It is clear to everyone that the prison system is broken, yet most people choose to ignore this by just overlooking what is happening in prisons around the nation. It is known that the United States has the most prisoners of any developed country in the world. According to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) about 25% of the US population is in prison, jail, or under parole or probation. (“Criminal Justice Fact Sheet”). Because of these high numbers we can certainly say that the prison system is ineffective. Some of us ask how we can change this ineffectiveness. What are the real issues that the prisoners face? And, what would make a good prison? Inmates around the nation face many problems: over crowdedness,
…show more content…
We need to understand that not all prisoners are the same; half of the population in prisons is nonviolent offenders, yet it is most likely that they will be back in prison within three years of being released. (“The Prison Problem”). So how can we fix this problem? Well, we need to start by making drug addiction a health problem, not a criminal one, separate violent and nonviolent criminals, and work on transforming not just rehabilitation.
To start with we need to treat drug addiction as a health problem, not a criminal one. The first reason as to why the population in prisons has skyrocketed is because most cases are drug related offenses. It is important to understand that drug dealers are not the ones cluttering up our prisons. They are too rich and smart to get caught. They hire addicts or kids, sometimes as young as eleven or twelve, to take most of the risks that result in confinement. This problem goes way beyond the drug dealers, …show more content…
Since the war on drugs the number of prisoners in the United States has skyrocketed. Most of these prisoners are nonviolent offenders that in fact do learn a lesson: how to be violent. Unfortunately, we spend $20,000 per year, per inmate, teaching them this. For much less we could be sending every nonviolent offender to college. No one should accept violence as a fact of prison life. (“Seven Ways to Fix the Criminal Justice System.”). Separating violent and nonviolent prisoners could avoid fights, sexual assaults, gang violence, weapon wounds and murder. It is true that complete elimination of violence is not possible, but there are ways to subside this problem. (“Violence in Prison - Its Extent, Nature and Consequences: From Critical Issues in Corrections.”). Designating certain facilities as zero-violence areas and allowing inmates to live there as long they don’t commit or even threaten to commit a single violent act. Since only ten percent of the prison population set the terrorist tone for most institutions and they are able to do that because the administration gives no support to the 90 percent of inmates who just want to do their time, improve themselves in some way, and get out alive. We must revise this practice and begin to expect prisoners to be non-violent. A way to deal with this is by offering
We need to understand that not all prisoners are the same; half of the population in prisons is nonviolent offenders, yet it is most likely that they will be back in prison within three years of being released. (“The Prison Problem”). So how can we fix this problem? Well, we need to start by making drug addiction a health problem, not a criminal one, separate violent and nonviolent criminals, and work on transforming not just rehabilitation.
To start with we need to treat drug addiction as a health problem, not a criminal one. The first reason as to why the population in prisons has skyrocketed is because most cases are drug related offenses. It is important to understand that drug dealers are not the ones cluttering up our prisons. They are too rich and smart to get caught. They hire addicts or kids, sometimes as young as eleven or twelve, to take most of the risks that result in confinement. This problem goes way beyond the drug dealers, …show more content…
Since the war on drugs the number of prisoners in the United States has skyrocketed. Most of these prisoners are nonviolent offenders that in fact do learn a lesson: how to be violent. Unfortunately, we spend $20,000 per year, per inmate, teaching them this. For much less we could be sending every nonviolent offender to college. No one should accept violence as a fact of prison life. (“Seven Ways to Fix the Criminal Justice System.”). Separating violent and nonviolent prisoners could avoid fights, sexual assaults, gang violence, weapon wounds and murder. It is true that complete elimination of violence is not possible, but there are ways to subside this problem. (“Violence in Prison - Its Extent, Nature and Consequences: From Critical Issues in Corrections.”). Designating certain facilities as zero-violence areas and allowing inmates to live there as long they don’t commit or even threaten to commit a single violent act. Since only ten percent of the prison population set the terrorist tone for most institutions and they are able to do that because the administration gives no support to the 90 percent of inmates who just want to do their time, improve themselves in some way, and get out alive. We must revise this practice and begin to expect prisoners to be non-violent. A way to deal with this is by offering