Purpose Of The Prison System Essay

1444 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Importance of prison reform

The purpose of the prison system was meant to be a deterrent to crime, as a preventative measure and to those who have already committed crimes, it is supposed to keep them from coming back. Obviously this did not work, today there are overcrowded jails and courts that look to any other way to punish a criminal besides jail time. The other options do not work either, they have not reduced the prison population nor have they created a sort of fear of being punished that a tougher system might do(Faugeron 5). I think the prison system should be made tougher, and that the alternatives to prison be used in cases where the crime was very small and the criminal would benefit from some other form of punishment than prison. If the criminal has done something so bad as to end up in prison I would expect that they were being treated in a just fashion. Instead of the system trying to teach inmates a lesson there's a law that says that "a convicted offender retains all the rights which citizens in general have, except such as must be limited or forfeited to make it possible to administer a correctional or federal agency"(Hawkins 135). In short they are real citizens except that the …show more content…

"How Sure is Sure Enough?" Newsweek. Mar. 22, 1999: 37.

Cohen, Adam. "A Life for a Life." Time. Mar. 8, 1999: 30-35.

Faugeron, Claude. "The Changing Functions of Imprisonment." Prisons 2000: An International Perspective on the Current State and Fututre of Imprisonment. Ed. Roger Matthews and PeterFrancis. MacMillian Press LTD.: London 1996.

Hawkins, Gordon. The Prison, Policy and Practice. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1976.

Laurence, John. A history of Capital Punishment. Citadel Press: New York, 1960.

"Questions and Answers About the Death Penalty." Daily Tribune. 9 Jan. 1998: A4.

Palmer, Ted. A Profile of Corrctional Effectiveness and New Directions for Research. State University of New York Press: Albany,

Show More
Related

  • Pros And Cons Of Budget Cuts In Prison

    1192 Words  | 3 Pages

    Instead of prisoners just sitting in a cell doing nothing, why not put them to work, "Every inmate that works saves taxpayers $5,000 a year"(Smith). There are prisoners that work in greenhouses, that generated $57 million in revenue. As budget cuts rise working prisoners become more and more valuable. Inmates are finding ways to save money by recycling there old mattress, that would of end up in landfills. Some prisons even have their inmates help clean up dirty parks around them. While the prisoners are doing this they are learning skills , that will help them with different jobs. Prisoners that do a good job get rewarded with money bonuses. Prisoners learning how to be more responsible and understand how to become a better person will help them in the up coming future. With the prisoners getting paid for bonuses for good work this will make it feel as if it’s a real job. The experience that the inmates are receiving will help them with jobs once they are released from prison. Prisoners will strive to do better with the bonuses they are receiving, and will understand again what its like work. Now with this happening this will ensure the prisoners will have a better and healthier

    Read More

  • Prisons Are Too Soft Essay

    475 Words  | 1 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Chaucer's View of the Pardoner as a Character

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    of his and then claims that he will still be able to tell a moral

    Read More

  • Effects Of Incarceration

    1316 Words  | 3 Pages

    Harris, H. (2017, March). The Prison Dilemma: Ending America's Incarceration Epidemic. Foreign Affairs, pp. 118-129.

    Read More

  • The Overcrowding of Prisons

    1779 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Mark Early, president of the Prison Fellowship International, the Bureau of Justice Statistics report shows that there are 19 states that have prisons operating at 100 percent capacity and another 20 are falling right behind them. There is no wonder why the overcrowding of prisons is being discussed everywhere. Not to mention how serious this predicament is and how serious it can get. Many of the United States citizens don’t understand why this is such a serious matter due to the fact that some of them believe it’s not their problem. Therefore they just don’t care about it. Also, some Americans may say that they don’t care about what could happen to the inmates due to repercussions of overcrowding, because it’s their own fault. In order to cure this growing problem people have to start caring about what’s going on, even if it’s to people who might deserve it.

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of Prison Life In Norway's Ideal Prison?

