Prisons as Punitive or Rehabilitation Essay Example

crimes they did before going to jail.

We do not want warehouses that simply house the offenders but a place where they transform their spirits and living habits. If we don’t give the men and women something constructive to do but ponder their actions and learn to beat the system, to become a better criminal. The evident, mistaken tendency in many prisons is to intensify violence as a means of maintaining order (Rosemary 1997). In September 2001 terrorist attacked USA and people that were fighting against them were captured and take to a place called Abu Ghraib.

What happened in this prison were unspeakable acts of cruelty, all in the name of establishing order and maintaining fear. The taking away of clothing was being used to humiliate the prisoners and at the same time made a mess of confusion to what was right and what was wrong (Greenberg, 2005). The people who ruled this detention center believed that if the people feared them that they would abide by their rules. The men and women cringe from fear not as much of respect for the authority (Greenberg, 2005). As seen many times again and again the supremacy of the jail slowly forgets its rationality.

One problem that restorative justice faces is the opinion to forgive and help to get them out of jail. It doesn’t support the discharge of any inadequate prisoners. It does support the confutation of the victims to the offender, bringing the offender to the victim. Its harder to hate someone you see is real, real emotions because of what the convict has done (Furio 2002). It helps the prisoner to see how much damage has

been done, lawbreakers need to be held accountable for the damage they have caused others around them.

They do need to be punished but they need to be helped to. Our prisons need to be strict and be of assistance without help the offenders actions will never change. In September 2011 there was a article in the newspaper, “Founder of ‘Restorative justice’ to speak in Haywood”. This article reports where a man was in his yard minding is own business, when a teenager fires several bullets at him. Eventually the boy hits and draws blood from the man. He is arrested and brought to jail where after a few days the victim comes to see the boy.

He processes to tell him what he was doing that day, and about his life. The boy now knows who this man was his name and about his family. The victim informs him that he will not be pressing any charges. The young man is so moved he weeps tears of happiness. He completely turns his life around after that. This is one of the many stories I have read that proves that giving help and understanding to criminals. This is called restorative conferencing where everyone involved in the situation comes together to gain knowledge of each other (Hopkins 2011).

It is harder to hurt someone that you actually know. Reviewing at what happens when prisons help their inmates we can see that most of the it really does help change their lives. People that work with and for the system are desensitized, fail to remember that prisoners are still humans. Humans that have rights like seeing their kids and family,

rights to educate themselves. Even when we have information that can support these facts some still do not listen to it. Our prisons should be rehabilitation for our inmates if we can change their future it will change ours too.