Prison Rehabilitation

The massive prison numbers pose one of the state of Texas biggest problems. I see this problem as one that is not being addressed which causes my question to arise; “With a problem so massive, what is being done to help the ones affected? Where along the line of correction can Texas make a change in favor to reform prisons or the policies that so many citizens are subject to? Is the issue of the Texas department of corrections one that is purposely being left unanswered?” On one end of the scale that is Texas criminal justice; those whom commit acts with criminal intent need to be punished. Whether it be acts of violence, drug related, child abuse, or crimes sexual in nature these are the individuals that need to be punished. The idea of rehabilitation …show more content…
Once convicted, the individual can spend their sentenced time in a correctional facility. This time is meant to be used for rehabilitation, thus changing their future actions. Ultimately, the process is supposed to turn the convict into a productive member of society. Once they settle back into a society, the fear of the penitentiary that once imprisoned them will be the sole reason they should never want to return. Unfortunately every sign that the prison industrial complex uses reads in less than three years half of all convicted felons will be back in prison for yet another felony sentence. This major problem of recidivism stems from the industry that the prison system creates. Once a person enters the prison system they are in for a very long term. This is because the prisons within the Texas department of corrections have been an industry known for breading criminals. After each time a convict returns for an alternative sentence they are forced back into the confines of the savage society that exists within any given prison in Texas. The Texas justice system is notorious for being especially harsh on inmates. Throughout the course of history being a correction officer inside a Texas prison has been a scrutinized position. Countless inmates have filed complaints about abusive correctional officers. Daniel Webster Johnson, a 56 year old inmate, at a maximum security prison serving time for possession of cocaine was quoted in an interview about the conditions of life in prison “Officers who have assaulted inmates can prevent them from filing grievances. You have to file a grievance within 14 days of the assault, but officers sometimes take an inmate to pre-hearing lockup for 13.5 days, so they only have half a day to file a grievance. Then they don’t get the chance.” With a large population comes a large staff. The margin for conflict