Mandatory Minimums In Prisons

First, there is a long list of negatives that the prison system in America brings. The prison system is filled with crime, hate, and negativity almost as much as the free world is. When in prison, we see that those who were in gangs are still in gangs and that those who were not, are likely to join during their sentence. Naturally the prisons are filled with criminals who not only bring with them a record of past wrong but also an attitude of anger and or survival when they walk behind the walls of prison. This attitude of anger fueled by the thought of survival keeps most from ever experiencing renewal or change when behind bars. While in the world they were criminals running from the law and while in prison

Inmates are constantly violated by cellmates and prison guards, both physically and sexually. Violence is often associated with prison gangs and interpersonal conflict. Prison guards are bribable and all kinds of contrabands including weapon, drug, liquor, tobacco and cell phone can be found in inmates’ hands. Crime within the fence is rampant, only counting those with violent act, 5.8 million reports were made in 2014. If the prison is really what it claims to be, shouldn’t prisoners be serving their time with regret and learning to be obedient? On the contrary, they continue to misbehave as the way that had them chained up. Rehabilitating from crime is similar to recovering from drug abuse, the most effective way to cut off from further engagement is to keep anything related out of reach. Yet, the prison has done the opposite, no prisoner can reform under such circumstance. Prison is supposed to put an end to criminal activities but it turns out to be the extension; crime keeps happening in and out of the prison and criminals stay as

Thesis: It is very important for the sake of Americans tax dollars that we change the way that prisons are run and increase the productivity of inmates so when they are released from jail they are ready to be a productive member in society and have the confidence to achieve new goals.

In order to do this they need to make new centers to help prisoners inside better themselves. In Alabama prisons may soon shut down 14 of its prisons for overcrowding, neglect, and violence in the state’s correction systems. In the prison St. Clair Holman in Alabama the prison system makes prisoners act different. There is no safety, security or supervision. “We have people being killed, sexually assaulted, raped, stabbed on daily basis at St. Clair, Holman, and multiple facilities; it’s a systemwide problem,” said Charlotte Morrison, a senior attorney at the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), which represents Alabama prisoner.” Within this quote we see that in St. Clair prison, inmates get raped and stabbed. These are reasons why prisons should be reformed. Prisoners shouldn’t be hurt for whatsoever problems. Conversely, Penal Reform International article suggested different reasons to reform prisons one that stood out to reform the particular prison in Alabama was this, Provide a healthy, safe environment. “Spaces that are filled with sunlight, outside views, therapeutic color schemes and normalized materials, encourage inmates’ participation, reduce stress, incidents and assaults and decrease staff absenteeism.” Considering the fact that prisoners in Alabama are brutally hurting each other in their cells, we can conclude that if prisons provided a safe environment bad

Prison education is a policy that enables education to incarcerated folks. The meaning and purpose of this policy is to increase the education to thus who are in the system, behind bars. By allowing inmates to enroll and continue their education, this policy has the potential to reduce the recidivism rate in the United States. Flores Forbes claims the recidivism rate in his book, Invisible Men, “Today the recidivism rate is around 65 percent. We

Mandatory minimum sentences exemplify this shift. Defined as a public policy that imposes an outlined amount of prison time based on the crime committed and the defendant’s criminal history, these sentences dictate that a judge must enact a statutory fixed penalty on individuals convicted of certain crimes, regardless of extenuating circumstances. Such laws have removed discretionary sentencing power from judges, instead focusing on severe punishments in line with national drug and crime concerns. While the original goal of mandatory minimum sentences was to deter potential criminals, reduce drug use, control judicial prudence, the policy has had extreme consequences such as sentencing imbalances and

During the 1990s, there are tough crimes that increase the prison's population and length of prison sentencing. For example, former attorney General Dan Lungren explained that violent crimes in California 26.9 percent and 30.8 percent in six major crime categories after passing the Three Strike law (Vitiello, 2002). Three Strike law has an incapacitation effect. The number of third striker and second striker decline every year from 1996 through 2003 (Goodno, 2007). However, mandatory minimum associated with drug crimes are different from other

In abuse cases the child or adult needs to be rehabilitated to help them develop. There mental state could become worse in the stressful environment of prison. I feel that if they are not in the proper mind set due to abuse or another tramatic event, prison will make it worse and not better.

