Are Too Many People Being Sent to Prison - Research Paper Example

Are too many people being sent to prison? Introduction Guilty as charged! These three words are common to everyone. Many people are being sent to jail for various offenses. Some may argue out that they were unfairly judged but the system is too busy to give answers to the never ending ‘whys’. Being incarcerated is not big news in the community nowadays since it has become the order of the day even for minor law offenders. One fails to understand what the authorities are up to when the number of prisoners keeps escalating on daily basis. Are they setting up warehouses for law breakers? Are they sure the system is efficient? These are some of the questions that come to mind when one views the growing statistics of prisoners worldwide. This paper will focus on the fact that too many people are being sent to prison. I. Too many people in prison There are too many people being imprisoned worldwide. The United States is leading in statistics for having many people in prison worldwide. The population in jail has risen by over ten times as compared to thirty years ago. Most prisons are overcrowded and the cost incurred by the state in its move to fighting crime is colossal and could be falling out of hand if nothing is done to address it. People are being sent to prison for minor crimes. Minor drug offenders for instance, make up a large number of inmates, are being jailed for long terms. Debaters have argued that these minor offenders should be subjected to other forms of disciplinary action like being made to do some community service in public. They claim that this would be a more positive way to punish them and subsequently the other offenders who have not been caught will learn from them (Doughty 1). Take a tour to any prison around and you won’t fail to notice the evident congestion. The prison facilities have been suffocated by the vast number of prisoners being injected to the system on a daily basis. Inmates in these prisons are facing unmentionable miseries since the facilities and resources in the prisons are not enough hence they have to live like slaves. Alabama’s prisons for instance, hold twice the number of prisoners that they were originally designed to hold. Their daily budget per prisoner is less than half the national average amount that should be spent on an individual prisoner. This strain is far from over since the number of people being sentenced is still increasing and new facilities have not been set up to accommodate them (Doughty 1). The increase in the number of people in the lower class is directly related to the increase in the number of people being sent to prison. This class is mainly comprised of ex-convicts. These people have problems acquiring legal licenses due to their criminal records and even getting jobs is a challenge since nobody in the society wants to be associated with them. They are poverty stricken and they have no means of liberating themselves. The increasing nature of this class of people shows how too many people are being sent to prison (Younge para 3). Prisoners on short term sentences comprise the majority of the population in the prisons. A good number of them are actually second law offenders. They have repeated the same crimes and are sent back to prison. The question is therefore whether the system is really reforming the inmates or just stocking them and then releasing them back to the society. Some prisoners have confessed that the system have actually done more harm than good to the society. This is because the inmates, especially those on short term sentences, share crime ideas in prisons and once they get out, they implement ideas acquired (Wells 1). Too many people are being sent to prison due to many unnecessary laws present. If a suspect for instance, is arraigned in court and his/her police statement contradicts the evidence provided, he/she is accused of making false statement which attracts a sentence of up to five years. They may also be charged with conspiracy which attracts a similar sentence. People are going to prison for crimes they commit without their knowledge. These consequential laws are increasing the number of people being sent to prison (Wells 1). Too many people are being sent to prison because of the harsh nature of the law enforcers. They don’t show any sympathy to first misdemeanors. Every offence is being treated as a felony hence many people are ending up in jail. The authorities have rigidly embraced the tough on crime motto that doesn’t show any mercy even to the mentally disturbed people. They argue that a crime is a crime regardless of who commits it and why they did. They are punishing people for crimes committed even without finding the reason behind it all (Wells 1). The increase in the number of people being sent to prison also has everything to do with the denial of bail by the courts to defendants facing trial. Many defendants waiting for their trials are being sent to prison instead of being given bail to wait for their trial outside prison. These defendants have been known to wait for their trials for long periods of time. One fails to understand why this is happening since giving bail will greatly reduce the number of people in prisons and in turn reduce the cost of upkeep for prisoners by the government (Katel para 2). Incarceration of non-violent offenders and criminals whose crimes do not amount to any physical harm to anybody has also caused the increase in the number of people being sent to jail. Criminals like hackers and online pirates have lately been increasing in prisons. It is perplexing that cyber criminals are being treated in the same manner as rapists and murderous. Jail has now become the core reform system used by the authority. If the harsh laws persist, soon everyone will be an inmate (Katel para 3). The increase in the number of people being incarcerated is also increasing due to sentencing offenders on grounds that they have another criminal record. Whenever a law offender is arraigned in court, the first thing the judges look at is whether they have a criminal record. If they do, their cases are treated with minimal sympathy and most of them end up back in jail. Many of the times, the judgment is biased and this does nothing to ease the numeric issue surrounding the increase in the number of prisoners in the society (Katel para 5). There are also very many people being imprisoned due to their mental challenges. A very large number of inmates suffer from one mental illness or the other. Most of the inmates have serious personality disorders that led them to committing crimes but instead of the authorities considering mental healthcare, they just incarcerate this poor victims to protect the community from them. Delivery of mental healthcare in custody is an issue that is yet to be discussed. Most of these mentally impaired prisoners end up back in prison after they are released since their mental condition is not cured by being locked up (Wells 1). There’s an increase in the number of women being imprisoned. A big number of these women have been sentenced due to practicing prostitution and abortion. These crimes should be dealt with accordingly but the authorities fail to address the reason behind the increase in these crimes. Some women find prostitution as their only hope to earn a living in this harsh world. Their motive when engaging in crime is solely to earn their daily bread. The court should consider what made them engage in the crime before sentencing them. Imprisonment may not be the required measure for reforming these women (Doughty 2). Many people are also being sent to jail for crimes they