Prisons Are Too Soft Essay

I whole heartedly believe we are too soft on offenders in the US. You know the old saying, I would never want to be in prison in Mexico, or any Latin country for that matter. Well, there is a reason for that. It is not a safe and pleasurable place to be. Per a poll on Gallup, when asked if our US criminal justice system was too soft, “a firm majority (65%) said that the criminal justice system is "not tough enough" on crime. 26% said the system is "about right," and just 6% said it is "too tough" (Kiefer, 2004). Furthermore, when our offenders reach prison, they are escorted to a room where they are stripped of all outside clothing, searched and given a prison suit. Next they are then taken to their cell, whether it is by themselves or bunking with one or more prison mates. Depending on the time of the day they enter, they will then be taken to the next meal, then afterwards maybe they return back to their cell or they have an activity of some sort. They get to sleep on a bunk, oftentimes, have a toilet and a sink in their rooms sometimes, and get to have pictures, buy from the canteen where they can buy anything from cigarettes to magazines, to even personal TVs or radios. Anything to make their life comfortable while they are there. Meanwhile, there are those in the US who work hard, never commit crimes,

While the rest of the citizens obey the law, pay their taxes on time, open doors for others, help the needy, get paid barely enough to pay their bills and keep the lights on, their car is barely making it down the road to their job and they don’t get very many privileges. It seems to me that we are, indeed, too soft on our offenders, or either, not soft enough on our citizens who do well for our