Incarceration Prisons

There are millions of Americans in the United States (U.S) who have been to prison for conviction of a crime and incarceration rates are increasing (Public Safety Performance Project,2007, Pew, 2008). Each year, thousands of individuals across the United States confront social and personal challenges related with the shift of transitioning from prison to society outside of prison. Incarceration prisons rates in the U.S. has increased more than any country in the world (Pew, 2008). In this informative review, I will discuss some of the social factors associated with individuals that have been convicted of a crime and have a felony record. I will also show evidence that supports my investigation and will be culminate in action. This is not
(Anderson, 2010). Our society is shaped to think, that all individuals with felonies are very deviant or bad people that don’t have the ability to change to become a better person and that they could contribute to society in a positive manner (Greene & Heilburn, 2011). These individuals made a mistake and they need a second chance to survive to become productive members of society. Some people believe in the belief in a just world, that good things happens to good people and bad things happen to bad people(Anderson, 2010), so they really don’t care about people with a
The prison system is an institution of social control. America and its politicians emphasizes punishment, the tough on crime method seems to only help the careers of most politicians in the United States, but still has not made us safer in society (Huber & Gordon, 2004) . An example of how the federal government and several states use the social control model is by changing and getting laws passed. One of the most rigorous is the California’s three strikes law just like baseball “strike out three times and you are out”! No matter what crime you commit, whether it is minor or not, the offender must be sentence to either 25 years to life in prison or triple the standard sentence (Greene & Heilburn, 2011). This law would not only increase prison population but would mostly likely lead to individuals in prison for crimes that would not fit the crime they are punished for (Greene & Heilburn, 2011). Majority of the offenders are in prisons for nonviolent crimes. This has contributed to the increase of individuals in prisons. Some states in the U.S. the federal government has ordered state prisons to reduce their prisons by 40,000 inmates (Pew, 2008). This makes me sick in the inside, because it makes me wonder maybe these individuals didn’t need to be in prison in the first place, if they are releasing such a large number of