Prison Reforms Essay

Prisons as often been indicated, are total institutions. They are total in the sense that much of the aspects of an individuals life is out of his or her control. Within prisons, the human life as we know it is subjected to numerous constraints which include spatial confinement impacting on the freedom of movement. It has often been stated that prisons adversely affect the normal development and growth of individuals as the aging process is normally accelerated. Prisons take physical toll on an individual’s body as it has been estimated that an inmate doing any amount of time will look ten years older than their actual age (Cordilia, 1983). However, one certain fact is that prisoners are â€Å"doing time†. This is a phrase normally used to refer to the human suffering characteristic of individuals and their life within the confines of the prison. Statistical evidence show that correctional officers suffer from all types of conditions related with stress due to their conditions and state within the prisons. Such include serious alcohol abuse, depression, heart attacks, hypertension and ulcers. According to Silverman and Vega (1996), an individual’s life expectancy is reduced by more than eighty percent when serving any amount of years in the prison. This points towards prisons being â€Å"hard† places where human life as we understand it is reduced to something indescribable. As much as prisons are meant to deter crimes, more often that not, they emerge as schools of crime. An individual after serving his or her sentences emerges into the society with a new set of skills which ultimately threatens the society even more. Most individuals found guilty of various crimes go in as petty and sometimes as non-violent offenders only to come out as different individuals exhibiting violence and serious tendencies. It has been noticed that serious and violent crimes are committed a specific group of individuals known as seven seventy theory where seventy percent of crimes are committed by seven percent of offenders (Wolfgang et. al. 1792). Within three years of their release, two thirds of individuals released from prison will be back. Could it be that the prisons may not be doing enough to model prisoners so they may be integrated in the society or are the prisons better places to be for some people? The latter is unlikely since the conditions within prisons are deplorable. How then do the prisons serve their purpose and how can they be reformed? In order to answer the question, it is imperative to look at what it means to serve a sentence in prison. Within the prison system, there are sets of codes that govern life within the prisons. There are the official general administrative rules and regulation, codes which govern convicts, the color line and rules set by gangs which are often referred to as gang membership rules (Hackett, et. al. 1986). The official rules are the acceptable codes within the prisons. That is, they are the dos and the don’ts. The convict codes on the other hand are the perceived description of what or how a good or perfect convict should be. Color line seems invisible but one is bound to notice it especially when specific races dominate various turf areas. Gang codes are underground outlines for enterprises run by criminals. All these tend to shape the prison system and any attempt at reforms must focus on these codes and how they affect individuals who have been incarcerated. It cannot be denied that the condition of prisoners is affected by these codes which govern the relationship among the subjects within the confines of prison. As such, various aspects like health, violence, death and infections can be attributed to how the system handles the outbreak of such things as stated in the prison laws (Johnson, 1996). For instance, there are some administrative laws which may negatively impact on the wellbeing of prisoners, or there may be policies which may impact negatively on correctional officers. Beyond these internal factors, there are some measures which may result in prisons being overcrowded. Coupled with the rules which exist within the prisons, overcrowding may facilitate the spread of diseases within the prison. Of all the problems which characterize prison life, diseases and violence are the most dreaded (Sykes, 1958). However, the structure of the prisons may determine how such occurrences are treated so that they do not result in catastrophes. The existence of codes within the prison system which seem to govern the conduct of both inmates and correctional officers should be one of the major focus of reforms. For instance, convict codes do not actually prohibit violence, rape or killing other inmates. The ultimate tool of control within the prisons being segregation where an inmate is confined for a given period of time, an individual may be exposed to various dangers which may result in harm (Toch, 1977). As much as inmates are considered to be social outcasts, there still exist some inalienable rights which they possess. Such includes the right to life. For prisons to effectively perform their functions, there is need for serious reforms. An individual’s inalienable rights are affected when they are exposed to conditions which make them vulnerable to diseases, violence and a general stare of disorder. Such are the prison conditions. With overcrowding, there is bound to be numerous problems which culminate into what can be termed as human rights abuse both by fellow inmates and prison officers. Overcrowding also means that diseases can easily spread which has a consequence of endangering the lives of the inmates. Hard criminals are also bound to take advantage of newly imprisoned individuals. As such, prison reforms must address how such groups are differentiated so as to avoid such eventualities as rapes and murders. As much as prison reforms may be focused on the inmates, the work of correctional officers should not be overlooked. There are instances when inmates attack correctional officers leading to serious situations hence making their jobs to be difficult. With this regard, prison reforms should also look at ensuring ways of guaranteeing the safety of the correctional officers since they are bound to be harmed by hardcore criminals and gangs. Since an inmate cannot be tried twice, there is an element of immunity to the judicial system which may lead them to hurt correctional officers with impunity. Active measures must be taken to ensure that correctional officers are ascertained safety within the scope of their practice since they are the people solely responsible for ensuring that criminals remain where they belong. Much of prison reforms have focused in improving the condition of prisoners by introducing in one way or another some form of entertainment. As much as these may be necessary, the main focus of reforms should be to ensure that released convicts do not pose any threat to the society after completing their term. Contrary to most reforms, prisons should not be turned into holiday camps for prisoners as this is bound to have an effect on the rate of crime. Any serious prison reform instead should focus on the condition of prisoners in terms of basic facilities like beds and adequate meals so that the inmates’ lives may not be threatened by diseases resulting from overcrowding and poor sanitary. As such, prison reforms must be far fetched so as to encompass the prison environment in totality. A way through which inmates and correctional officers can better cooperate so that the prison conditions can be improved should also be the focus of reforms. However, there is often a struggle which exists between the inmates and the correctional officers (Braswell et. al, 1994). As such, there are often some elements of animosity between the convicts and the inmates. This animosity at times become so severe that is expressed violently. This makes it virtually impossible for meaningful reforms to be achieved since, beside those reforms that need adjusting facilities, enforcing rules become a tragedy. Since it is possible that convicts can come out of prisons and still be productive members of the society, there is need to equip them with knowledge which will guarantee their survival when their terms end. Such knowledge should guide them in dropping the criminal mindset that they have developed so as not to end up in prisons again. This may not be as easy but with good cooperation between the education sector and the prisons department, some inmates may further their academic dreams while still serving their sentences. This is however not easily achievable because the society is often suspicious of individuals who have a history of crime. Even with exceptional skills, the society is bound to distrust released convicts. However, there are those convicts whose desire is to once again integrate into the society and join their family members while performing productive duties. The government together with the prison’s department should collaborate to ensure that such individuals do not waste their lives in prison perfecting the art of crime. Every convict who has completed his or her time should be guided through active reforms within the prisons that ensure that they do not find themselves resorting to crime as a means of sustenance especially for those criminals involved with robbery, burglary and theft. Educational programs have been successful in curbing the tendency of released inmates to commit crimes. Inmates who successfully completed a high school diploma or GED are less likely to commit crimes after release than those who have not attained similar education. As such, education for the inmates should also be the focus of serious reforms. A major setback for such education programs is that few inmates can access them. Only five percent of the inmate population can access these educative and rehabilitation programs which is a very small percentage as compared to those that these programs are meant. The main challenge for any reforms targeting prisons is not only how to guarantee the wellbeing of prisoners when they are inside the prisons but also how to integrate them in the society after their terms are over without posing any threat to the society. Any meaningful prison reforms should focus on prisons as a means of achieving an end and not as an end in itself (Goldstein et. al. 1989). For example, prisons should focus on how to ensure that once a person has been declared unfit to live with others within the society, they should be modeled to acquire the skills of avoiding to engage in criminal acts and thus extend the good virtues which the society seek to further as criminality is just a state of mind which can also be altered just like other states of mind.

