The Prison System in the USA - Coursework Example

The prison system in USA The prison system is mainly run by the government and man d to ensure that all the inmates are handled carefully so that development is achieved as stipulated. They usually play a significant part in shaping the society and ensuring that there is peace for all citizens. This has brought forth the existence of various prison systems that vary in structure but share similarities in their overall objectives. Despite the differences, they usually act in a way to meet the specific needs of the region under consideration. There have been numerous reforms that have been implemented by various government to continuously change the entire system so that it is capable of effectively handle the dynamic needs of the government and society. This paper seeks to give an in depth analysis of the prison system in the United States of America. In the United States, the prison system is complex and usually consumes a reasonable amount of the government income. According to a research conducted on the number of prisoners in USA and reported through the Los Angeles time, the USA government uses over 60 billion to finance the imprisonment of around 2.2 million crime offenders (Warren 1). Despite the heavy investment by the government, promising results have not been achieved as expected which has brought forth the necessity for reforms. This number of prisoners are the consequences of that felony they made in theirs life’s. Making mistakes is common to everyone in undertaking his/her duties in schools, work, or home. According to the society, if one makes a mistake and later takes the necessary steps to rectify it, majority of the society members usually accepts him. This is usually good in motivating offender to reform. This does not apply to prisoners no matter how hard they try to reform. The basic reason behind the rejection is the society values and norm that usually guide people on what to do. At the prison, things are not smooth for the inmates and thus while through with their sentence, they can change so that they can always have more freedom. Thus, the perspective that inmates are bound to be bad irrespective of the effort they put towards reforming should be clearly addressed. There have been various transformations in the prison system aimed at ensuring that the inmates live in a good environment and reform after completing their term. Despite this, more need to be done by combined effort from all the stakeholders. For example, placing a new program inside the prison in order to give a chance to the prisoners to study or learn something would reflect on the prisoner future after he or she finished their period would be very rewarding not only to the inmates but also to the society. Beside prisoners would get a second chance after a year clear record behavior. The opportunity would help them continue with their degree or study other majors inside the prison and helps him to be in the right place after they get free. For the people who are not educated, they can use their skills to start any simple activity that would offer for him a good life after the prison. However, those who have the desire to apply for this program in order to rectify their mistakes would be required to enter into a contract on how they are to do back payment to the government after getting job. This targets inmates who lack in financial resources. A lot of prisoner asks for help from the Human Right institution due to the violence, rape and. The Racism is a problem in some states in America in their daily activities although it is very rampant among prisoners in prisons. Since a specific group of people does not execute the crimes conducted in the United States of America, the prisons have people of different backgrounds and culture such as the Mexicans, Blacks and the white. Despite them spending their terms in similar conditions, racism is still evident. This usually creates tensions and fear in the interaction of the inmates and mostly results in fights or even death. This interrupts the smooth operation of prisons and has effects not only to the prisoners but also to the entire prison administration. Sexual harassment is a common phenomenon in the prisons. This is mainly due to the lack of their partners in serving their sentences. Since the prisons have different genders separately, sexual harassment is mainly though sodomy or lesbianism. In most cases, it is directed to specific persons on grounds of weakness or race. This has been propagated by the culture, which has raised concern to various stakeholders. Human Right found that prisoner on prisoner sexual abuse is currently a rising issue in the US prison system. Some prisoners in the prison have physical effects vary from instance to instance and include the transmission of diseases/infections, such as HIV .In addition to The psychological stress that inevitably follow sexual abuse is another area of great concern as victims of prison rape commonly report nightmares, deep depression, shame, loss of self-esteem, self-hatred, and considering or attempting suicide. Though the act, a prisoner may lose hope in life which would influence his actions. This is usually harmful to him and usually hinders achievement of future goals. From the numerous research conducted on the occurrence of sexual harassments in prisons, it is observed that it has been on the increase. This has raised concern among various stakeholders and their rapid coordination is essential in curbing the behavior. Conclusion There are so many changes that have been conducted to continuous revolutionize the USA prison system. Racism among the inmates is common which results in physical abuse or physiological problems. In extreme cases, death is observed. Introduction of system that ensures that the inmates are trained on certain aspects which transforms their life after completion of their term is very essential. Due to the challenges experienced, various human rights groups has responded to the cry of the inmates and are doing quite well in ensuring that the prisoners reform and are not abused. Works Cited Warren Jenifer. High Cost of Prisons Not Paying Off, Report Finds. Los Angele Times. June 08, 2006. http://articles.latimes.com/2006/jun/08/nation/na-prisons8. November 28, 2011. Read More