Prison Problems In The United States

In the documentary Locked Up: Prison in America the main problem that is discussed is that due to mass incarceration there is an overflow of prisoners and the state can not house them all. One of the main concerns is that a lot of these prisoners are being locked up for non-violent crimes and it costing the state millions of dollars to house them in these prisons. For example it was getting so out of hand that they were forces to let one of the inmates out six months early because they needed the space to house all of these inmates in an already over crowded facility. Even though all of the people being interviewed for this documentary were African American I do not think that race plays a part in whether or not some get locked up.

Americans broken prisons as people say need to be fixed, but how. Personally, I believe the problem is the people in the prisons. Putting someone in a time out boxed is very effective for three year old, as for adults it depend on how reasonable the person is. Through my eyes, American’s prison are not as effective as they once were because we have people who go in and out of jail their whole life, people don’t care about the and lastly crazy people need to be in there for life but a released by their judgement. The first issue I will address is the fact that most people go in and out of prison for the same thing or similar crimes.

On July 1st 2017, Dr. Anne Fowler, Professor, Louisiana Tech University, approved a title for proposed long report by Elise Johnson, student, Louisiana Tech University to study the American prison system and the direct correlation to slavery and find viable solutions to resolve the increase incarceration rates. The author begins performing research to gain a better understanding of the American prison system, focusing solely on the Texas prison system. Reason being the Texas prison system leads the way with punishment, of petty offenders (simple burglary, theft) and serious offenders (sexual assault, murder). Then materials were collected via the world wide web, and the local library, regarding the origin of slavery, and the penal system.

In the United States of America, there are many systems throughout the government. There is the Department of Health, Department of education, and many more to be listed. One system that often causes controversy is the Department of Correction, this department always raises the question; does our jail/correction system work? The correctional system has flaws and gives some result, however, there are more cases than not that prove the correctional system needs a great deal of improvement. Due to the living conditions and the activity inside of the United States prisons the prison system is looked at as dysfunctional.

The first steps to the incarceration process are intake and booking. When rules and standards are unclear confusion sets in. Some staff members and inmates take advantage of lack of clarity by dominance in an oppressive manner and some will cower from responsibility’s and become victimized by the stronger. Intake and booking process is to have a safe and smooth operation of the jail. Mo matter how many times an inmate has been in custody the inmate has rights.

A prison and a jail has many visitors coming in and out of it gates, from loved ones to friends wanting to see the well-being of the inmate. Before any visitors can view the inmate they must go through a series of searches to ensure contraband doesn’t enter. Many of the prisons don’t allow the general public to enter the building with a cellphone. They ask the public to leave there personal items in their car. Officers make the visitors walk thru a metal visual detector.

The five methods used for punishment is fines, Probation, Parole, Jails/Prisons, and Community Corrections. Fines is a criminal punishment for someone who breaks the law. It’s a fee that must be paid as a punishment for violating the law. An example would be a speeding ticket because if you speed through the traffic light, you’ll have to pay a $75 fine for going past the speed limit. Probation is when the offenders get a light sentence due to good behavior can freedom outside prison with supervision.

When the American prison system began, it was believed that rehabilitation, the act of restoring one’s character, could be beneficial for criminals to start over. According to Tom Wicker, “The system…began as a reform impulse, the idea that if offenders were isolated, shielded from the public mockery that had accompanied hangings and the stocks, given time to repent, and worked hard, they could be turned away from crime and transformed into useful citizens” (xii). Criminals could become better citizens and have a positive outlook for a future if they worked hard and were secluded from the outside world. Although this idea seems more humane, it did not last long in the prison system because many people believed that any crime committed deserved

I enjoy reading your post. The terms drugs and prison are often mentioned in the same sentence because of the close association that exists between the two. Not only are people sent to prison due to involvement in drugs in some manner or another, there is some evidence that shows that a large number of crimes are committed under the influence of a drug. It may surprise many to know that the 85 percent of the estimated 2.3 million prison inmates have had or still do some kind of serious drug abuse history. This is a massive number.

In Europe prior to the 1600s and 1700s incarceration was mainly used as a means of detaining suspects and citizens for various reasons (Bohm & Haley, 2001). Citizens were incarcerated as a means to coerce payments, contain the spread of disease as well as to teach religious beliefs, in some cases, to change one’s beliefs. Suspects were incarcerated while awaiting trial, punishment, or death. Slaves were also incarcerated during this time as a form of punishment. Individuals endured punishments, that would be considered cruel and unusual in modern society, like being hanged, stoned, as well as beheaded just to list a few (Bohm & Haley, 2001).