Essay On Corrections Reform

Reforming the Current U.S. Corrections System In the United States, the corrections system is a network of agencies that administer a jurisdiction's prisons and community-based programs. It is responsible for implement the punishment for a convicted offender. This can range from being on probation to serving years in prison. The current system has evolved to meet the demands of society for the past centuries. While the current system does a semi-decent job, it can be changed in order to be more effective and efficient.
Reform 1 Of the changes that can be made to the correctional system, the first is to provide the medical treatment for the offender instead of incarnating them. In some cases, incarcerating a person is not always the most
For most cases, the three strikes law “mandated minimum sentences of 25 years or longer for affected offenders” (Lee, 2017) for people who have been previously convicted of 2 crimes. The intent for this law was to control/prevent crime by hoping that these harsh sentencing laws will prevent people from committing crime. While the intention of the law was good, the effective of it was not. People are being sentenced to life in prison for a crime that would not necessarily be warranted for that sentence originally because they had committed 2 prior crimes. This law has also led “to a significant increase in the nation's already swollen prison population” (“10 Reasons to Oppose "3 Strikes, You're Out,'” 2017) since more and more people are being sentenced to longer prison terms. As a result, this puts more pressure on taxpayers as they are ultimately paying to keep these offenders in prison. In order to reform this law and the corrections system, the strikes in the three strikes law should be limited to only violent crimes— murder, rape and sexual assault, robbery, and assault. This will lead to fewer people being convicted for 25 years to life sentences for crimes that do not equal that sentence. In addition, it will help reduce the amount of people who are incarcerated in the United States and the impact that has on society as a
For instance, people will be sentenced to prison sentences that are more appropriate to the crime they had convicted. It will also give more sentencing discretion back to the judges when determining an offender’s prison sentence. Because of the three strikes law, judges are required to give the mandatory minimum sentence for a crime. Ultimately, this reform will regulate which crimes count as a strike against the offender and to ensure they are being given appropriate prison sentences for the crimes that they are