The Death Of The Prison System - 956 Words

With the age of enlightenment, many sought to revolutionize the system of punishing offenders. Moving from the barbaric practices of the earlier centuries, many governmental officials sought to ride crime through deterrence. Thus the birth of the prison system began. They believed that taking away a person’s freedom was a way to scare offenders into not committing criminal acts. However, with the number of incarcerated offenders increasing yearly, the statistics show that the penal system is a failure. This essay will look at the history of the penal system and how the focus on deterrence and not rehabilitation led to failure of the penal system. Early Penal System The beginning of the penal system stated with the age of enlightenment. Using Beccaria’s philosophy that the citizens should give up a certain amount of freedom in order to allow the governing body to punish criminal offenders began to replace the individual pursuit of vengeance. The colonial governments decided to enact criminal codes a â€Å"range of punishments† for those who broke the law (Latessa and Holsinger, 2011, p. 18). These punishments could range from times in the stocks, to whippings, and fines (Latessa and Holsinger, 2011). By the end of the colonial period, jails began to from and carry a slight resemblance of the modern prison system. Jails during this era looked very similar a normal house. These jails would house offenders together in rooms similar to that of a normal home. Many colonistShow MoreRelatedThe Death Of The Prison System936 Words   |  4 PagesHowever, they are not the only ones. Prison inmates should also have th ose same privileges. Nothing in the world could justify some of the cries that inmates may or may not have committed, but in reality things like insanity and schizophrenia are true illness that can’t be controlled on their own. With the assistance of therapist and psychologists, these inmates can find value in their lives. If suicide is the largest cause of death within the prison systems, the finding meaning in their lives isRead MoreThe Death Of The Prison System1142 Words   |  5 PagesThe prison system has seen huge changes from the American Colonel days to now. At first punishment was a way to inflict pain in suffering onto prisoners. By doing this it set an example to detour crime. Punishment throughout time has changed with the building of prison systems and labor being implemented. Today punishment is carried out much different than in the past. Punishment is way to keep order and discipline throughout society. Punishments focus more now on rehabilitation then it does toRead MoreThe Death Of The Prison System2314 Words   |  10 Pageswoman if it wasn’t for her sex assignment. After being placed in a cell with two male inmates, Valentin was repeatedly abused. She informed correctional officers of the continued, brutal sexual violence her cellmate was putting her through. The prison system did not respond to her. After all, from their point of view Valentin should have opted for solitary confinement to protect herself from the general population of male inmates. In solitary she would have sat quietly, by herself, for 24 hours inRead MorePros And Cons Of The Death Penalty789 Words   |  4 Pages Death Penalty The death penalty has been a debated topic for decades. Many people believe that it serves justice to the person being executed, while others think that it does no good for either party. However, I believe the three most outstanding topics surround the death penalty are the cost of death vs. life in prison, attorney quality, and irrevocable mistakes. The first topic surrounding the death penalty is the cost of death vs. life in prison. This is a big issueRead MoreThe Death Penalty And The Safety Of The United States1180 Words   |  5 PagesThe criminal justice system was made to protect the rights and the safety of the citizens of the United States, It was created to have justice in the United States, But even then it has some flaws. Three of the faults I decided to discuss about are the death penalty, Issues within prison for example; weapons and riots, and high incarceration rates. The death penalty is just one of many faults in the justice system. It is legal in 31 states such as Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, ColoradoRead MoreThe American Court System And Criminal Justice System1750 Words   |  7 PagesThe System Each year, approximately ten-thousand people are convicted of crimes that they did not commit (Spring). Ten-thousand people that will never see their kids grow up, ten-thousand people that will miss out on life, ten-thousand people whose lives will never be the same. Men and women are on death row for decades, only to be exonerated after their execution. Where is the justice in that? Prisons are also overcrowded and according to political scientist David Hudson, America holds five percentRead MoreCapital Punishment : Christianity And Judaism1318 Words   |  6 PagesChristianity and Judaism, within both of those religions some people are for capital punishment and some are against capital punishment. Several christian groups in the late 1970s formalized their religious and moral reasons against the imposition of the death penalty. â€Å"Among them was, capital punishment: violated the command by Jesus to employ the ethic of love, perpetuated the evil of retaliation, ignored the gui lt that the society may have had in the causation of the crime, and prevented the possibilityRead MorePurpose and History of Punishment785 Words   |  4 Pagesthat could fit the crimes. Throughout this era many of the punishments were very violent and many criminals were tortured to death. Punishment takes a different course in the Middle Ages and Renaissance era where government actually believed it was important to justify the punishment of convicted criminals. In this era many of the criminals would battle in an arena to the death for their trial, if they made it out alive they where proven innocent. Government in both the seventh century and RenaissanceRead MoreThe Death Penalty and Punishment for Crimes795 Words   |  3 Pagesagain, it helps. Execution and the death penalty have been used in most societies since the beginning of history. Penalties back then included boiling to death, flaying, slow slicing, crucification, impalement, crushing, stoning, decapitation, etc. The death penalty was used for reasons today that would go under cruel and unusual punishment. Today in the United States, execution is used mainly for murder, espionage, and treason. In some states in the US, death by firing squad is still used. (â€Å"CriminalRead MoreDeath Penalty: An Effective Element of The Justice System Essays606 Words   |  3 Pagesthru the mind of a killer, like Jonathan Nobles from Steve Earl’s â€Å"A Death in Texas†, who brutally murder innocent people? Killers like Nobles disregard the gift of human life and violate people’s right to live. The death penalty is a necessary element in the judicial system to not only prevent the offender and others from committing a similar crime again, and to relieve the never ending flow of criminals that fill the prisons, but also most importantly to punish the heinousness of the crime and