The Ineffective United States Penal System Essay - 950 Words

The Ineffective United States Penal System I have visited some of the best and the worst prison and have never seen signs of coddling, but I have seen the terrible results of the boredom and frustration of empty hours and pointless existence. -former United States Supreme Court Justice, Warren Burger In a famous psychological study conducted in 1986, mental health researches held an experiment to see the community, things changed. The rats became stressed out, violent, and developed nervous twitches, as well as eating disorders (Cozzone 8). God Bless America . . . Every year, more people are arrested than the entire combined populations of our 13 least populous states. America incarcerates five times as many people per†¦show more content†¦To be most effective, the programs must aim to change those who want to change, for those are the people who will change (or have a good chance). Inmates, when taught to be productive, are likely to develop the self-esteem essential to a normal, integrated personality (Szumski 21). These kinds of programs would provide essential skills, development of healthy habits, and replace the sense of hopelessness (Szumski 21) that many inmates have. Most of Americas correctional institutions lack programs of criminal rehabilitation. One can predict that a prisoner, after many years of incarceration without being educated, will have many more disadvantages upon their release back into society. One of the major sociological theories of delinquency is differential association (Doob 169). The idea is that some people have learned their ways from undesirable people who they were forced to associate with and that this association warps their thinking and social attitudes. Differential association theory emphasizes that a person is more likely to become a criminal if the people who have the greatest influence upon them are criminals (Doob 169). In addition, sending a deviant person, who has been associated with criminal influences, to prison would just make the problem worse (Fox 61). Group counseling, group interaction, and other kinds of group activities can provide a corrective, positive experience that mightShow MoreRelatedLegislation and Incarceration in United States956 Words   |  4 Pages#A2068178) The incarceration rate in the United States has steadily risen since 1973, and Franklin Zimring has examined the relationship between penal legislation and the incarceration rate. He has discovered three distinct periods which demonstrate three differences in the way legislation effects penal practices. During the first period in which there was a major rise in incarceration rates, 1973-1985, Zimring asserted that there was no relationship between penal legislation and the increase in incarcerationRead MoreAmeric Land Of The Incarcerated1296 Words   |  6 Pagesthe poem The Star Spangled Banner after witnessing the attack on Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy in the War of 1812. The poem was sang to the tune of a well-known British song and eventually, Key’s once amateur patriotic poem became the United States national anthem in which the lyrics strongly symbolize our country’s perseverance and freedom. The Star Spangled Banner can be heard at a variety gatherin gs such as official military functions and sporting events where celebrity singers oftenRead MoreAccording To The United States Census Bureau, The United1484 Words   |  6 PagesAccording to The United States Census Bureau, the United States population accounts for less than 5 percent of the world population. The United States, however, houses more than 20% of the world inmate population. From 1978 to 2014, there has been a sharp increase of the inmate population to the tune of over 400% - an alarming number that is not likely to decrease anytime soon (ACLU, n.d.). The United States government has placed tougher sanctions and punishments on criminals since the late 1970sRead MoreThe Judicial Corporal System Of Islamic Criminal Justice System Essay1299 Words   |  6 PagesIncarceration, especially in the United States, is widely known to be a massive taxpayer burden— to the tune of over $52 billion per year (CITE p414). In 2012, the annual cost per inmate in the United Sta tes was approximately $21,000 for low risk inmates, and up to $34,000 for high risk offenders (CITE p386). Additionally, incarceration places a significant financial burden on the offenders themselves, because they would lose their current jobs, and any job prospects they would have in the futureRead MoreThe War On Drugs And Its Effects On The United States817 Words   |  4 PagesUltimately, however, the War on Drugs did not limit national daily drug use. Instead, the War on Drugs had a greater impact on the United States’ justice, education, and healthcare systems than it did to limit citizen drug use. The War on Drugs has had a profound impact on the current legal system of the United States. The Reagan Administration, especially, shifted penal focus away from the drugs themselves and onto the user, leading to increased rates of incarceration. One of the factors leadingRead More Do Not Bring Back Flogging Essay1032 Words   |  5 PagesForefathers’† system of punishment in his essay, â€Å"Bring Back Flogging.† Within the contents of his work, Jacoby describes how flogging was utilized as punishment in its day. One such example he utilizes involves a woman who pleaded guilty to committing adultery. He writes that her punishment was â€Å"fifteen stripes severally to be laid on upon her naked back at the Common Whipping post† (Jacoby 1). In his piece, Jacoby argues for the revival of flogging and Puritan style punishment in the United States. As wellRead MoreThe Economic Crisis Of Brazil1395 Words   |  6 Pages Brazil Historical Development While Brazil development state began in the response of the Great Depression during the economic crisis. The second section of this report describes the formal protection of human rights in the Brazilian criminal justice system, but also explains why these guarantees remain largely on paper. An understanding of why the Brazilian state appears to violate so many of the human rights that its own laws and Constitution guarantee requires some description of the historicalRead MoreCommunity Service As Punishment1735 Words   |  7 Pagesapologetic reparation that the person is now required to make to the community what he has wronged. The Indian Penal Code was the enacted in 1860 by virtue of the classic legal draftsmanship of Lord Macaulay. If there would have been a concept of community service prevalent at that time then the authors are sure that there would have been no need to urge the inclusion of the same in the Indian Penal Code. But since this exclusion by Macaulay is because o f no fault of his it is our duty to incorporate suchRead MoreMental Illness Among Prisons And The United States1576 Words   |  7 Pagesmost disadvantaged members, then the United States is in a very lowly state of affairs. The United States currently incarcerates over 356,000 individuals diagnosed with some form of mental illness. This is ten-fold the number of people receiving treatment in psychiatric hospitals, around 35,000 (Frances). Leaving us with the question, when did suffering from a mental illness become a crime worthy of incarceration? Doubt no longer remains as to if the this system is broken, as indicated by recent reportRead MoreRehabilitation Programs Should Be Abolished1669 Words   |  7 PagesIronically, the â€Å"land of the free† has more people imprisoned in proportion to its population than any other developed country in the world. There are over 2 million prisoners throughout the United States, and approximately 750,000 of them will be released with in the year. With the current methods in place in the prison system, most offenders will likely fall back into the same way of life that originally landed them in jail. In fact, roughly two-thirds of prisoners being released today will end up back in