United States Penal System Essays - Penology, Criminal Law

United States Penal System The 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 capita as Canada and 7 times as many as most European democracies. America spends approximately 100 billion dollars a year on the criminal justice system, up from 12 billion in 1972. --Bureau of Justice Statistics Many prominent government officials, government agencies, and non-profit organizations acknowledge that there is a serious problem with our penal system. There are many reasons and many possible solutions. Today, we will explore some possible solutions. Prison inmates are some of the most maladjusted people in society. Most inmates have had either too much discipline or not enough. They usually come from broken homes and have low self-esteem. Inmates are very insecure, causing them to be at war with themselves as well as with society (Szumski 20). Most inmates have not learned to follow everyday norms or strong moral values. Some believe, as do I, that if we want to rehabilitate criminals we must do more than just lock them up. For instance, we could develop programs that give them a chance to acquire job skills and a higher education, which will improve the chances that inmates will become productive citizens upon release. 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 America's 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 might help to offset the earlier delinquent association (Bennett 25). One technique used to rehabilitate criminals is counseling. In general, there are two types of counseling, individual and group counseling. The aim of group counseling is to develop positive peer pressure that will influence its members. According to Lawrence Bennett, group problem solving has definite advantages over individual problem solving. One advantage is that a variety of solutions can be derived from the experiences of several people from different backgrounds. For instance, a group member might have already solved a problem that another member is experiencing and can offer valuable advice and solutions. Often, if a peer proposes a solution it carries more weight than if the counselor were to suggest it (Bennett 20-24). Ultimately, for the group to work it takes a dedicated counselor and dedicated group members (those with the desire to change) (Bennett 22). Another technique used to rehabilitate criminals is a type of correctional center called a halfway house. The name comes from the fact that they are halfway between the community and the prison (Fox 60). The aim is to keep offenders