Does the US Prison System Need to be Reformed?
Yes, it does!
Side Score: 14
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No, it doesn't!
Side Score: 7
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3
points
(Starter) A prison at its basic definition is a place for rehabilitation. Are we doing that now? No, we are not. It's bad enough that we strip these people of their most basic natural rights, but to punish and torture them on top of that is inhuman and only makes them hate society and the law even more furthering criminal activity. Take a look at the Zimbardo Prison Experiment where fake gaurds went power hungry due to their power over others and abussed the fake prisoners. It got so bad that the experiment got cancaled after 6 days when it was supposed to last 2 weeks. We need to turn prisons into centers of help not centers of punishment. Side: Yes, it does!
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actually the experiment you mentioned found the results to be their clothing difference rather than the power given. Using visual markings or different clothing has a big affect on people, that why hitler started off with armbands The only issue I have with prisons is when they try to keep a quota of prisoners, which in turn requires more arrests. It would also be helpful if drugs were legal and only the crimes committed were punished. I do believe you can get to a state of no return morally, and maybe some people are born that way, I'm not sure...murder, rape, pedophilia, and armed burglary to name a few, and we have to place people like that somewhere to protect ourselves. I also feel the death penalty should be used more for with-out a doubt cases to keep the burden off the tax payers. Side: No, it doesn't!
Zimbardo didn't just find out that the cause was de-individuation in the prison officers he mainly believed that it was due to what are known as IN and OUT groups, a remnant of our primal past. There is always a reason for criminal activity, for example in pedophilia it is often believed to be the case of tumors pressed on the brain usually near the prefrontal-cortex (personality), I might be able to find the case of the "pedo-teacher"- -Those charged with assault have (on average) higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of a neurotransmitter "Dopamine". If the reason isn't biological then it would be caused by faulty socialization or faulty cognitive processes, basically the same thing. However like you said there are some obvious things that need to be legalized or decriminalized like drugs and the oldest profession in the world. If you can stand a relatively drunk Australian watch this, hopefully you might find it interesting. skip to 1:40 if you want https://www.youtube.com/ Side: Yes, it does!
We have 5% of the worlds population, and 25% of the worlds PRISON population. What needs to be reformed is our own society. Until we reduce our prison population we will NEVER be a "great country" in the full sense of the word. Most certainly, if we turn our prisons into a source of PROFIT for ANYONE, we will never be great again! Side: Yes, it does!
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I don't think it was the "war on drugs" that was a mistake, it was the "Laws on drugs" that were damaging. The intent was understandable, but they went too far, made tiny mistakes big crimes. Often these "tiny mistakes" were used just as a way to pin something on someone "suspected" of doing something wrong. Side: Yes, it does!
I don't think it was the "war on drugs" that was a mistake, it was the "Laws on drugs" that were damaging. The intent was understandable, but they went too far, made tiny mistakes big crimes. Often these "tiny mistakes" were used just as a way to pin something on someone "suspected" of doing something wrong. Side: Yes, it does!
The US prison system does need some serious reforms, obviously is not the worst in the world but it still needs change. Most prison systems still focus of punishment rather than rehabilitation even though almost all of the top flying psychologists and more importantly sociologists have been telling them to use both in 2:8 ratio (Anthony Giddens). While it is very important to intimidate and ward off potential criminals with the possibility of the death sentence or extreme fines and sentences there is still an underlying failure in peoples thinking that would allow them to become criminals, some criminal activities such as prostitution, assisted suicide and the selling, possession or consumption of drugs need to be legalized as they are considered more as forms of deviance from culture than detrimental to it. The fact that the re-offending rate is so high points to the fact that A) The criminals environment outside of prison is crime inducing (not much the PRISON system can do about that) B) That current forms of punishment are inadequate for their specific crimes C) Prison is no longer feared D) Current forms of rehabilitation are not working or aren't used enough. What do you guys think? Side: Yes, it does!
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(Starter) The people that go to prisons committed horrible crimes and most likely will commit them again even if we try to help them. So why bother? We should make them atone for their sins to society and punish them as hard as we can by taking away their rights and making them work to pay back society. Feeling pity for a criminal is just supporting more crimes we have to teach them through force and fear as calm reasoning has been shown and proven to fail. Side: No, it doesn't!
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