commit purposely to go to jail. This has over the years been the trend especially among the African-Americans who view serving a jail term as a right of passage. They form gangs that are involved in criminal activities like terrorizing the community members, burglaries, drugs abuse and dealings among other law offences and they walk to prison with a smile. This carefree attitude is spreading wide in the community and the number of people being imprisoned keeps rising (Younge para 2). Community based punishments are being evaded by the authorities. Minor offenders accused of crimes such as refusing to pay fines, drunk driving and other petty offenses that would require community punishment are being taken to prison for short term imprisonment. The system is too harsh on its part to deal with crime. Consequently, the number of prisoners keeps increasing (Younge para4). II. More people should be sent to jail Arguments have been posed that not too many people are being sent to jail. In fact, debaters suggest that more people should be sent to jail, citing that the number of criminals that deserve to be in jail but are roaming freely in the streets is quit large. Many people commit felonies and crimes and get away with it especially where there is lack of sufficient evidence to incriminate them. Following the fact that one is innocent till proved guilty, most of these criminals are left alone after failure to gather sufficient evidence. These criminals should be imprisoned but grounds on which to pursue the same lacks and nothing can be done (Meyer & Meyer para 2). Corruption has also spared many criminals from getting locked up. These criminals bribes the relevant authority members with influence in the judicial systems and their cases are mysteriously solved and they are released. The same criminals keep recommitting the crimes since they are assured of immunity in court. Favors in the judicial system are also very evident and some people get to serve shorter terms than they should. These criminals commit crimes that normally attract long term imprisonment but they end up serving short term. If justice were to prevail, all these people should be sent to jail (Laws para 6). There are also arguments that the increasing number of people being sent to jail should not be an issue, the issue should be constructing new facilities to accommodate the huge number of criminals that are congesting the existing facilities. Debaters argue that the fact that the existing prisons cannot accommodate the growing number of prisoners should not be reason enough to start limiting the number of people being sent to serve jail terms. The critics are questioning why the government and its people have suddenly gained interest in the prisoners’ rights. The people are contradicting themselves by trying to help the very same people they want locked up away from the rest of the society. Critics suggest that prisoners are taken to prison to suffer and they should be left to pay for their crimes (Laws para 7). If you visit a police bureau, you will be perplexed by the huge number of suspects. These are criminals who get lucky and manage to fool the authorities and hide before they are caught. The police’s most wanted criminals list has never been empty. Some of the criminals have been in the hide out for many decades and hefty bounties are placed on their heads. These criminals should be cornered and brought to justice through imprisonment whether the jails are fully parked or not (Meyer & Meyer para 6). There are people like terrorists who should be added to the huge number of people who are being sent to jail. These inhumane people who do not place value to human life deserve to be locked up. Critics say that terrorists once captured should serve a lifetime imprisonment under very harsh conditions. Sadly though, most of them are in the hide out and may never be captured (Laws para 8). Debaters have also argued out that nobody should be given sympathy when it comes to matters of law. All law breakers should be punished accordingly regardless of their motive or status. Whether mentally ill or stable, anyone who commits a crime punishable by imprisonment should be sent to prison. The law enforcers should not be lenient on their part either. They should exercise the tough law policy and deal with all criminals accordingly. Every matter should be settled in court (Laws para 8). There are also suspects who are given bail and they are allowed to enjoy freedom until their court hearing takes place whereby they get to be proven guilty or innocent. Some are given bail despite having ample evidence branding them guilty. Some flee the country after being given bail and they never resurface. In light of this, any suspect should be confined and only given bail when it is really necessary and safe to do so. Alternatively persons on bail should be monitored on a twenty four seven basis. They should be virtual prisoners (Meyer& Meyer para 3). It is also important that criminals on jail term serve their entire time in prison. Early paroles should be revoked whether the parties involved have shown signs of reformation or not. Justice dictates that one should fully pay for the crimes that sent them to jail and that should be upheld. Individuals should only be let out on parole a short time before their jail time is over so that they serve as practical lessons to other people (Meyer & Meyer para 4). Conclusion Wherever humans settle, laws and regulations must be drafted. Breaking these laws and regulations is also divine at one time or the other. The culprits should pay fully for breaking the laws. No mercy should be shown to those who break the laws intentionally. Instead, they should face the full wrath of the law enforcers. Justice should always prevail in the society and everyone should be prepared to face the consequences of their actions. In today’s world, prisons are congested and there’s need to construct new facilities. The majority of inmates are in for short term sentences while few of the inmates are in for life imprisonment. It can be argued out that the judicial system should devise new measures to punish minor law offenders especially the first demeanors. This will greatly reduce the number of inmates in the prisons and in turn reduce the cost to cater for the big number of prisoners. It will also go a big way into improving the deteriorating state of living for inmates. As far as the prisons are concerned, the facilities efficiency in reforming the prisoners is questionable. One fails to comprehend how a person would get out of prison then commit the same crime and land back to jail. There must be something wrong with the whole system and the issue should be addressed soon. The undeniable fact is that too many people are being sent to jail. If this continues, sooner or later everyone will have a criminal record. Works cited Doughty, Steve. We Must Stop Sending So Many Offenders to Jail, Daily Mail. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. Katel, Peter. Downsizing Prisons. CQ Researcher. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2012 Laws, Roz. I have nothing to apologise for despite being jailed. Sunday Mercury. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. Meyer, Jeffrey, A. and Meyer, Linda, Ross. Abolish Parole. The New York Times. 2007. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. Wells, David. Does Prison Fail Inmates with Mental Illness? Inside time. 2010. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. Younge, Gary. For too many African-Americans, prison is a legacy passed from father to son, the Guardian. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2012 Read More