“The United States, with 5 percent of the world's population, houses nearly 25 percent of the world's prisoners” (Lithwick 28). By far, the US incarcerates more citizens than any other country, indicating that crime in this nation is a veritable monster, or that there is something seriously wrong with our prison system, and perhaps our legal system in general. The majority of US prisoners, though, were convicted for nonviolent crimes. Therefore, the problem ostensibly lies with our legal system and how we handle convicted criminals. Prison reform is needed, and quickly.
We are not imprisoning the right people. It is estimated that 16 percent of inmates (350,000) suffer from some sort of mental illness. Inmates with psychiatric disorders rarely receive treatment, and the effects of incarceration make treatment after release far more ineffective. Also, depression as a result of incarceration makes suicide the leading cause of death among inmates, with nearly all victims suffering from mental illness. Further, the majority of inmates have committed nonviolent crimes. Prison, by definition, takes away almost every freedom and liberty granted to every US citizen. In a nation that esteems such qualities so highly, it follows that prison would only be reserved to those who present a serious threat to society or the freedoms of other individuals. This is not the case.
Approximately 60 billion dollars per year is used to imprison 2.2 million inmates.
This amounts to over 27 thousand dollars per inmate. Taxpayers shoulder their cost of living, so it is the taxpayer who is truly punished for crimes the inmate committed.
Prison, as it stands, is outrageously costly, in many cases unjust, and extremely ineffective. In order to solve the problem, three things must be done. First, those who deserve to be there need to be weeded out from those who don’t. For the most part, this means those who commit serious offenses. Second, inmates need to work for their cost of living just as everyone else. Food and shelter has always been reserved to those who earn it, and inmates are certainly capable of earning it. There’s no reason why taxpayers should pay for their amenities. Finally, Prison needs to be a place that inspires reform. It needs to be harsh and it needs to make inmates afraid of returning once they are free.
Philip Whitehurst XXIII
Sources:
www.cnn.com/US/9907/27/tough.sheriff
www.geocities.com/stargazers_here/mental_illness.html
www.politicalbase.com/issues/prison-reforms/79
6 comments:
Scrambled Eggs
I definitely agree that prisons should become harsher and stricter. They need to make prisoners hate living there and make them never want to return.
I agree 100 percent with Anonymous. The part I found most interesting was about the percent of mentally ill prisoners. We shouldn't put the mentally ill in prison, instead we should put them institutes that would help them better their state of mind.
I 100% agree with this article. Prisoners get 3 square meals a day and are given shelter and a toilet. Their are people in america that have not committed crimes and have worse lives than criminals. This i beleive is unjust and should be fixed.
I completely disagree with Anonymous. Prisons should NOT become harsher and stricter. Just like the article stated, that some have mental illnesses and just needs rehabilitation. They become depressed which leads to suicide. If we can fix that problem from the beginning by making a rehabilitation center or psycho therapy then there wouldn't be suicides. But I do agree with the prisoners working to get food and shelter instead of the taxpayers having to pay for them because the tax payers should not support the prisoners for their crimes.
I agree with the above comment. Otherwise why have prison? It's kind of like punishment when you are a kid; if you hate going to time out, then you won't misbehave again. We have to make it so criminals have to learn from their mistakes.
I agree with the liberal side of the argument...prisons should be places to reform criminals and provide them with better circumstances and a better life when they leave. Just punishing convicts isn't having a positive effect on our society. I guess for some, it is an adequate deterant, but still. I think more focus should be put on provided convicts with the skills, knowledge, and counseling that will help them get a job and function better as a member of thier society at the end of their incarceration.
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