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An Analysis of Current Methods of Punishment and Rehabilitation in American Prisons

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An Analysis of Current Methods of Punishment and Rehabilitation in American Prisons
An Analysis of Current Methods of Punishment and Rehabilitation in American Prisons

In this paper, I will discuss the nature of ‘lasting’ punishment for the prison systems that exist in America. We can see by psychological training, drug abuse rehabilitation, and to other methods of reform that there are ways that the prison system can use to remake a man after being locked up. By understanding these forms of rehabilitation, perhaps a better human being can come out of the prison system than has been seen from other forms of disciplinary measures. And isn’t this what we are ultimately trying to achieve? One form of correction that can be useful for dealing with a prisoner with crimes of a drug related nature can be and almost always should be inclusive of drug rehabilitation. By better understanding how drugs and alcohol, as seen as a clinical disease by doctors, can alter and drive human behavior we can than better understand how these prisoners can be treated. We must understand the nature of this sickness. This is the key factor to a lasting sort of correction that “can be distributed through the American prison system in America.” (Duncan p.45) With this factor in mind, we can see how 80% of the convicts that are currently in prison can be seen as drug addicts, and their crimes are usually the result of this type of sickness. 80%, that is an incredible statistic! By creating the system that some prisons in Los Angeles and Detroit use, we can learn the idea of how prisons can work more efficiently to improve the conditions of the type of rehabilitation. By realizing that alcohol and drugs are a problem that can be dealt with the different types of therapy that can be offered relate a way for convicts to learn “how to live in society in a drug free behavioral pattern.” (Hawkins p.155) By learning this as way to curtail further violations of probation, as well term sentences, we can see the ability of the community within the prison to validate this



Bibliography: Duncan, Martha, Romantic Outlaws, Beloved Prisons: The Unconscious Meanings of Crime and Punishment, New York University Press / August 1999. Hawkins, Richard, American Prison Systems: Punishment and Justice, Prentice Hall PTR / November 1990. Morris, Norval, Between Prison and Probation: Intermediate Punishments in a Rational Sentencing System, Oxford University Press, Incorporated / August 1991. Vass, Anthony, Alternatives to Prison: Punishment, Custody and the Community, Sage Publications, Incorporated / August 1990.

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