The Treatment Of American Prisons - 929 Words

In America, people are sent to prison with the goal for the convict to be punished, to prevent them from doing bad things again, and to deter others from breaking the law. Each year, millions of people are released from prison, but roughly two-thirds of the prisoners who were released reoffend within three years of leaving prison, often with a more serious and violent offense. This can be attributed to the ineffective correction style that America has adopted: punishment. American prisons have focused more on punishment than correcting the character, attitudes, and or behavior of the convicted offender and this has held an adverse effect on one’s incorporation into society after incarceration. The treatment of prisoners while they are†¦show more content†¦If an employee shows disorderly and unprofessional conduct in the work place, then he or she gets fired. Punishment is a method to lessen wrong and unwanted behavior. It is usually painful, physically or psychologica l, so a person will avoid punishment. In an issue about punishment by S.G. Friedman and Bobbi Brinker, they state that â€Å"Punishment is what most of us do†¦first. It is our teaching legacy passed down from generation to generation. We are virtually surrounded by punishing strategies used to influence our behavior: From overdue library books to†¦fines, penalties and reprimands whirl around us like leaves in a storm. For many of us, to give up punishment as our primary tool with which to influence negative behavior is to leave us empty handed.† Because punishment works for many to discourage bad behavior, the idea of American prisons using punishment is justified - if you punish the prisoner, they would be corrected, and their criminal acts would be deterred. Prison is the most severe type of punishment that America institutes. It is a physical and psychological attack on the prisoner. It affects the prisoners’ material possessions because they can earn litt le or no income while incarcerated, they may lose their job, and spend their life savings. It affects the prisoner’s body because he or she is under the control of others and very little freedom exists for him or her.