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Studies on prison systems
Studies on prison systems
Essay on jail experience
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Imagine being confined indoors only, unable to feel the sunshine on your skin or the wind blow through your hair, where you are not permitted to see or speak to your family and friends at will. Envision yourself sleeping on a thin mattress placed on the concrete floor, taking a shower in front of strangers, or being forced to eat unappetizing food every single day, and you are doing it all voluntarily. Sounds crazy, right? Well, that is exactly what Morgan Spurlock experiences when he places himself in the confines of a state jail for one episode of 30 days titled Jail. Morgan Spurlock is the documentary genius behind the t.v. series 30 days. Each episode is about an hour long and depicts an experiment where, for thirty days, Spurlock himself or volunteers are challenged with modern day contentious issues by being immersed in a lifestyle that is dissimilar than their own. During the experiment, a camera crew tracks the subjects, chronicling events and emotions they experience. Throughout Jail, Spurlock effectively utilizes multiple argumentative strategies and rhetorical appeals to convey the deficiency of the penal system, making the episode a success. …show more content…
He then goes on to accurately describe the day to day life of a prisoner while introducing the overcrowding epidemic that is burdening the U.S. prison system. Since Spurlock describes the intake process and day to day life of the inmates in great detail, he effectively uses these strategies to persuade the audience and support his
I feel that this book gives a rough, inspiring and passionate warning that the rush to imprison offenders hurts the guards as well as the guarded. Conover reminds us that when we treat prisoners like the garbage of society, we are bound to treat prison staff as garbage men -- best out of sight, their own dirt surpassed only by the dirt they handle. Conover says in one part of his book, “Eventually admitting that being in a position of power and danger brings out a side of myself I don’t like.” I feel both prisoners and officers deserve better.
In Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing journalist Ted Conover, who has a background in anthropology, goes undercover as correctional officer in order to examine the US prison system. The central problem to this analysis is that is inherently subjective because the author is documenting his experience from the lens of the guard. In such a polarizing and negative power dynamic a singular perspective shows a severely inadequate representation of what occurs at the institution and the circumstances that allow it to perpetuate. This failure is evident in the author’s personal transformation from the beginning of the book to the end. His writing becomes desensitized and begins to see prisoners as increasingly evil. Although this type of first hand journalism is admirable and provides interesting anecdotal evidence it will never be able to fully examine the precise and intricate social, economic, and political conditions that are the root cause of the injustice that is our criminal justice system.
In this documentary series, 30 Days: Jail, directed by Morgan Spurlock, Morgan questions whether the system is proper and effective, or whether they need to change and reform the system. The 30 Days: Jail is a true story, therefor the story is nonfiction. The details and events that transpire in this documentary series are facts. The 30 Days documentary film series are short films, which each episode last roughly thirty minutes long. Morgan Spurlock has filmed three seasons of the documentary series 30 Days. The reason why Morgan filmed these series of 30 Days was, because he wanted to put himself in other people’s shoes to show their life experiences and what they go through on a daily routine. Morgan is a writer and director, he has other works such as Supersize Me, Mansome.
Someone, suspected of a crime, is arrested by police. Later on, the suspect goes to court to face their charges. A classic episode of Law & Order. But, where do these suspects go in between the two events. They are held in their local jail of course. While people are familiar with the arrest and courtroom scenes from TV, many are unfamiliar with the jail scene, which becomes home to the suspects who cannot make bail until a court rules a verdict for their case.
