Examples Of Injustice In Prisons

Injustice in the Prison System In American society today, nonviolent offenders are prosecuted in much the same way violent offenders are. In California our justice system uses the three strikes law, which means habitual offenders; no matter the nature of the crime receive mandatory extended jail sentences after their second offense. While these crimes which they commit are wrong, the harm they inflict upon society is very low, hence the ratio of punishment to crime should be much lower. Using these ideals the prison system becomes overcrowded with nonviolent individuals such as drug addicts and shoplifters. Therefore the prisons move away from being rehabilitation centers, and become merely a place to hold those deemed as convicts until
Angela Davis highlights this problem in her article “different criminalization of drug use means that those unfortunate enough to become addicted to crack can be arrested and thrown in jail, while their middle class counterparts, who have access to licit drugs such as Valium or Prozac, are free to indulge their drug habits.” This is almost like saying that it is deemed acceptable to abuse Valium and Prozac, yet not crack. Crack use may be seen as more of a problem to the government due to the fact that those who abuse it do not have the funds to enter into private rehab centers. Yet this extra cost to the government does not justify the harsh law which throws crack addicts into jail, but not prescription drug abusers. Sending these people to overcrowded prisons does not allow them to receive the help they desperately need to get their lives back on track. This refers back to Beccaria’s interpretations of the purpose of punishments; he would deem it just to send a person to jail for drug use, yet unjust because while there we provide them with nothing to deter them from using again when they get out. Another form of discrimination towards the non-affluent citizens of America is exhibited in states that enforce the three strikes law. The three strikes law adds extended jail time to people’s sentences no matter the nature of the crime;
Instead of throwing nonviolent drug users into a prison’s population why not setup some sort of self funded rehab system? The addicts would first go there as patients and receive some sort of treatment for their illness, and after a recovery period of about a year they would become supporters of other addicts. They would remain there for a set number of years helping others to become sober, until it is seen that they have been rehabilitated. After this time they would be released back into the free world with skills to help them to become productive members of society. The same is true for the homeless people’s situation; to restore justice to this not much money needs to be spent. Simply setup a shelter with homeless people working the various shifts and jobs, for their labors they would receive food and would able to be monitored by government officials so that they would not commit the same crimes. These are just a proposed means to solve the current situation within the prison system; using these methods vagrants will receive food, not drugs, and addicts will receive treatment for their bad