Comparing the Effectiveness of Punishment Versus Rehabilitation - Essay Example

Comparing the Effectiveness of Punishment versus Rehabilitation Essay

The major objectives which are part of the criminal justice system amp are mainly rehabilitation and punishment; however, society sets high expectations for the system, which makes it hard to live those expectations. There are many ideas and opinions held by individuals who fall under the criminal justice field and the public to understand how the system works. The reforms are in terms of the punishment and rehabilitation amp procedures for the criminals, which each side brings about the benefits and the challenges to the case.

The process of rehabilitation of criminals mainly focuses on the reformation aspect of the characters of the inmates to not recommit the offenses which take place inside the prison when serving time or when released from jail. In the prisons, the inmates have the opportunity of reforming their character through participation in programs, including anger management, drug abuse, and other programs that focus on building one’s character and receiving education. Upon release from lock-up, there is the continuation of the help to the offenders through the probation services and other monitoring programs that eases the offender’s transition into the general society. The process of rehabilitation amp in jails fails in successful transitioning as expected because of the overcrowding impact that affects the main focus of rehabilitation amp programs for the offenders.

Overcrowded classes end up discouraging the offenders from attending the education forums and sessions. Still, it also enhances the opportunity for the offenders to participate in violent acts to other offenders while in jail. The life of the instructors also comes under threat, thus calling for the discontinuation of the classes offered. Another shortcoming for a successful rehabilitation amp program in jail is the life long sentences handed over to offenders, marked with a lack of education and constant psychological problems suffered by the offenders while undergoing the sentences. The ideology of jails as non-rehabilitation amp centers but punishment centers for criminals, and protect the public from offering support for society in certain aspects. Despite some of the offenders having undergone the rehabilitation amp programs in lock-up and transformed their characters, transitioning to society is hard due to the acceptance of the offenders back into society after serving time. Even though there are some programs that ease the transitioning of the offenders into society, while allowing the offenders to continue with the rehabilitation program, many offenders opt out of the programs due to the attitude of society towards them. Depending on the nature of the prison system, the refusal of the offenders to proceed with the rehabilitation amp programs after release might cause the reentering of the offenders back into the prison system. As part of the commitment and requirements of the rehabilitation amp system, it is a necessity for the offender to find employment on their own. The sad side to this case is that most employers do not hire convicted felons into their workforce; this leaves most of the offenders jobless and homeless, thus increasing the chances of reoffending, which results in high recidivism rates in the prison system. According to New York sociologist Robert Martinson, together with partners, Dr. Doug and Ms. Judith made a review article of the evaluations followed with the publishing of an article. Through the article, it provoked different schools of thought while raising some concerns and solutions for the entire process.

The article was part of a journal published that aimed at answering questions and answers with regards to prison reform. Through the article, Martinson makes a statement that the reform is not working while suggesting the available education programs were of no use to the offenders in prison. Furthermore, he revealed that there were loopholes with the rehabilitation process; thus, most of the offenders would not end up reformed as expected. Apart from stating the failing nature of the rehabilitation process, the article further opens a debate of what works for the system. Through his years of experience, Martinson dedicated all his works towards the rate of recidivism in prison and refuting the belief that the reformation process works for the offenders. The impact of the article spread fast until reaching the US Supreme Court, which following with the upholding of federal sentencing guidelines with regards to the rehabilitation for the sentencing phase available at the Mistretta v. The resultant impact of the article by Martinson caused a lot of debate in terms of the research, which formed part of the metaanalysis of the reformation. The metaanalysis shows the test for the efficacy of the different programs for cases of correctional treatment. The metaanalysis forms part of a code that roots deep with the research. In this case, the research might make use of different factors such as crime, age, education, and punishment among a list of other factors used. There has been a blatant misuse without the use of accurate information, which is a subject of the metaanalysis by other scholars. There still exist contradictions with the metaanalysis while helps in the addition of a correctional facility that works and ones that do not work.

There is also evidence by the article by Kovandzic, which shows that the death penalty does not prevent murder. There is also a research article that shows there is a small degree of deterrence that has an impact on a short period; however, there is a decline of the deterrence. This casts doubt on the efficacy of the death penalty and its impact on reducing recidivism. Research has shown the bible based reformation programs have a far more success rate in comparison to the death penalty. There was the banning of the bible based sessions after the revealing of the breach of the sessions in line with the Establishment Law of the United States. The law states that there should be no interference or discrimination of religion and religious beliefs.

There was the enactment of the InterChange program with the Prison Fellowship offers around the clock treatment. There was the recruitment of offenders to the InterChange program, which included the signing of an agreement clause. The offenders also gained access to the four-phase programs, which were part of the InterChange program. With the first phase, it formed part of the education, drug abuse, and bible-based programs. The second phase was where the inmates learned the transitioning process from prison to society. The third and fourth phases were all about work-release programs with the introduction to society. Upon graduating to the fifth phase, the offenders took religion and practice studied throughout the year. There was a deep study of the striking laws with the design to ensure that offenders do not re-offend through imposing strict sentences for offenders with previous convictions. There was research between a two year period that tested the three striking laws.

Through the findings of the research, the works made two results open. The related three striking laws were strongly connected with the action of the states in implementing the three-strike laws with the states which did not experience any reduction in the crime statistics. With the fight against crime based on the findings from the research, reforming provides an effective measure of punishment for the inmates. Even though Martinson’s research and part of the metaanalysis were essential in brewing the debate over the efficacy of reformation programs, it does not point out to solutions in aiding the problem. In comparison to the three striking laws, some of the InterChange and Prison Ministries provide a much more feasible and effective means of supporting the rehabilitation process for the inmates. Despite the earlier works that states for the removal of the bible programs, which were in breach of the rules regarding religion, they were later reinstated after showing its importance in building the character of the inmates, thus building the purpose of rehabilitation. This shows some positive light in which jails are taking to the reformation process; however, recent research has shown that the bible programs do not lead to the reduced cases of recidivism. When it comes to the death penalty, it shows the same level of deterrence about other rehabilitation programs. When writing Comparing the Effectiveness of Punishment versus Rehabilitation Essay, it all boils down to the fact that if an offender is willing to commit a crime, then the offender is willing to commit a crime. This forms the essence of the entire reforming process that states whether the offender becomes willing to not commit the crime due to the cognizance of the effect of the crime in the society.