The Pros And Cons Of Incarceration

Although prisoners are no longer free persons, they are still afforded certain rights set out in the US Constitution. According to Schmalleger and Smykla (2015), before the middle of the twentieth century, prisoners were treated like slaves and they were not afforded any rights. This began to change once the goal of incarceration became rehabilitation instead of punishment. One of the major rights inmates are afforded is the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, which is explained in the 8th Amendment. According to Smith and Dow (2002), the 8th Amendment does not clearly define what cruel and unusual punishment is in regards to incarceration, but the Supreme Court has put pressure on prison officials when it comes to the treatment …show more content…
Siefert and Pimlott (2001) mention that the separation of the mother and child can cause major issues with both the mother and the child, such as psychological issues with the mother and development issues with the child. I am a firm believer that families should not be separated unless there is no other alternative. Clearly these women cannot raise their children while incarcerated, but there could be alternatives for allowing them to keep the children with them until a certain age. For example, separate pods for pregnant women could be built, and specialized staff could be hired to monitor these women and children. Of course this would raise costs for prisons and prisoners, and taxpayers would pay more money, but it would potentially drive down the rate of children being placed into state’s custody and foster homes. Six months is not a long stretch of time, but it would allow for the child to develop enough for it to be moved into someone else’s custody until the mother could be released.Aging inmates is a growing phenomenon throughout prisons all over the United …show more content…
According to the 8th Amendment, prisoners have a right to receive medical treatment while incarcerated, so prison authorities are forced to provide treatment at the expense of taxpayer’s money. The growing number of elderly prisoners is also adding to the issue of overcrowded prisons. Lengthy prison sentences are causing more and more people to remain in prison longer, so this causes there to be less room for new prisoners that are being incarcerated. Also, there has to be special considerations put into place for these elderly prisoners. They have different needs than those of younger inmates, so prison authorities have to implement ways to meet those needs. Schmalleger and Smykla (2015) mention that some states are implementing age-segregated prisons, which is a viable option to protect and isolate older