Prison Policy Initiative

Within the topic of criminal corrections in the United States, there are many practices or programs that have been created in order to possibly rehabilitate, enforce order, or deter a person or persons from committing the same crime(s) again. One of them that has struck many as a very positive program is boot camps for any offender including juvenile offenders. Boot camps are one variation of shock incarceration. Shock incarceration is a short period of incarceration followed by a sentence…

support the death penalty. His theory states that he is proportionality based, where you can choose the highest severity for a crime but never reaching the death penalty. This is where a ranking system is created, setting the most upper limit to life in prison avoiding a barbaric punishment. Nathanson believes that human dignity matters, we may punish people for their crimes but deprive them everything which is what the death penalty does (Nathanson, p.544). The other side to this argument is…

laws being adopted, more juvenile delinquents are being bound over into the adult court system and sent to adult institutions. Throughout the years studies that have been conducted have proven sending youth as young as fourteen years-old to adult prisons is not the answer; this action is creating higher recidivism rates, violent youths, as well as a greater chance to be victimized by older inmates and staff. First…

put on death row, death row is a prison block or section for prisoners who will be sentenced to stay in prison till death. Without parole or sometimes even trial, and just from reading Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson explaining how the courts and the justice system is illicit. Mr. Stevenson talks about the circumstance that have led to the teens that have been slandered throughout their lives. The teens reached out to him in letters throughout their time in prison. I can say from reading the book…

Under the U.S. Constitution, individuals who are sent to prisons are entitled to certain rights and liberties. Incarcerated individuals are guaranteed the rights to sustain a reasonable way of life. Some of the familiar rights afford to these incarcerated individuals include free from cruel and unusual punishments, access to the court, voices complaint about prison conditions, practice of free speech, press, and religion, free from discrimination and sexual harassment. Even though not stated…

He was sentenced to life in prison, just nearly escaping the death penalty because he was under 18 years old and not considered an adult yet. He was convicted due to false confessions or admissions and informants saying that he committed the crime. Thanks to the Innocence Project,…

community wide level (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2009). The Australian Medical Association (AMA) Report Card on Indigenous Health (2015), proposes adopting a justice reinvestment approach to funding services, in order to divert individuals from prison, as a major objective. The AMA, urged all levels of government to act to implement solutions and address the health and justice crisis which significantly impacts 3% of Australia’s…

United States, but internationally as well. Prisons are made to keep danger off the streets and out of our community. The greater the crime, an even greater punishment is destined to be sentenced. What effect does punitive sentencing have on recidivism rates? Punitive sentencing is ,in a way, there to help the convicted deter from their wrong doings for the future, yet the recidivism rates are increasing. A lot of money is spent on building and running prisons, compared to money spent on…

earn a degree. College is only available to deserving, well-rounded, and deserving students. Once a student proves he or she is worthy of a college education, he or she spends thousands of dollars each year to earn a degree. So is someone who is in prison because and committed illegal acts a deserving, well-rounded, and dedicated student? That person is in jail as a punishment, giving that prisoner a free college education would be giving him or her a reward that he or she does not deserve. We…

national disgrace (2012). Deinstitutionalization refers to the policy of closing public hospitals and moving the mentally ill to private community-based mental health service providers (Torrey 1997). However, community-based mental health service providers are few and far between, and the development of deinstitutionalization has had severe impacts on the criminal justice system. Through the movement of deinstitutionalization, jails and prisons have been forced to accommodate those with mental…