Marijuana should not be legalized Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marijuana should not be legalized - Essay Example It has been reported that the increasing number of children are experimenting with the recreational drugs such as Marijuana. Further, studies on the arrested criminal serving their sentences in different jails suggested that they were involved in using drugs like Marijuana at least once in a week before they were arrested. (DuPont, 2010). These statistics suggest that the society as a whole can actually bear a lot of cost for the unrestricted and unrestrained used of drugs like Marijuana and therefore should not be legalized. This argumentative essay will present a case for not legalizing the Marijuana and will present different reasons along with practical examples as to how the legalization of Marijuana can actually be detrimental to the society and the individuals. Marijuana should not be legalized Probably one of the biggest arguments against the legalization of the marijuana is based upon the principles of morality. The use of the drugs in general is considered as immoral in any given society due to the overall impact of the same on the society. ... Religion therefore in this sense suggests that the use of drugs generally should not be allowed because it will diminish the humanistic characteristics of the individuals. Historically the use of drugs such as Marijuana remained banned due to the adverse social impacts of their use on the individuals. Since the use of the Marijuana often result into the intoxication therefore can seriously cause the personal injury. It is also important to note that the marijuana is considered as the stepping stone drug which can lead to the use of other drugs such as cocaine and other more severe drugs. This is because of the fact that the Marijuana is often considered as easy to obtain and use and the relative effects of the drug can often lead to the so called experimentation with other hard and soft drugs. Such tendencies therefore can further led to the excessive use of other drugs and therefore the overall cost of rehabilitation of all those engaged into the use of harder drugs can be high. (Me sserli, 2010) It is also important that the Marijuana is considered as a socially addictive drug therefore and has really capability to induce abuse. Such capacity of the drug therefore can further led to the domestic as well as the social disturbance giving the fact that the drug is of addictive nature. This is also because of the fact that due to overall nature of Marijuana people who actually use this drug become what is called potheads and Marijuana start to dominate most parts of their lives. Such domination therefore creates further social alienation as well as the marginalization of the drug addicts. The use of Marijuana is therefore not only

