The Benefits Of Prison Punishment

All throughout the country, there has been a controversial discussion on the subject of how prisons should be used. People are arguing if prisons should be used for punishment or should prisons be utilized to rehabilitate the inmates? There are many people that think that punishment is the best answer because these criminals need to be taught a lesson for what they have done; although I would argue that this is not completely true. When criminals are punished it only makes them more hostile and anxious, which does not lead to any improvements for these inmates (Day).
I believe that if we want to have a positive effect on the lives of people put into prison, instead of punishing them we should be trying to rehabilitate them. This way, when their prison term is up or they are released early they have the skills to become a productive member of society. With rehabilitation the goal is to have them released with coping skills, career trades and social skills to handle life’s challenges. Therefore, when they get released back into society they have skills, positive attitudes and self-worth to live a productive life. Without this rehabilitation I feel that they will have anger built up causing them to commit another crime and thus putting them back into prison. I …show more content…
Of the 2.3 million people in prison, 25 percent of them are there on drug offenses (Tiger). This number is predicted to rise if those convicted on drug charges continue to get punished instead of going through rehab. Many people look at those charged with drug offences as if they are just low life addicts who deserve to be punished. There is medical evidence that proves that drug addiction is a disease and can be treated. Although, the way that the prison system is setup currently these prisoners are not treated as if they have a medical condition and these people just end up getting