the purpose of prison and preventing recidivism
the u.s criminal justice system can be described as many things: incompetent, classist, racist, and outdated, but many mistake it as fair. a country with well over two million people in jail or prison (a 500% increase over the last four decades), where murdering innocent people is legal (only if the perpetrators are a part of the government) ranks #1 of all country's documented prison populations. this can be explained by a multitude of reasons: the unwinnable war on drugs, intergenerational incarceration, many judges' failure to be impartial despite biases, or people actually committing crimes. whatever the reason, 0.7% of american citizens are behind bars.
the purpose of my argument is not to argue that criminals should not be punished, but to explain, that rather than improving society, prisons turn non-violent offenders into hardened criminals. the justice system claims to be a deterrent to crime, punish, and rehabilitate criminals. the prison system fails to do all of those things besides punishment. the u.s releases more than 600,000 people from prisons every year, and the recidivism rate in this country is more than fifty percent. this is most likely due to the lack of economic opportunity for felons after prison or the trauma the environment of prison causes.
despite those important causes, the current mental health crisis plaguing america takes some of the blame. people in power are guilty of disregarding mental health in this country as a whole. however, in penal institutions, this negligence is even more apparent. this may be due to intense budget cuts and the dehumanization of inmates. leaving mental illnesses like anxiety, depression, mania, and PTSD untreated worsens these conditions, often leading to alcohol and drug dependence. these addictions continue after they are released, and this spirals into reoffending. critics of the questionable practices by the american justice system are aware that prison is not supposed to be fun or a reward, but strictly punishment is worsening these citizens and damaging society as a whole.
www.sentencingproject.org / www.prisonpolicy.org / www.namica.org