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    For decades, prison has been signified as an unspeakably horrifying place for those who have done harm to our society. Nevertheless, in today 's society, shows like Wentworth, orange is the new black and prison break illustrate prison in an entertaining way. A way that is so detached from reality. However, in the article "Norway 's Ideal Prison," by Piers Hernu, he clearly reveals and gives us a vivid picture of what prison life is like in Bastoy, the home of Norway only prison. On the other hand, "The Prisoners Dilemma," by Stephan Chapman argues how in Islamic countries criminals are being cruelly handled and how flawed the American penal system is and needs to be adjusted. Even though there are many similarities in both articles on what

    Read More

  • Prison Reform In America

    1883 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the essay "Prison "Reform" in America," Roger T. Pray points out the much attention that has been devoted to research to help prevent crimes. Showing criminals the errors of their ways not by brutal punishment, but by locking them up in the attempt to reform them. Robert Pray, who is a prison psychologist, is currently a researcher with the Utah Dept. of Corrections. He has seen what has become of our prison system and easily shows us that there is really no such thing as "Prison Reform"

    Read More

  • Analysis Of 'The Prisoner's Dilemma'

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Western cultures imprisonment is the universal method of punishing criminals (Chapman 571). According to criminologists locking up criminals may not even be an effective form of punishment. First, the prison sentences do not serve as an example to deter future criminals, which is indicated, in the increased rates of criminal behavior over the years. Secondly, prisons may protect the average citizen from crimes but the violence is then diverted to prison workers and other inmates. Finally, inmates are locked together which impedes their rehabilitation and exposes them too more criminal

    Read More

  • Problems with the American Prison System

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout history into today, there have been many problems with our prison system. Prisons are overcrowded, underfunded, rape rates are off the charts, and we as Americans have no idea how to fix it. We need to have shorter sentences and try to rehabilitate prisoners back to where they can function in society. Many prisoners barely have a high school education and do not receive further education in jail. Guards need to pay more attention to the well being of the inmates and start to notice signs of abuse and address them. These are just a few of the many problems in our prison systems that need to be addressed.

    Read More

  • Cyrus Cylinder Analysis

    527 Words  | 2 Pages

    The moral message of the Cyrus Cylinder is just as relevant today as it was in 539 BCE when it was created. I personally feel article five is a great example of this because it talks about how torture and cruel punishment should not be used. To me, this could be used in an argument against the death penalty. For the

    Read More

  • The Effectiveness of U.S. and Scandinavian Penal and Prisons Systems

    3052 Words  | 7 Pages

    VonHofer, H. and R. Marvin. Imprisonment Today and Tomorrow: International perspectives. The Hague, The Neatherlands: Kluwer Law International, 2001. Print.

    Read More

  • Imprisonment is Ineffective as Punishment

    1773 Words  | 4 Pages

    Coyle (2005). The 'Standard'. To say whether using prison as a form of punishment has aid in the quest of tackling the crime problem, one must first consider the purposes of the prison.... ... middle of paper ... ...

    Read More

  • Issues in Corrections

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    Prison was designed to house and isolate criminals away from the society in order for our society and the people within it to function without the fears of the outlaws. The purpose of prison is to deter and prevent people from committing a crime using the ideas of incarceration by taking away freedom and liberty from those individuals committed of crimes. Prisons in America are run either by the federal, states or even private contractors. There are many challenges and issues that our correctional system is facing today due to the nature of prisons being the place to house various types of criminals. In this paper, I will address and identify three major issues that I believe our correctional system is facing today using my own ideas along with the researches from three reputable outside academic sources.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Reform Vs. Punishment

    1601 Words  | 4 Pages

    Part of the punishment is the elements prisoners must endure while imprisonment. The conditions in prisons can be characterized as harsh and unbearable at times. Cold daunting cells and prison overcrowding evoke mediocracy living conditions (Herzing 2015). Yes, payment for crimes should match the crimes committed. Murders, rapes, and all other odious crimes should evoke a place of lack luster conditions to those of such criminal background (Washington 2016). The amenities once enjoyed by an individual in society should be taken away, if convicted of a crime. The freewill to go to the store, or a movie, to live in certain neighborhoods, should be entities lost due to criminal behavior. Besides the loss of freedoms, how should the prison system effect prisoners?

    Read More

  • Cyberspace vs. Internet

    1606 Words  | 4 Pages

    In my opinion cyberspace and the internet aren't as different as they are complementary. After all, it was said in class that, "the internet is a computer net work and cyberspace is that network visualized as a virtual space." Using these definitions it would seem that they work together to create a whole, a system, we use to create an "interface" to information. So, taking this into consideration I will discuss the parallels between both the internet and cyberspace and I will discuss what they lack when separated from one another.

    Read More

More about Purpose Of The Prison System Essay

Open Document