Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
prison reform in united states
education in our prison systems
history of american criminal justice system
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: prison reform in united states
Mr. Governor, there are many ways to reduce the current problem of prison overcrowding; unfortunately many of them are not popular as they are seen as being soft on crime and as we both know that is not favorably looked upon. Some of the options would provide a temporary decongestion of the prisons while others would be a more long term reduction in inmate populations. After reviewing I believe that there are a few that we could possibly accomplish and still portray an acceptable persona to the public. These few include reviewing the mandatory sentencing laws, education opportunities, good time credits earning, conditional release of elderly inmates, foreign national occupation and after prison employment incentives.
Traditionally judges were allowed to weigh the facts of a case when determining sentencing, but since the passing of the mandatory sentencing laws judges no longer have any discretion in these matters. It was believed that the mandatory sentencing would catch the upper end of those in the drug trade and discourage others from starting to participate in it. Unfortunately it catches mostly lower level individuals and has not discouraged people from the use or selling of drugs, leaving judges caught with imposing penalties that many of them have come to resent. These penalties are stiff, mandated by Congress and are tied to the type and weight of the drug as well as if there was a firearm (legal or not) present, most of the entry level sentences are five to 10 years. Another problem with the mandatory sentencing is there are only two ways to reduce or avoid it. First is to implement another person or in some way provide “substantial assistance” to the government. The second way is a safety valve which has such a ...
... middle of paper ...
...: the mass incarceration of the elderly. (2012, June). American civil Liberties Union. Retrieved from https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/elderlyprisonreport_20120613_1.pdf
FAMM. (1997). Mandatory sentencing was once America’s law-and-order panacea. here’s why it’s not working. Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Retrieved from http://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/famm/Primer.pdf
Davis, L. M., Bozick, R., Steele, J. L., Saunders, J., & Miles, J. N. V. (2013 ). Evaluating the effectiveness of correctional education a meta-analysis of programs that provide education to incarcerated adults. In J. N. V. Miles (Ed.), Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR200/RR266/RAND_RR266.pdf
Petrella, C. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nationofchange.org/10-ways-reduce-our-out-control-prison-population-1348927431
After viewing the documentary: America's War on Drugs - The Prison Industrial Complex, it is clear that the Criminal Justice System is in desperate need of reconstruction and repair with policies such as the mandatory minimum sentencing act which has proven to be unsuccessful and unjust in its efforts to deter 'criminals from committing illegal acts' as seen with the increase of incarcerations of the American people and the devastating effect it has had on those in prison and the family members of those incarcerated.
Overcrowding in prisons may cause prisoners to not receive the rehabilitative curriculums that they want in order to be reintegrated into society. This is the case in California, with individuals serving their prison sentences in jails, where they do not have the space to incorporate areas to hold the programs necessary for prisoners to assimilate back into society (KQED and Center for Investigative
The proliferation of prison overcrowding has been a rising concern for the U.S. The growing prison population poses considerable health and safety risks to prison staffs and employees, as well as to inmates themselves. The risks will continue to increase if no immediate actions are taken. Whereas fighting proliferation is fundamentally the duty of the U.S. government, prison overcrowding has exposed that the U.S. government will need to take measures to combat the flaws in the prison and criminal justice system. Restructuring the government to combat the danger of prison overcrowding, specifically in California, thus requires reforms that reestablishes the penal codes, increases the state’s budget, and develops opportunities for paroles to prevent their return to prison. The following context will examine and discuss the different approaches to reduce the population of state prisons in California in order to avoid prison overcrowding.
Throughout the history of the United States and including the western world. Corrections have served the country by convicting and sentencing offenders depending on the seriousness of the crime. Along with that today, offenders are either placed in probation, incarcerated or taken to community-based corrections. Even though, corrections have always tried to find ways to deter crime by correcting criminals, the poor economy in our country has been the cause for struggles in the correctional system. Some of the causes of economic issues are the cut of budget, over crowing, lack of programs for people with mental illnesses, and lack of innovation.