Jacoby can be easily perceived as an upset and alarmed individual who blames the rise of criminal activity in the United States on the failure of the criminal justice system. He cares about people and believes that the safety of individuals is decreasing because criminals are not punished effectively by imprisonment and that some even receive a “sign of manhood” from going to prison (197). Additionally, he is upset that the ineffective system is so expensive. His concern for his audience’s safety and his carefully argued grounds, which he uses to support his claim, create a persona of an intelligent person of
Solitary confinement has the ability to shatter even the healthiest mind when subjected to indefinite lockdown, yet the mentally ill, who are disproportionately represented in the overall prison population, make up the majority of inmates who are held in that indefinite lockdown. Within your average supermax prison in which all inmates are subjected to an elevated form of solitary confinement, inmates face a 23-hour lockdown, little to no form of mental or physical stimulation that is topped off with no human interaction beyond the occasional guard to inmate contact. It is no wonder ‘torture’ is often used synonymously to describe solitary confinement. For years, cases arguing against solitary confinement have contested against its inhumane
The authors begin the book by providing advice on how a convict can prepare for release from prison. Throughout the book, the authors utilize two fictional characters, Joe and Jill Convict, as examples of prisoners reentering society. These fictional characters are representative of America’s prisoners. Prison is an artificial world with a very different social system than the real world beyond bars. Convicts follow the same daily schedule and are shaped by the different society that is prison. Prisoners therefore forget many of the obl...
The overpopulation in the prison system in America has been an on going problem in the United States for the past two decades. Not only does it effect the American people who are also the tax payers to fund all of the convicts in prisons and jails, but it also effects the prisoners themselves. Family members of the prisoners also come into effect. Overpopulation in prison cause a horrible chain reaction that causes nothing but suffering and problems for a whole bunch people. Yet through all the problems that lye with the overpopulation in prisons, there are some solutions to fix this ongoing huge problem in America.
Tipp, Stacey. "How Can Prison Overcrowding Be Reduced?" America's Prisons Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. David L. Bender. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1991. 111-124.
The incarceration rates have been growing rapidly in the United States. This is a problem that has been ongoing for many years, has recently caught a lot of attention by well-known law enforcement departments across the United States. A piece wrote by the New York Times, Editorial Board “Why the Police Want Prison Reform” published October 22, 2015. In this article, more than 130 of the top law enforcement officers have come together to stop the prison crisis. With the reform that just passed in October more than 6,000 prisoners who have been serving time have been released. The controversial topic has been presented by the New York Times article, “Why the Police Want Prison Reform”, the author who is not listed build their credibility with
On 4/3/2016, I was assigned as the Dock officer at the Lower Buckeye Jail, located at the above address.
Through two metal, cold doors, I was exposed to a whole new world. Inside the Gouverneur Correctional Facility in New York contained the lives of over 900 men who had committed felonies. Just looking down the pathway, the grass was green, and the flowers were beautifully surrounding the sidewalks. There were different brick buildings with their own walkways. You could not tell from the outside that inside each of these different buildings 60 men lived. On each side, sharing four phones, seven showers, and seven toilets. It did not end there, through one more locked metal door contained the lives of 200 more men. This life was not as beautiful and not nearly as big. Although Gouverneur Correctional Facility was a medium security prison, inside this second metal door was a high wired fence, it was a max maximum security prison. For such a clean, beautifully kept place, it contained people who did awful, heart-breaking things.
Overcrowding in our state and federal jails today has become a big issue. Back in the 20th century, prison rates in the U.S were fairly low. During the years later due to economic and political factors, that rate began to rise. According to the Bureau of justice statistics, the amount of people in prison went from 139 per 100,000 inmates to 502 per 100,000 inmates from 1980 to 2009. That is nearly 261%. Over 2.1 million Americans are incarcerated and 7.2 million are either incarcerated or under parole. According to these statistics, the U.S has 25% of the world’s prisoners. (Rick Wilson pg.1) Our prison systems simply have too many people. To try and help fix this problem, there needs to be shorter sentences for smaller crimes. Based on the many people in jail at the moment, funding for prison has dropped tremendously.
Knowing and understanding the author’s purpose, we see where he is coming from and what his “point of view” is. We see that the author is someone that does not agree with the activities that occur in the native prison. It makes the author feel uncomfortable with the establishment and its procedures.
Firstly, in order to gain a better understanding of the problems that plague or correctional system we must fully understand the enormous overcrowding problem that exist in the majority of or state and federal prisons. Since 1980 the prison population has quadrupled and only the numb...