The Dichotomy of the American Penal System: Reform Via Standardization
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- Date Submitted: 12/19/2010 04:15 PM
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The Dichotomy of the American Penal System: Reform via Standardization
Most Americans believe that criminals should be isolated from innocent Americans. They believe that this requires incarceration, and that once criminals are incarcerated they should be dealt with accordingly. Americans want justice to be served to both the victims and criminals. But what does being “dealt with accordingly” really mean? Maybe it means granting prisoners the option to seek atonement for their wrongdoings through therapeutic rehabilitation and other creative outlets. Or it mean treating prisoners as inhumanely as possible so they can feel the same pain their victims and affiliated families felt. Perhaps it means offering prisoners employment and community service opportunities as a way to repay the community they robbed through their wrong doings.
America’s current penal system employs all these definitions of “being dealt with accordingly.” (Cite examples from four articles here) It employs other definitions as well but these three are the most prominent and thus will be this argument’s main focus. Furthermore, these three types of correctional facilities are somewhat effective in serving justice to their inmates.
The reason why they are effective in serving justice, to a certain extent varies depending upon the type of penitentiary. In rehabilitation prisons, inmates are offered therapy, cooking classes, reading seminars, and other opportunities to explore their creativity.(Cite article) According to mental health specialists, this forces inmates to come to terms with their guilt by regaining their sense of self, and they are forced to face their crime head on.(Cite article) In prisons that treat use inhumane punishment techniques, inmates are abused sexually and physically by wardens and other authority figures. (Cite article) In these prisons justice is found in the fact that inmates are feeling the same inhumane pain they inflicted on their victims. In...
Most Americans believe that criminals should be isolated from innocent Americans. They believe that this requires incarceration, and that once criminals are incarcerated they should be dealt with accordingly. Americans want justice to be served to both the victims and criminals. But what does being “dealt with accordingly” really mean? Maybe it means granting prisoners the option to seek atonement for their wrongdoings through therapeutic rehabilitation and other creative outlets. Or it mean treating prisoners as inhumanely as possible so they can feel the same pain their victims and affiliated families felt. Perhaps it means offering prisoners employment and community service opportunities as a way to repay the community they robbed through their wrong doings.
America’s current penal system employs all these definitions of “being dealt with accordingly.” (Cite examples from four articles here) It employs other definitions as well but these three are the most prominent and thus will be this argument’s main focus. Furthermore, these three types of correctional facilities are somewhat effective in serving justice to their inmates.
The reason why they are effective in serving justice, to a certain extent varies depending upon the type of penitentiary. In rehabilitation prisons, inmates are offered therapy, cooking classes, reading seminars, and other opportunities to explore their creativity.(Cite article) According to mental health specialists, this forces inmates to come to terms with their guilt by regaining their sense of self, and they are forced to face their crime head on.(Cite article) In prisons that treat use inhumane punishment techniques, inmates are abused sexually and physically by wardens and other authority figures. (Cite article) In these prisons justice is found in the fact that inmates are feeling the same inhumane pain they inflicted on their victims. In...