Questions
2345
Reading 1/1:
Read the argumentative essay by Alysson Felberg, titled "Prisons: Rehabilitation or Punishment?" and then answer the following questions.
Prisons: Rehabilitation or Punishment?
Prisons in the media often depict a cold, unforgiving place where the worst criminals rot in cells, but this is not an accurate representation. In reality, prisons are often overcrowded places with people who do not necessarily deserve to be there for as long as they are. Many people question whether prisons should be for punishment or for rehabilitation. This essay will look at the arguments for and against each and will discuss a possible conclusion.
Currently. prisons are seen more as a place for punishment rather than for rehabilitation. The punishment system gives people an incentive to obey the law. If one does not break the law.one will not be punished by being sent to prison. However, this may not work as intended. A survey by Sheffield Hallam University found that one fifth of surveyed homeless people committed a crime to spend at least one night in a cell off the streets (Ramesh, 2010). Prisons are also intended to stop people from repeating crimes, which has been shown to not work in all cases.According to the Correctional Service Canada, a large follow up program survey found that about one quarter of prisoners released on parole were returned to federal custody after committing another crime (FORUM on Corrections Research, n.d.). Many prisons also contain prisoners with biased sentences. These people, for whatever reason, received court sentences that were too light or too heavy for the crime they committed. In other words, punishments system is not fair to everyone. Overall, as a punishment system, prison does not work as intended.
Next Question
Some argue that prisons should be primarily for rehabilitation. Rehabilitation, they argue, would help stop crime. However, this system would give no incentive to avoid committing a crime in the first place. Rehabilitation could help those who need help, but, given the current funding of prisons and the success rate of other forms of rehabilitation, such as addiction rehabilitation.the potential success rate is questionable (Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment, n.d.). Another argument brought up against prison rehabilitation involves whether everyone deserves rehabilitation. It is a moral grey area. Many people would agree that someone arrested for drug possession deserves a chance at rehabilitation, but fewer people would give the same chance to a mass murderer. This brings into question the fairness of rehabilitation for prisoners. Overall, the effectiveness and fairness of a rehabilitation prison system make it a questionable system.
Next Reading
After examining the benefits and downsides of both systems. I believe that the prison system should involve both punishment and rehabilitation. I also believe, however, that the prison system itself needs to be completely reformed, for some of the reasons mentioned above. The current system is biased and underfunded (Blow, 2014). Part of that reform could involve making prisons less punishment-orientated and more balanced between punishment and rehabilitation. I believe that most people in prison deserve the chance at rehabilitation, not just punishment.
Overall, for the reasons stated above, I believe that neither the punishment or rehabilitation system alone is effective or sufficient. A system involving both punishment and rehabilitation would best suit the needs of today's society. While prisons are currently seen by many people as a place where criminals rot, it does not have to be that way in the future.
References
Blow, C. (2014, Sept 7) Crime, Bias and Statistics. The New York Times, n.p.
