The United States is facing one of the largest crises since the 1950’s. This crisis is mass incarceration in the United States. Currently the United States has around 25% of the world’s prison population however we only have 4.5% of the world’s total population. We lead the world in prison population and we surpass China and North Korea. This number has been rising for the last 32 years and we have seen the first reduction since then in 2014. The current condition of our prison system needs to be changed by creating new laws and changes how prisons function. The result of this would be smaller prisons, less cost, and it would help the convicts themselves. The prison population has been growing for the last 3 decades. However this doesn’t mean
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Yes I understand that prisons are not supposed to be paradise and should have an aspect of punishment but they should focus on the larger picture of rehabilitation. Today’s prisoners are tomorrow’s neighbors, so we should be focusing on how to help them. Instead we focus on punishment. The conditions in prisons are far below pleasant. Long hours of Darkness and isolation used in prisons today are considered by international law to be torture. This abuse cannot be changed by the people. No judge or jury determines how these people are treated. These actions hurt the prisoners and it is a reason that many prisoners have higher rates of depression and …show more content…
Prisoners have very high return rates because they simply cannot function in the ‘public. We do not allow them to have student loans, public housing and food stamps yet we expect them to act like a normal citizen. These are huge challenges that many simply cannot overcome which eventually results in them returning to prison. Another aspect that makes it very difficult for prisoners to do is find a job. You might say that they can get a simple minimum wage job but it is hard to live off of that income. And if they want to progress it’s much more difficult for them because they are convicts and many employers simply won’t hire
Yes I understand that prisons are not supposed to be paradise and should have an aspect of punishment but they should focus on the larger picture of rehabilitation. Today’s prisoners are tomorrow’s neighbors, so we should be focusing on how to help them. Instead we focus on punishment. The conditions in prisons are far below pleasant. Long hours of Darkness and isolation used in prisons today are considered by international law to be torture. This abuse cannot be changed by the people. No judge or jury determines how these people are treated. These actions hurt the prisoners and it is a reason that many prisoners have higher rates of depression and …show more content…
Prisoners have very high return rates because they simply cannot function in the ‘public. We do not allow them to have student loans, public housing and food stamps yet we expect them to act like a normal citizen. These are huge challenges that many simply cannot overcome which eventually results in them returning to prison. Another aspect that makes it very difficult for prisoners to do is find a job. You might say that they can get a simple minimum wage job but it is hard to live off of that income. And if they want to progress it’s much more difficult for them because they are convicts and many employers simply won’t hire