Essay On Prison Reform

Prison reform is a significant issue for many Americans. The prison population is expanding at a phenomenal rate, often beyond the capacity of the existing system to accommodate the expanding ranks of the incarcerated. The focus for many is increasingly on rehabilitation as a means to reduce recidivism and consequently reduce the number of individuals who must be placed in prisons every year. In the early 1990s, the number of people jailed in the United States topped one million (Waldman, 2013). By 2000, that number had doubled, and by 2003 more than 2.2 million people were living in prisons (Associates, 2005). There are four main purposes to prisons: Retribution; the punishing of a criminal serves as an act of revenge for the victim and society. Deterrence; corrections are intended to discourage offenders from committing future crimes and make the rest of society think twice about breaking laws. Social protection; by limiting the freedom of offenders, society prevents them from committing additional crimes. Rehabilitation; during the nineteenth century, prisons emerged as places in which to reform criminals so that they could return to society as law-abiding citizens (Roberts, 2006). However, the American prison system is not functionally capable of significant prisoner rehabilitation.
Prison reform could reduce the number of people behind …show more content…
Prisoners are entitles to due process, safe and adequate shelter, food, clothing, and necessary medical treatment. However, inmates are not entitled to luxuries such as television, privacy, receiving an education while in prison, or any other tax-supported program while incarcerated. Prisons have offered rehabilitation programs for years at the cost of billions of dollars. When giving luxuries to prisoners the rights of people in society as well as the victims of these inmates are being