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Leaving a Job between Shannon kaiser and Tomoyuki Iwashita Essay

Leaving a Job between Shannon kaiser and Tomoyuki Iwashita - Essay Example In the case of Shannon Kaiser, she had been dragging herself and crying on her way to work due to the severe emptiness that she feels about her work that she is seeing it to be a cage. In her words, she â€Å"followed a career path that felt soulless†. Clive Offley typified the regular upscale life of a Japanese â€Å"yuppie† where they work for a prestigious that is desired by many. But Offley was so tired of because the amount of work that they do is already taking toll on the quality of their lives. He spoke of Karoshi or death from work to emphasize how Japanese companies will make you work to death. This was highlighted in his article when he â€Å"collapsed from working too hard†. But instead of being taken cared off, he was instead admonished by his boss that â€Å"it's your own fault if you get sick†. This kind of life was succinctly described by Kaiser as â€Å"I followed a career path that felt soulless†. It has perks that can make one fee l successful and supposed to be happy due to the accompanying superficial trappings that goes with the perks. Kaiser for a time had it. She had a fancy car, awards, achievements and money she could get. But instead of being happy, she instead felt an animal that is caged longing to come out. She longed to be with the â€Å"three-story tall maple tree. ... His workplace also provided everything that he never felt the need to leave the building. There is a barber shop there, doctor, sauna and other facilities and amenities that would cater to his needs. But all of these privileges have their price. And the price is worth more than the privileges because the change of lifestyle that his work wrought deteriorated the quality of his life instead of improving it. Suddenly, his life was reduced to work and his dormitory with the commuter train in between. They also have to work hard to the point of Karoshi or death from work in the company that they do not have anything left for their personal lives. The demand of work deprives them to find girlfriends (for the bachelor) and if an employee is married, they have less time to spend with their wives and their children. The predicament about work that was articulated by Kaiser and Iwashita represents the situation that many people are in with their work. Kaiser and Iwashita is not an isolated ca se and is shared by many people. Most of the time, we are doing the jobs that we are doing because we needed the job to pay our bills, mortgages, send children to school, etch. Or, it is because we are trapped by the impression of prestige of working in top companies and the trappings that goes with it that even if we feel miserable, we still stayed with the company just to keep the respect of other people. What made Kaiser and Iwashita’s casespecial was because they had the courage and opportunity to break free from the bondage of their work which Kaiser put it as â€Å"A giant ball of energy burst outward from my †¦ For the first time, I had let my inner voice, my heart, speak its truth.  I felt alive. For the first time in my

Monopoly Power in the Computer Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Performer is a man of action. He is not somebody who plays another. He Essay

Performer is a man of action. He is not somebody who plays another. He is a doer, a priest, a warrior... What is Acting - Essay Example The works by Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles etc, are the treasures of the classical drama. In different times drama has unfolded several new facets that have brought revolution on the stage. In the Restoration era, drama featured absolutely different characteristics. (Jahn, 2003) It became more vulgar and vigorous, portraying the lecherous and degenerated society. The works of Wycherley, Etherege, Moliere enriched this age with their worthy contributions in drama. However, these were mostly comedies. The revenge tragedies such as Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy, the Seneca’s bloodthirsty tragedies and many others of this genre, exhibited a gory and violent trait of stage performances. On the other hand in later period the classical notes are represented again, in the Shakespearean drama (both tragedies and comedies) with a close connection with the modern psychoanalytic traits, such as Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, Julius Ceaser etc. In the later period, nineteenth centur y ushered a whole new schools of drama with several innovative carves in it. The dramatists like G. B. Shaw, Henrik Ibsen, Brecht etc. came up with excellent notions that metamorphosed the entire figure of world drama. The versatility in the genre of drama has kept the definition of acting or performance moving continuously. Each genre exhibited his or her uniqueness. An actor cannot be captured in a certain frame of definition for a very general reason. He/ she always keeps changing their roles according to the drama. He is essentially a ‘doer’ and hence a performer too. Acting is an art that the performer procreates in each moment of his/ her lifetime by giving life to series of characters, and such a performer who cannot be categorized in any definite role because the art of acting is universal. Dissimilar from the actors in ancient Greece, who were honored, it is supposed that the actors of Rome in the

Assesment Reporting Essay Example for Free

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