Prison Reform in America - 1895 Words

Prison Reform in America In the essay Prison Reform in America, Roger T. Pray points out the much attention that has been devoted to research to help prevent crimes. Showing criminals the errors of their ways not by brutal punishment, but by locking them up in the attempt to reform them. Robert Pray, who is a prison psychologist, is currently a researcher with the Utah Dept. of Corrections. He has seen what has become of our prison system and easily shows us that there is really no such thing as Prison Reform In Roger Prays essay we see how our prison system has come to where we are at now. He shows how history of prisons worked and how our basis of the prison system came about over the last 200 years. Robert states that it was†¦show more content†¦They felt isolation was the key for basic goodness in man to emerge. Europeans came to visit these institutions with the hope of using the system in their country. By the mid 1800s prison everywhere scarcely reflected the basic forms of prison. In the 1830s, many prisoners where often leased to private contractors, but was discontinued in the mid 1840s. In the 19th century it was seen that the prison system could not reform the prisoners. Citizens lost faith and felt that there was no cure to societys crime problem. It is interesting to see how our prison came about. Through the years and centuries we have been trying to find the right way to deal with criminals. Yes, criminals where dealt with brutally and maybe too brutal for the crimes committed. Today someone can commit murder and get 25 years. I dont feel that during these 25 years the criminal will really get reformed. How many prisoners get out of prison and go back to society as normal people. It seems to me that they usually have been in prison for so many years they have trouble going back to society. The only way they know how to live is how they lived in prison. In prison they get a bed to sleep in, food and clothing and they dont have to work hard for it. So they are quick to commit another crime to go back there. Seeing this happen over and over I feel that you really cant reform our prisoners or the prisons they are locked up in. In Prays essay weShow MoreRelatedPrison Reform in the United States of America1318 Words   |  6 P agesPrison Reform in The United States of America â€Å"It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones† (Nelson Mandela, 1994). The United States of America has more people behind bars than any other country on the planet. The prisons are at over double capacity. It cost a lot of money to house prisoners each year. 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