In Our Society's Criminal Justice System, Justice Equals Punishment. You... Essay - 1,743 words

In our society's criminal justice system, justice equals punishment. You do the crime, and you do the time. Once you have done the time, you have paid your debt to society and justice has been done. Because our society defines justice in this manner, the victims of crimes often seek the most severe possible punishment for their offenders. Society tells them this will bring justice, but it often leaves them feeling empty and unsatisfied after getting what they wanted. Punishment does not address the other important needs of victims. It cannot restore their losses, answer their questions, relieve their fears, and help them make sense of their tragedy or heal their wounds. Regardless of their particular view, most people agree that crime and violence are blowing up out of control in the streets of our towns and cities. Most also agree that what we are doing about it is not working. We are fearful and we have good reason.


We know our criminal justice system is broken and we don't know how to fix it. Sometimes criminals are treated too well but at other times they are not treated well enough. The treatment of criminals is based on what they have done. If they murder someone they are going to get the death penalty. Criminals that only commit traffic crimes get away with only a ticket. Some people believe that there should be harsher sentences for people, or other kinds of ways of dealing with punishing these bad people.


Making them do community service or wearing a sign in public saying the crime they committed and embarrassing them are only some other ways of punishment for these criminals. Everyone has opinions about the issues associated with crime and the treatment of criminals. Some believe this country is becoming lawless. It has been said that society is known by the prisoners it keeps. Children and young teenagers breaking the law and committing particularly heinous crimes is a fairly new problem that concerns many people. This is such a problem; some people believe that harsh punishments should be used for children also. Some believe that if we want to rehabilitate criminals we must do more than just send them to prison. They could be given a chance to acquire job skills; which will improve the chances that inmates will become productive citizens upon release.


The programs must aim to change those who want to change. Those who are taught to produce useful goods and to be productive are likely to develop the self-esteem essential to a normal, integrated personality. This kind of program would provide skills and habits and replace the sense of hopelessness that many inmates have. A Justice Department report that in 1994, 67 percent of prisoners released from detention returned with in three years. This report sends up red flags in my mind. It seems that the only solution our government has to the steadily increasing crime rate is to build more and more prisons.


Our country has been building prisons at an every increasing rate for the last twenty-five years. The state prison population is fast approaching almost two million people in the United States of America. It follows that if this idea of imprisoning people were deterring crimes out prison population would be growing smaller, but in fat are counties current prison system is growing by leas and bounds. Most criminologists agree that prisons are not a deterrent to crime. A recent study conducted by the justice department points out that from 1983 to 1994 the number of people behind bars doubled. And Joan Petersilia, a professor of criminology at the University of California at Irvine said, The main thing this report shows is that our experiment with building lots more prisons as a deterrent to crime has not worked. If prisons are not the answer then what is the answer to the problem of our growing population of repeat offenders.


Again, most criminologists agree that rehabilitation classes are better solution then building more prisons. James Gilliagan a prison psychiatrist and former head of the State of Massachusetts Prison Mental Health Department says, Among the conditions in the prison system that prevents violent behavior (both during imprisonment and after release to the community), the most powerful is education. Doctor Gilligan goes on to say, in Massachusetts we conducted a study to see what programs had the most effect on preventing recidivism, and the only program that was 100 percent effective preventing recidivism was the one that allowed inmates to receive a college degree in prison . However, according to a Justice Department survey released on June 3, 2002, Only about 15 percent of state prison inmates are enrolled in academic or rehabilitation classes. Professor Petersilia blames state governments for the cuts to rehabilitation programs and vocational education classes so the government can be seen as tough on crime. All of these facts and bits of information beg the question; ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Essay Tags: family member, justice system, prison population, criminal justice, criminal

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