¶ … Confinement
There is little argument, at least in general, that people that commit wrongful acts and crimes should be punished for what they have done. One of the common methods used to punish people for committed crimes is confinement in jail and/or prison. However, there are many people that suggest or assert that confinement has wide-ranging and long-lasting effects on the people that are subjected to it. They assert that this happens to the point that the method is counterproductive and just makes a bad situation worse in terms of whether the person will recidivate, how/when they will transition back to life outside of prison and mental health concerns in general. While people that do wrong should obviously be punished to some degree, the possible and perceived effects on confinement should give people pause before they act like they know what the best answer and methods happen to be.
Analysis
To drive home the caution just explained in the introduction, the author of this brief report shall draw on three scholarly sources that extend that same advice. One such work shall be a book that was written by Travis et al. (2014). Travis and his colleagues did not approach the topic at hand casually. Indeed, they touched upon a lot of important things related to confinement and the effects thereof. They included criminology, law, penology, program evaluation, psychiatry, psychology and sociology. Regardless of the situation, prisons are usually the same in that they are isolated and closed off areas that preclude and remove an inmate from
Even with the variations that are seen from prison to prison, there are six overall trends and/or effects that are impossible to ignore or miss. These include prison overcrowding, a huge preponderance of people with mental illness, a population that is increasingly ethnically/racially diverse, reductions in the use of lethal violence in prisons, litigation-induced improvement movements and the rise of the "penal harm" movement. The key recommendation made by a lot of people is that prisons need to be dialed down and reformed in terms of the level of foreboding and punishment that exists. Many counter this argument by saying that doing so would just endanger inmates and guards alike and make prisons more violent unsafe. The champions of the suggested reforms, on the other hand, say that the opposite is what ends up happening and there is already proof positive that this is the case. Not only does violence fall, the same is true of suicide and other measures that have strong bearings and implications on the safety of everyone involved and what happens with the inmates after they get out (Travis, Jeremy et al.).
Another source that is important to draw upon is an autobiographical experience that has become the basis for a wildly popular Netflix show, that being Orange is the New Black. In a nutshell, the book is written by Piper Kerman and it depicts a woman who had a sharp fall from grace after she was nabbed for trying to deliver a suitcase full of drug money. She was caught and…
Solitary Confinement for Prison Infractions In this article, the subject of solitary confinement as a punishment for breaking prison laws and its moral effect is discussed and a decision taken whether it should be continued or not. Background of Solitary Confinement The country with the highest number of prisoners in the world is the United States of America with 's over 2 million people in various federal, state and locally owned incarceration facilities,
Solitary Confinement Effects on Prisoners There were two prison systems that were developed in the 1800s in the United States. These two prison systems were: the Auburn system and the Pennsylvania system. In the Auburn prison system the prisons had to do the labor together but they had to stay quiet, whereas, in the Pennsylvanian system the prisons had to face isolation from not only the society but also their fellow
Functions, Issues, and Objectives in Corrections Introduction The functions of the historical state correctional system have changed since the founding of the nation more than 200 years ago. The Jacksonian Era, the Era of Reconstruction and the Progressive Era on up to the reform of the 1970s all effected different changes to the function—i.e., the goals and activities—of the correctional system. Pennsylvania’s state correctional system was the first to introduce solitary confinement
History Of Penitentiaries With nearly 10% of its population incarcerated, it is important for Americans to understand the purpose and history of penitentiaries in this country. To this end, this paper reviews the relevant literature to provide a history of punishment, the history of prison development, and a comparison of the Pennsylvania system and the Auburn systems. Finally, an analysis of the impact and involvement of prison labor over time
Solitary Confinement Introduction As Clark (2017) points out, solitary confinement is typically a disciplinary, administrative or personal measure employed to punish, control or protect the individual who is isolated from others. However, the practice can have lasting and devastating effects on the psychology and health of individuals who thus confined—especially for juveniles. The reason for this damaging effect is that human beings are essentially social creatures and need sociality in order to
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
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now