Mandatory minimums are court decisions whereas judicial discretion, or the judge’s ability to lower or increase the sentence, is limited by law. With the aim to lower crime rates, certain crimes, especially nonviolent drug crimes, are punished with a minimum number of years in prison. But, in many cases, specifically nonviolent drug offenses, this sort of punishment never reflects the crime. Because the context of the crime must always be considered when sentencing someone, and mandatory minimums throw context right out the window . . . Not only do mandatory minimums undermine justice by preventing judges the power to lower a sentence based on the context of the crime, but they also contribute to America’s rising prison population. Mandatory

The purpose needs to be changed so that there will be more success in the future to result in less crime. Instead of paying for the establishment of new prisons, they should release the older inmates who no longer pose a threat to society. This would allow more space for younger criminals to be emitted. These new prisoners could then be worked with and lead to a path of proper change with positive influence. It would allow them to grow with the correct mindset and get away from the negative factors of crime. To say that this would be a long process is an understatement. This would definitely have to be gradual, for nothing comes that quick and easy, especially when dealing with societal change. An example of youth rehabilitation could be the television show Beyond Scared Straight. In the television show, they take troubled adolescents to the nearest correctional facilities. Certain criminals confined there are chosen to show the teens the experience of a jail or prison, and that that’s where they will end up unless the straighten up. For the most part, this works, and they clean up their

The reason I believe that eliminating mandatory minimum sentences is something that needs to be done is because it is necessary in some cases to let people who are incarcerated or soon to be incarcerated to get out of jail before they were sentenced to get out. Sometimes mandatory sentences target people unfairly like for example minorities or younger individuals. According to Chief Editor African Americans pertaining to drug use suffer more than white Americans do and it is causing unjust between the two races. There was also a case of a woman named Tina who set a building on fire by accident, killing two young boys when she was a young girl and was reprimanded for it and was tried as an adult and sentenced to life, even though she suffered

Felony Disenfranchise laws have taken away the right to vote for people who have been convicted of a felony, currently or previous. Some communities’ political voices are not being heard. Most states, with the exception of tow, Maine, and Vermont, have enacted laws that do not allow incarcerated inmates to vote. While other states permanently ban felons from ever voting again, even after completing parole, probation and paying fines. Maine and Vermont are the only two states that allow incarcerated prisoners to vote, while in other states, once you complete parole or probation your right to vote is automatically restored. In western countries, felony disenfranchisement has been around since ancient Greece and was used as punishment for some

From its colonial days, the United States has long rich history of using capital punishment. Today, offenders facing the death penalty face different characteristics and challenges they every day in prison. Due to these challenges and characteristics they adjust to prison population in a different ways. Felons facing the death penalty also receive special services provided to them.

The United States has the highest incarceration rate out of every other country in the entire world to date. Since 2002 the United States has had the highest prisoner population and currently has around 500 prisoners to every 100,000 citizens, for around a total population of 1.6 million prisoners (Tsai, Scommegna, 2016). On average many of these prisoners only have around a 10th grade education level and nearly 70% never graduated from high school (Tsai, Scommegna, 2016). With these statistics being said, it is safe to say that many of them will have a very low literacy rate. Also the prison populations in the United States is growing at an uncontrollable and unsustainable rate both financially and space inside the prisons themselves which

Jails are not teaching prisoner's anything. Young children and adults sell drugs to provide for themselves and there should be law enforcements focusing on drugs. They also discussed how the DARE program didn't really work to prevent drug abuse because it gets young kids to know what these drugs are. Now as they teach children that drugs are harmful to your health, most kids don't listen or follow the direction of what they're told to do. Some children will follow that rule but with others, they wouldn't pay attention. I think it should me more of a parents responsibilities to teach their children about the good and bad of drugs, and that the parents should teach them when they deem it to be appropriate. Not have schools force children to learn about