Incarceration Experience

In order to prepare for this experience I made sure to complete it on a day where I had no school or work obligations. I also decided to do it the day before Thanksgiving so the next day would make up for the lack of human contact, food, and restricted activities. As for the mental and emotional aspect, I was not too worried and I did not feel as though I needed some sort of preparation. I tend to spend a lot of time alone in a small room. My main concern was definitely not being able to use electronics and the restricted bathroom and water breaks. My preparation is hardly comparable to what an offender goes through before a period of incarceration. Piper Kerman’s preparation detailed in her book Orange is the New Black, was much different …show more content…
I felt like the ten hours were much longer than they actually were and it made me realize inmates must feel even worse during their incarceration. Not only are they locked up for many hours during they day, they are deprived of many luxuries I was able to have. Inmates need to make many adjustments upon re-entering society. According to Maruna and Lebel (2003), conditions faced by ex-convicts have not improved and they are less well prepared for their return into the community. There is a high risk of recidivism among parolees and they are not used to life outside of prison. In the year 2000, forty-two percent of parolees were returned to incarceration (Maruna & Lebel, 2003). Inmates need to deal with many issues once back in society that they did not need to worry about while in prison. They need to find a place live and somewhere to work or a means of legally acquiring income. Finding a job is hard enough, and for a felon it is even more difficult. Another issue inmates face once back in society is the accessibility of drugs. Many inmates are put in prison due to drug related crimes, and addiction tied into recidivism. The treatment addicts receive in prison might not be continued once they are released, and the lack of a rehabilitation program may lead to drug …show more content…
The use of incarceration in this country seems to be overused, especially for offenders who need to be rehabilitated, not incarcerated. Jensen, Gerber, and Mosher ( 2004) note that the “war on drugs” has changed the criminal justice system greatly. Prison populations drastically increased due to drug offenders. Special drug courts have been created due to the massive overload of drug related cases in criminal courts. The problem with incarcerating drug offenders is that they rarely receive proper treatment, and are given harsh sentences when what they need is rehabilitation. The laws requiring drug offenders to be imprisoned should be reformed in specific areas. Piper Kerman, author of Orange is the New Black, is a prime example of someone affected by the harsh drug laws in this country. She was involved in moving drug money and was not even involved with the actual drugs. Her crime was so minimal compared to others and she was sentenced quite harshly for her miniscule involvement almost a decade before even being sentenced. That is something that should be changed. People who commit non-violent, low-level crimes should not be incarcerated whatsoever. There are many alternatives such as implementing fines, community service, and rehabilitation programs. Prisons are extremely overcrowded with non-violent, low-level offenders. Extreme incarceration should be reserved for