Is the US Prison system failing?
To begin with, America's prision system, including people on parole and probation, includes 6.9 million Americans. That is 1 in every 108 people that are behind bars, and 1 in 35 that are under some sort of correctional supervision. Based on race, 1 in every 25 white males, 1 in every 6 Hispanic males, and a horrifying 1 in every 3 African Americans.
What's worse than the numbers that are in prison, is that once they are released and are allegedly corrected, within 3 years of being free "nearly half of prisoners are convicted of another crime with one out of every four ending up back in prison." This shows that the correctional institute is not doing it's job of actually helping the inmates get onto a better life track. It is wasting money, time, and lives because the current system is broken beyond repair.
Some states are trying to teach their inmates about programming and helping them attain their GED. However, with tight budgets, prisons are cutting back on the rehabilitaion programs that help the inmates the most when they are released back into society.
The correctional facilities and system is taking taxpayer money out of higher education, it has become a billion dollar industry. Because the number of people in prison has grown so dramatically without actually helping crime, it is a lose lose situation for society in terms of the economy and society.
Instead of using taxpayer dollars to just keep low-level prisoners in prison to become hardened criminals, the money should be used to set them up with useful tools that can help them later like apprenticeships, community service, and literacy camps.
"The criminal justice system in America was created to keep communities safe, to respect and restore victims, and to return offenders who leave prision to be self-sufficient and law-abiding." When these goals are no longer achieved, the system has failed the nation and its people.
So how should we fix this? Well, there could be a radical replacement of the whole broken system, but an easier more temporary solution would be to further technologize the prisons. Online schooling is available for K-12 from the Khan Academy and Udacity for inmates to get their GED. Technology could also revolutionize probation and community supervision by having automatic court date reminders and creating appropriate levels of restriction on nonviolent offenders so that they can return to society and their families and live productive lives.
I feel as if the prison system is indeed failing, my opinion being that some prison sentences are unreasonable, and some that do not make sense, and courts that make the wrong sentences. A general example would be that a person who commits a murder would receive maybe 30 years in prison, while a person who has possession and uses illegal drugs may receive a life sentence, which in my opinion and probably many others, makes no sense. An example where the court made a decision where it almost made no sense is in the Travyon Martin case, where Martin was killed for probably no reason at all and the killer was found innocent of intentional murder. So in my opinion, the prison system is failing.
ReplyDeleteMass incarceration of citizens in the United States has been an epidemic in our society. The United States has 4 percent of the population but actually 1/4th of the world's incarcerated prisoners. It seems that the government focuses more on housing and keeping the prisoners rather than trying to rehabilitate them and bring them back into society. Also for people who have felonies on their records make it nearly impossible to attain even a low paying job contributing to homelessness and even more crime just to survive.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the American prison system is failing, but where are you getting your statistics, Carmen? I find it very shocking and a little bit difficult to believe that 1 in 3 African Americans is behind bars or on probation. I'm not saying I don't trust you, but I think you might want to double check your facts for accuracy.
ReplyDeleteAnother important issue to address is the treatment of women in prisons. It's pretty common in women's correctional facilities for prison guards to rape or abuse inmates. You can take a look at this New York Times article if you want: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/us/troubles-at-womens-prison-test-alabama.html?_r=0
Carmen, I really like your idea of using online learning to help people in prisons so that they can have a chance once they leave. I saw a really good but upsetting presentation last year about the treatment of minors specifically in correctional facilities, and it was quite horrifying. Kids our age and much younger than us live in terrible conditions, get improper educations, and are constantly subjected to solitary confinement that is thought to cause lasting psychological problems. Methods like this need to be stopped, and like you said, we should prioritize education especially for minors in the prison system.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post Carmen! I do agree that the prison system is failing because so many prisoners who are released eventually end up back in prison. I think a great focus should be put on educating the prisoners while they are in jail so they have more chances to succeed and find a job once they have been released. Your idea about online learning is really great and I think it could be pretty effective.
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the posters above me. The U.S. incarceration system is paying too much attention on punishing low-level and nonviolent criminals, who should be rehabilitated instead to prevent crimes from happening again. In addition, nonviolent criminals who are imprisoned often gain bad influence from violent criminals, which has the opposite effect of rehabilitation.
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