The purpose of this study is to explore the different effects releasing elderly inmates would have on the prison system and also on the public. Also this paper would show and explain the pros and cons of keeping the elderly inmates behind bars. This will show the growth of the elderly inmates in prison and the reasoning behind the rapid growing population. Overall, the research done would address the issue of if elderly inmates should be released early.…
In Civil maiming: An investigation of a socially sanctioned, acceptable, and “rational” discrimination, author Joshua Howard writes about how labeling someone a felon creates many obstacles for the individual in life. He writes about how these people are deprived socially and economically. After serving their time they lose many of their civil liberties, such as access to welfare, getting many jobs, and renting property. The author informs the readers how these being deprived of these civil disabilities has many consequences. Howard provides statistics and data from recent years which shows how these individuals are affected in percentages. He breaks down the different civil liberties that are stripped away and what effect each of them has…
Your post was very interesting and I do see your point of view in regards to making inmates work if they are not willing to do. It can cause them to be resentful and possibly take out their aggressions on fellow inmates or staff making the situation as a whole worse. However, I still feel that if they are able and willing to work then they should do so. As Thomas Townsend, former president of the Corrections Industry Association comments, “inmates who worked in prison and gained new skills have a better chance of not returning to crime and prison” (du Pont, 1995).…
For most people, the idea slavery and the loss of freedom, along with basic human rights, ended with the abolishment of slavery and the following civil rights movement. However, authors John Irwin and Michelle Alexander bring light to the startling present day horrors that convicted criminals face as they journey through America’s jail system. It appears that criminals no longer are simply punished for the duration of their sentence, but for the rest of their lives as well.…
Parole is a stage in the system that more people hope they get while in jail. Parole is the stepping stone to prove that the criminals are capable of being back into society after being in jail. This gives the criminals the opportunity to prove they learned their lessons and can handle life on their own. With parole, we are capable of keeping track of certain criminals after being released, but allowing them to grow back into the real world without any help.…
Since it’s establishment in sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the United States Correctional System has evolved from its initial intent to house offenders before their trial/ public punishment, to housing offenders as a form of punishment to rehabilitating them while withholding them in state’s custody. However, at least over the last two decades United State’s federal and local officials have implanted laws and utilized systems that considerably impede the success of an ex-offender’s reentry into society. This essay will analyze the broad range of roadblocks faced by ex-offenders, the legislative origin of these issues, and prospective solutions that can cease the increasing percentage of recidivism nationally.…
The idea of ex-felons not being able to vote during an election period is nothing sort of absurd and preposterous. Civilians are incarcerated for various crimes and for the most part it’s because of violent crimes that they’ve committed. So laws that prevent ex-felons from owning guns and leaving the country makes sense because as a collective society, we wouldn’t want ex-felons to own any dangerous arms or leave the country to escape the laws of America that prevent them from committing violent crimes. However, there is no justifiable logic in existing legislation that prevents ex-felons from expressing a right that puts absolutely no one in harm’s way. Ex-felons deserve the right to vote because they did their time and shouldn’t be further punished by legislation where its intrinsic value isn’t in protecting society.…
The number of Americans who cannot vote because they have been convicted of a felon continues to rise. According to the National institute of justice about a quarter of felons are in prison, but the rest have completed their sentences and are on probation or parole. The only reason not to let them vote is to stigmatize them or to continue punishing them. Voting would help ex felons re-engage with society by showing them that they have equal importance in the society, for example ,it shows that their opinion is just as important as anyone else's. Also, this may not always be a good thing. Not all ex felons can be trusted and not all ex felons judgment and credibility can be trusted.…
Should American citizens who were once incarcerated lose their right to vote? Currently across the nation American citizens who were once convicted of a felony has lost their right to vote, even after being released from prison, parole, probation, and paying all of their fines to the county or state in which they live. The term of this current condition is Felon disenfranchisement. Once being released back into society, Those who have been incarcerated are expected to pay due taxes and fees to the government.Why are the voting rights, which is part of the eight Amendment, taken away from an American citizen, after serving their sentence.…
You are correct, when you said that’ it is up to the states to restore the rights of a felon” I did my research and found out that depending on the state, the crime that was committed and the time that has passed since finishing the sentence, some ex-felons can have their voting rights restored. I even found out that there are two states that allow felons to vote while in prison (Vermont and Maine), I have to admit that I was not expecting that one.…
Since 2002, the United States has had the highest incarceration rate in the world. Although prison populations are increasing in some parts of the world, the natural rate of incarceration for countries comparable to the United States tends to stay around 100 prisoners per 100,000 population. The U.S. rate is 500 prisoners per 100,000 residents, or about 1.6 million prisoners in 2010, according to the latest available data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Prison is a place used for internment of convicted criminals. Not including the death penalty, a sentence to prison is the harshest punishment inflicted on criminals in the United States. On the federal level, imprisonment or incarceration is managed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a federal…
The topic we chose was an important time in history dealing with prisons. We chose MASS INCARCERATION and focused on the legacy of Ronald Reagan and the escalating war on drugs. Today we are going to talk to you about the policies surrounding the war on drugs and how they have affected mass incarceration and policies that devalue the meaning of the 4th amendment.…
Many have heard the saying “if you do the crime, you must do the time”. This saying signifies that if one acts upon a certain action, he/she must live with the consequences of their actions. For the most part, prison is a consequence for offenders. However, ex-offenders are still suffering the consequences of their actions even after doing “the time”. Certain ex-felons upon release from prison have their voting rights taken away from them, depending on the state. Some may petition to get voting rights restored but many do not have the opportunity. Ex-felons spend years paying their debt to society only to come out and continue to be punished. Not being allowed to vote is not fair to the ex-felons, and their right should be restored.…
The third and final reason felons should get their rights back after they finish their punishment is because permanently revoking someone's right(s) goes against the fourteenth amendment. In the fourteenth amendment it says, “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” That means that States aren’t allowed to make laws that remove any sort of privileges, voting is a privilege, so not allowing felons to vote is a crime in itself.…
“It's about dignity, honor, and improving the odds of a safe, successful return to society. And it’s about second chances - who among us doesn’t need and deserve a second chance?” (Orlando Sentinel by Michael T. Morley). Three states out of the fifty do not let convicted felons vote: Kentucky, Iowa, and Florida. Things have not always been this way. Around the time of 1960-1970, felons started to gain their right to vote back. But, in 2000, 6000,000 felons who paid their time were still not allowed to vote. As of October 2016, 6.1 million people can’t vote in the presidential election because of felony disenfranchisement laws. After convicted felons have paid their debt to society, they should be able to vote because money would be saved,…