, p.1 -2)

According to statistical data found in the Bureau for Justice Records, there are a number of problems that most prisons in the country face. The records indicate that the number of adult federal and state inmates increased from `139% in `1980 to 260% (Walker, 1999). As a natural default, the United States of America has the highest incarceration rate in the world. This in itself brings about one of the major problems that are faced in modern incarceration which is overcrowding in most prison facilities. The number of offenders in the country has increased rapidly over time while the country prison system has not really been able to cope with this rapid increase. Prisons intended for one or two inmates are now crowded with more than fifty individuals. Because of this most prisons are overcrowded and most of the facilities available are unable to cater for the needs of all the prisoners (Siegel, 2009).

As I watched this film I was just really surprised by the fact that in today’s society the reason for prison have taken a total different path than it should be. Today, prisons are now being seen as a way to make money instead of what they are made for, send a message that prevents people from committing crimes. As I watched this film I even started thinking that the government and the people that profit from prisons are actually glad anytime that crime rate increases. Before I watched this documentary, I agreed that people should be put away for committing related to drugs; but now, after realizing how unfair the system is, and how the system always finds the way to find blacks and hispanics guilty, I do not agree with such a discriminatory

Prison Overcrowding has become a major issue in the United States. Many laws such as the three strikes law and also mandatory minimums have played a major part in prison overcrowding in the United States. The violence that is caused by prison

Our society tends to jump to conclusions and make assumptions of prisoners. Despite what they have committed and how severe it may be they are still human. We look at them as if they are inhumane because they are in prison. They still deserve some of the rights that they had before being convicted. I’m not saying that I am okay with the crimes they have committed but I am okay with them having a little more of their basic rights.