Overcrowded Jails and Prisons - 1821 Words

Why are prison and jail so overcrowded? Could it be we need to establish a better program for rehabilitating the inmates? For many years now rehabilitation has been an issue within the Criminal Justice System. The debate of should these criminals be punished or should they be rehabilitated. What is the reason for our jails and prisons for becoming so full? Is it because we simply like to house criminals to keep them off the streets or do we truly not know how to rehabilitate them back in to society properly? Penitentiaries first used rehabilitation as a form of punishment with in their facilities, the inmates were required to read the bible and repent of there sins as a form of rehabilitated punishment. This form of rehabilitation did not work for long. They had to find different means of punishment. They were afraid that if they coupled rehabilitation with punishment the offenders would act worse and refuse to do anything for themselves. Most of us know that the word punishment mean s a penalty inflicted on an offender through judicial procedure; suffering, pain, or loss that serves as retribution. As well as rehabilitate is to restore to former state. So why should prisons or jails rehabilitate instead of being punitive? Punishing offenders is something we take for granted. We expect that those who break the law will be punished by the criminal justice system, and we naturally link crime with punishment. (Banks xiii) If the jails and prison would concentrate onShow MoreRelatedThe Effects of Overcrowded Conditions in US Prisons1564 Words   |  6 Pagesbudget crises in states across the United States of America, state governments must cut funding to their punishment facilities causing overcrowding in prisons to increase every day. Overcrowded prisons pose a potential breeding ground for crime as hundreds of inmates are squeezed into small accommodations. Thousands of low-level offenders receive jail sentences each day, these criminals make up about a third of the inmates in the United States. In the words of Republican Governor Mitch Daniels of IndiaRead More Death Penalty - Justified Essay896 Words   |  4 PagesDeath Penalty - Justified There are many problems facing our criminal justice system today. Some of the more important ones are overcrowded jails, the increasing murder rate, and keeping tax payers content. In light of these problems, I think the death penalty is our best and most reasonable solution because it is a highly effective deterrent to murder. And, tax payers would be pleased to know that their hard-earned tax dollars are not being wasted on supporting incorrigible criminalsRead MorePrison Overcrowding in California905 Words   |  4 PagesPrison Overcrowding in California Jeffrey Shaw CJA/564 Josette Ford May 6, 2013 The California prisons have been crowded for decades. This cannot continue to go on. One of the reasons that the prisons are overcrowded is because of the types and lengths of sentences. Other reasons why the prisons are overcrowded is because many of the prisoners are there on non-violent crimes. Also many of the sentences are for smaller crimes. The one recent event that is dealing with this problem is releaseRead MoreEffects Of Overcrowded Prisons1218 Words   |  5 Pagesin the overgrown prisons throughout the country. Over 2.4 million people call a state prison, federal prison, or local jail their home ( Prison Overcrowding). Not only are citizens frightened about the over populated prisons, but also the prisoners who have to live there for a period of time. Overcrowded prisons produce an amount of stress and physical problems to the prisoner ( When Prison). Overcrowding restricts access to dining halls, laundry rooms, and bathrooms (When Prison). Also some inmatesRead MoreThe Flawed Prison System of America1039 Words   |  5 PagesUnites States of America’s prison system is a flawed mess. To open the eyes of our government we must first take a stand against unlawful government decisions, and show support for the greater good of society. What are our own tax-dollars paying for, what are the flaws in the justice/prison system, why is overcrowding in prisons causing tension, and what are ways our society and government can rebuild the system that has been destroyed over the years? Most crim inals in prisons are not a danger to ourRead MoreOverview of Community Corrections in USA1191 Words   |  5 PagesCommunity Corrections Community Corrections are the non-prison penalties that are enforced on convicted, sentenced or arrested adults (i.e. 18 or above) for making crimes. Community corrections are basically planned for the crimes that are petty as compared to the serious offences that are murder, kidnapping or so on. The crimes that are supposed to receive less severe punishment are given in charge of community corrections. These programs focus on non-violent offenders and punish them with probationRead MorePrison Overcrowding1187 Words   |  5 PagesAbstract This paper will discuss prison overcrowding and what type of numbers have come about over the years when it comes to inmates being imprisoned. It will discuss the cost of a prisoner annually as well as the decision to add verses build when it comes to new facilities. The overcrowding in one particular prison will be touched on as well as whose responsibility it is for upkeep. It will discuss how funding plays a role in overcrowding as well as the â€Å"three strikes† rule in California andRead MoreThe Negative Effects Of Prison Overcrowding1524 Words   |  7 PagesPrison Overcrowding is a topic that isn’t brought up much in the media. However, it’s one that should be addressed more than it is. Overcrowding puts Correctional Officer’s safety at risk as well as the safety of inmates. There must be a way to reduce the number of inmates or possibly build additional prisons. Prison overcrowding has many negative effects ranging from sickness, to even death . The first article I want to discuss is â€Å"Underfunded, Overcrowded State Prisons Struggle With Reform†. OnRead MoreThe American Court System And Criminal Justice System1750 Words   |  7 Pagestheir execution. Where is the justice in that? Prisons are also overcrowded and according to political scientist David Hudson, America holds five percent of the world s population, but twenty-five percent of the world s prison population (Hudson). This is partially derived from the overwhelming amount of cases that the justice system takes on, but also because of the harsh sentences. About 480,000 people are non-convicted and are awaiting trial in jail. In general, people awaiting their trial cannotRead MoreTheu.s. State Prison System965 Words   |  4 PagesThere are so many problem in the Unites State Prison system because of overcrowding. First I am going to talk about what cause the overcrowding in the Prison system. After that I will talk what are the affect we are facing now days for overcrowding in the prison system. Than what should we do to stop prison to get overcrowding and how is going to help out society. Now we going to talk about the reason why our prison is overcrowding in the United State. According to (â€Å"What Causes Overcrowding,†