Harris, H. (2017, March). The Prison Dilemma: Ending America's Incarceration Epidemic. Foreign Affairs, pp. 118-129.
“Prison Overcrowding: The Problem.” American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC-American Legislative Exchange Council, 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Mandatory minimum sentencing is the practice of requiring a predetermined prison sentence for certain crimes. The most notable mandatory minimums are the ones implemented in the 70’s and 80’s, hoping to combat the rising drug problem. Mandatory minimum sentencing has existed in the United States nearly since its very birth, with the first mandatory minimums being put into place around 1790. Recently, as the marijuana laws of many states have scaled back in severity, the issue of mandatory minimums has caused controversy in the US. There are two distinct sides to the argument surrounding mandatory minimum sentencing. One group believes we have a moral obligation to our country requiring us to do no less than lock up anyone with illegal drugs
It was a warm August night in Baltimore when police found the bodies of three teenage boys gunned down outside a playground. One of the teens was Franklin Morris a seventeen-year-old frequently suspend from school and left to his own vices. His mother concerned about the direction he was heading reached out for help. A counselor suggested a deterrence program aimed a scaring him straight. At fourteen years old Franklin was featured on the A&E network show Scared Straight.(Cable) A television show that follows around trouble juveniles while they tour and experience the hardened criminal world of prisons, hoping to deter them from the prison system. The show portrayed him as a young man with no boundaries and lack of respect towards the community and his parents. Within three years after the program, Franklin was right back on the street with a more hardened attitude. What could have prevented him from succumbing to a violent life on the streets? And how do we prevent others from ending up in the same situation.
Wilson, Rick. "The Growing Problems of the Prison System." American Friends Service Committee. American Friends Service Committee, 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. .
Mandatory sentencing is not anything new. It began in the 1970s. The main purpose for mandatory sentencing was to try to get rid of the drug lords and to eliminate most of the nation’s street drug selling. It was to impose that the same crime would have the same sentence all over the nation. Some of the negatives that rose from mandatory sentencing were nonviolent drug offenders and first time offenders who were receiving harsh sentences. Inmate populations and correction costs increased and pushed states to build more prisons. Judges were overloaded with these cases, and lengthy prison terms were mandated to these young offenders. Mandatory sentencing is an interesting topic in which I would like to discuss my opinions in going against mandatory sentencing. I will show the reasons for this topic, as well as give you my personal brief on which I support.
The “Tough on Crime” and “War on Drugs” policies of the 1970s – 1980s have caused an over populated prison system where incarceration is policy and assistance for prevention was placed on the back burner. As of 2005, a little fewer than 2,000 prisoners are being released every day. These individuals have not gone through treatment or been properly assisted in reentering society. This has caused individuals to reenter the prison system after only a year of being release and this problem will not go away, but will get worst if current thinking does not change. This change must be bigger than putting in place some under funded programs that do not provide support. As the current cost of incarceration is around $30,000 a year per inmate, change to the system/procedure must prevent recidivism and the current problem of over-crowed prisons.
Studies have shown that in-prison education curriculums decrease recidivism while refining the eminence of life. However, majority of extra-curricular classes in prison have been eradicated, additional customs of job preparation have reduced, and access to exercise equipment and educational resources such as books is progressively limited. In the past five years the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has increased the federal budget by 40 per cent to $2.6 billion, majority bei...
Shelden, R. G. (1999). The Prison Industrial Complex. Retrieved November 16, 2013, from www.populist.com: http://www.populist.com/99.11.prison.html
O’Leary, Mary E. “Union: State prisons crammed, dangerous to staff, inmates.” New Haven Register (New Haven, CT) (August 23, 2011): NA. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Ironwood High School. 26 Oct. 2011. http://find.galegroup.com
Esperian, J. H. (2010). The effect of prison education programs on recidivism. Journal of Correctional Education, 61(4), 316-334. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/871418247?accountid=38223