238). Furthermore, prison stigmatizes convicts, and, upon release many people, particularly employers, are reluctant to take a chance on someone with the stigma of a prison record (Macionis, p.238). Prison also breaks social ties between the prisoner and non-criminal friends and family, weakening the very type of community ties that are believed to help deter criminal behavior (Macionis, p.238). Therefore, if one of the goals of the tough-on-crime stance is to reduce criminal activity, it is clear that American prisons simply are not accomplishing that goal. In addition, over the past two decades, "the American prison population has climbed from 300,000 to more than two million- roughly equal to the combined population of Austin, Denver, Nashville, and Washington, D.C." (Silverstein, p.1). In addition, "largely because of racially-biased drug sentencing laws, about half of America's prison population is African-American and one-quarter of all black men are likely to be imprisoned at some point during their lifetimes" (Silverstein, p.2). That statistic cannot be taken in isolation. The rise in incarceration of black males has followed quickly on the heels of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, and exists in an era when black males are able and willing to assert their political rights, which would certainly threaten the status quo for many individuals, particularly those in power. Man in prison cannot participate in society, cannot interact with his family, has very limited employment opportunities upon release, and, perhaps most significantly, in many states will not ever be able...
Even when a released criminal is able to find work, his earnings will be approximately half of those of a similarly qualified individual without a criminal background (Street, p.34).
At the very least, many prisons have a justified reputation as themselves being violent places where the concentration of criminal personalities will tend to stimulate higher levels of gang affiliation, internal drug trade and abuse, and, in general, absorption in a culture where criminality is normal. The result is that many who enter young, with limited criminal experience or with more modest criminal proclivities may be exposed to the kinds
Prisons An analysis of the purposes for prisons in the U.S. justice system. The corrections system in America has historically fluctuated between being dedicated to incapacitation, rehabilitation, and to being punitive in nature. They can serve all three of these functions at the same time. Current trends in criminal justice remain focused on punitive justice that fosters prison environments lacking rehabilitative services, but recent scholarship and public policy have indicated a slight
Prison Reform The United States criminal justice system houses the largest prison population in the world; both in terms of the total prison population as well as the proportion of prisoners to the total population (per capita). The United States has a bigger prison population than China and India despite having nowhere near the total population. It also holds a greater percentage of its population in incarceration than any other country
The need for less restrictive parole policies could help relieve prison overcrowding (Kunselman & Johnson, 2004). According to Hughes (2007), "On any given day, a large number of the admissions to America's prisons come from individuals who have failed to comply with the conditions of their parole or probation supervision. For years, the revocation and incarceration rate of probationers and parolees has had a significant impact on the growth of
Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 Supreme Court has held that deliberate indifference to the substantial risk of sexual assault violates inmates' rights under the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause of the 8th Amendment to the Constitution. In response, the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 is designed to systematically study the incidence of offender-on-offender and staff-on-offender assault in correctional facilities throughout the United States and to propose standards for preventing
Duncan's thesis on the attractions of prison is more psychologically grounded, however. People seek constraints and limits, just as they are imprisoned by societal standards and limits, or Foucault's notion of the Panopticon. The criminal is also a kind of fantasy-child for society, according to Duncan. Like a child, a criminal dwells in a kind of in-between space, a place where anything is possible, and redemption is possible. The American
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