Prison overcrowding has become a major problem in the United States. As per, Issues and Controversies, “The United States has only 5 percent of the world’s population, but holds 25 percent of the world’s prisoners.” Housing the growing prison population is putting a strain on the federal government’s budget, costing roughly $80 billion a year. Crime rates are down, but prison populations are a growing concern. In light of these facts, we need to explore ways of reducing crime that does not involve incarceration, but still protects society. Changing times require changing laws. Legalization of marijuana for personal use would be a major step in reducing arrest and incarceration. Twenty states have legalized medical marijuana and 4 states have
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Overcrowded prisons ushered in the need for still more prisons, so private companies began building facilities and contracting their services to the criminal justice system. The privatization of prisons has caused more problems than it has solved. Private prisons are for profit businesses. Simply put, they are built to generate money. No prisoners equals no money. The privatized prisons sign lucrative contracts with clauses that ensure they are paid according to bed guarantees. As per Prison Legal News, “These contractual clauses require that a state keeps prisons full, usually at ninety percent but in some case up to a one hundred percent occupancy requirement.” These for profit prison organizations use lobbyist to develop relationships with legislators and ensure their continued successes. Corrections Corporation of American and GEO Group are two of the largest for profit prisons in the country, with almost all of their profits coming from government contracts. In an attempt to garner even bigger profits these groups have cut wages and benefits to their workers, which in turn has resulted in a high turnover rate and inadequate training that has led to deteriorating security conditions. These two groups are ripe with allegations of prisoner abuse, sexual abuse and civil rights violations. Even prisoners should have the right to a life without fear of physical violence or sexual …show more content…
Criminal corporal punishment is the administering of lashes to the defendant, generally in a public forum. John Dewar Gleissner writes “When executed in public, corporal punishment provides a much better example than prison time. It deters crime effectively.” The whole point of corporal punishment is to deter crime through pain and humiliation. Corporal punishment is considerably less expensive and will leave fewer mental scars than incarcerating a person for years in a cell the size of a closet. Given the possibility of physical and sexual violence in prisons the momentary pain and humiliation of a public beating seems much less barbaric in comparison. Opponents of corporal criminal justice believe that it is barbaric and will not be an effective deterrent in preventing crime. There are no scientific studies to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this form of punishment will work, however history has shown us that once corporal punishment was abolished that crime rates rose
Overcrowded prisons ushered in the need for still more prisons, so private companies began building facilities and contracting their services to the criminal justice system. The privatization of prisons has caused more problems than it has solved. Private prisons are for profit businesses. Simply put, they are built to generate money. No prisoners equals no money. The privatized prisons sign lucrative contracts with clauses that ensure they are paid according to bed guarantees. As per Prison Legal News, “These contractual clauses require that a state keeps prisons full, usually at ninety percent but in some case up to a one hundred percent occupancy requirement.” These for profit prison organizations use lobbyist to develop relationships with legislators and ensure their continued successes. Corrections Corporation of American and GEO Group are two of the largest for profit prisons in the country, with almost all of their profits coming from government contracts. In an attempt to garner even bigger profits these groups have cut wages and benefits to their workers, which in turn has resulted in a high turnover rate and inadequate training that has led to deteriorating security conditions. These two groups are ripe with allegations of prisoner abuse, sexual abuse and civil rights violations. Even prisoners should have the right to a life without fear of physical violence or sexual …show more content…
Criminal corporal punishment is the administering of lashes to the defendant, generally in a public forum. John Dewar Gleissner writes “When executed in public, corporal punishment provides a much better example than prison time. It deters crime effectively.” The whole point of corporal punishment is to deter crime through pain and humiliation. Corporal punishment is considerably less expensive and will leave fewer mental scars than incarcerating a person for years in a cell the size of a closet. Given the possibility of physical and sexual violence in prisons the momentary pain and humiliation of a public beating seems much less barbaric in comparison. Opponents of corporal criminal justice believe that it is barbaric and will not be an effective deterrent in preventing crime. There are no scientific studies to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this form of punishment will work, however history has shown us that once corporal punishment was abolished that crime rates rose