Assessing The Penal Harm Movement Summary

In the article “Assessing the penal harm movement” by Francis T. Cullen, Cullen talks about the penal harm movement and the unintended consequences that arose from the utilization of this movement. He reviews the evolution of punishments throughout time and the distinctions of the correction system in each historical era. He also argues that the penal harm movement has caused and still continues to cause society further complications. Cullen believes that we as a society needs to keep fighting towards finding a more efficacious and progressive response to crime.
Cullen states, “For over a decade, virtually every contemporary commentary on corrections in the United States has reminded us that the system is in crisis” (57). By this he explains that the crisis of the corrections system that we face today is not relatively new. It has been issue for decades and we are still nowhere close to resolving this issue which is affecting us all. Prisons are overcrowded with the ever growing immigrant population and young adults. Cullen further reviews how today’s response to the corrections crisis has become worse. He explains how punishments have become more extreme, while also reducing amenities for offenders. According to Cullen the number of prisoners have been increased tremendously throughout the years, and the U.S. incarcerate its citizens …show more content…
Cullen also states that there are many disparities in sentencing, which has mostly affected minorities. He explains how affluent whites have the opportunities and the necessary resources to move away from neighborhood as they wish, while minorities and the poor are stuck in crime infested urban cities. Cullen strongly argues toward the necessity for a corrections system where resources are allocated efficiently, to help the poor and the minorities climb out of poverty stricken areas. Which in return will remarkably benefit society as a