The Problem Of Prison Reform - 966 Words

Prison reform is an issue that has been a concern for a long period of time. The problems that Angela Davis brings up throughout her book are only some of the problems with the prison system. Whether it be the influence of corporations on prisons and legislators, the role that racism plays, or the safety of the prisoners. Her solution to these problems is the abolition of jails and prisons by creating policies that will reduce the number of people sent to prison. This would destroy the prison system as the main concept of punishment. The ways that she aims to do this is by providing physical and mental care to everybody, demilitarize schools, and change the justice system to one based around reconciliation rather than retribution. I find myself to agree with many of the concerns that she lists and believe her argument to be somewhat convincing. However, I do not believe that a complete abolition of prisons is what is necessary to fix the prison system. This paper will explore the con cerns that she voices in her argument, how convincing I find them, and what I believe to be the flaws in her conclusion. In the beginning of the chapter, Davis introduces us to the term â€Å"prison industrial complex†. The prison industrial complex refers to the idea that prisons are filling up due to businesses seeking profit and not because crime was increasing. This term is important because it is a fundamental part of Davis’s argument. The transition of prisons from a government ownedShow MoreRelatedDo The time, Lower The Crime by James Q. Wilson and Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences Waste Resource by Kevin Zeese1205 Words   |  5 PagesPrison reform has been talked about since the late 1800’s and early 1900’s with the goal of giving prisoners better living conditions. Today’s issues involving prison reform have caused many debates on whether or not prisons should change their traditional ways and try to find a more suitable solution with pri son related problems like overcrowded facility and huge sums of money being spent on these prisons. Two article that are going to be analyzed in this essay are entitled â€Å"Do the time, lower theRead MoreA New Sentencing Reform For The United States1190 Words   |  5 PagesSentencing Reform America holds 16.3 trillion dollars in debt and the debt will continue to increase for the next twenty years. Arizona is not far behind with the accumulating debt of 42.7 billion dollars. Arizona crimes rates has increased in the last decade and the state now has over 42,000 inmates being provided food and cells at the taxpayers’ expense. To accommodate the increase of prisoners, Arizona has the increase the spending on the prison system will ignoring methods that willRead MoreThe Major Punishment For Criminal Acts1526 Words   |  7 Pagesan estimated 2338,000 individuals are in state prisons, more than 90,000 are in the federal prison, and more than 5,000 are in juvenile facilities. In the same way, more than 20,000 are in territorial prisons and military prisons, as well as local jails. By October 2013, America had the highest rate of incarceration across the globe at 718 per 100,000 people. It is equally important to note that as of December 2014, the Internation al Centre for Prison Studies reported that there were 2, 783,689 prisonersRead MorePrison Reform Is Not The Best Option For Punishing Criminals Essay921 Words   |  4 PagesTo pursuade my audience to belive that prison reform is necessary. I. INTRODUCTION A. Attention Getter: It is estimated that there are about 2.2 million offenders in U.S. prisons. That is larger than some samllers nation’s whole population. B. Credibility Statement: I have done exstensive research on prison reform, and I have wirtten a paper on it. I have also taken a class on the prison system. C. Audience Relevence: It is important to be aware of how our countries correctional system is runRead MoreReform, Means Improvement : Prison Reform Essay1558 Words   |  7 PagesReform, means improvement. Prison reform, means the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, establishing a more effective penal system, or implement alternatives to incarceration. The penal system is part of the larger criminal justice system. Prison reformation, is not just about the justice system or the criminal justice system. They all have a different meaning, but, in all, they do involve with the same concepts, expectations, and ways of doing things because it deals with community, societyRead MorePrison Reform : Effective And Reliable Correctional System1352 Words   |  6 PagesPrison reforms are necessary to better the conditions for prisoners to enable the creation of an efficient and reliable correctional system. In reforming the prison system, it is essential for alternatives to incarcer ation to be explored (UNODC). There has been a sizeable escalation in the number of individuals serving prison sentences in American prisons. In fact, America has the world’s highest number of incarceration cases with over 2.2 million Americans in prison. The increased number of inmatesRead MorePrison Overcrowding And Its Effects On The United States Essay1605 Words   |  7 Pagesreport on Increase in Federal Prison Population, Overcrowding, prisons have become overpopulated throughout a five-year span from 2006 to 2011 (Gilna, page 48). Prison overcrowding has become a plague in the United States for some time now. The US Bureau of Justice Statistics shows more than two-million adults are incarcerated in US federal and state prisons. There are many reasons that prisons are becoming overpopulated but not such a certain cause. To fix the problem, attention must be brought towardsRead MorePros And Cons Of Solitary Confinement1001 Words   |  5 PagesOver the last couple of decades, prison systems have adopted the use of solitary confinement as a means of punishment and have progressively depended on it to help maintain obedience and discipline inside the prison structure. Solitary confinement is a form of incarceration in which a prisoner is isolated in a cell for multiple hours, days, or weeks with limited to no human contact. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the United States represents only 5% of the worlds population yetRead MoreThe Prison System Is Not Functioning Well869 Words   |  4 Pagesthat the UK’s current prison system is not functioning well. Although the HM Prison Service outline their purpose as ‘we keep those sentenced to prison in custody, helping them lead law-abiding and useful lives, both while they are in prison and after they are released’ (Gov.uk, 2016), currently nearly half of all prisoners go on to re-offend within a year, which costs society  £15 billion a year (Ministry of Justice, 2016). In addition, last summer, the Chief Inspector of Prisons warned that jails inRead MorePersuasive Speech Outline1232 Words   |  5 Pageswebpage Federal Bureau of Prisons, under the section titled â€Å"Inmate offenses†, 46.2 percent are behind bars due to minor drug offenses. This can be fixed by implying more rehabilitation programs, eliminating the mandatory minimum sentencing laws, and by decriminalizing drug offenses. II. Need A. To begin with, according to author Derek Gilna from the webpage Prison Legal News, under the section titled â€Å"Increases in Federal Prison Population†, Gilna states that federal prisons were 39% over capacity