Let'sThink About Prison

            The article, "U.S. Prison Myth vs. Mayhem", is about the overcrowding of prisons and the dangers within the prison system of the United States. The article describes the attempts that have been made at prison reform, and provides suggestions for realistic options for reform in the future. What is made apparent is the amount of money that is spent on building new prisons and the lack of positive results that the prisons are producing for our societies. We learn that prison is not the best punishment for everybody, and can even increase the likelihood that people with a lower likelihood of being violent may become more violent. The article explains that prisons should only house those who are considered to be violent, while other non-violent criminals should be housed in rehabilitation centers where they can be taught a lesson and pay back those who have suffered from their wrongdoings.
            Prison is not the best solution for dealing with gang members in my opinion. As we witnessed from the video reflection of life at Santa Rita Jail, gang members are separated and housed in the jail based on their gang affiliation. Gang members then often times separate themselves according to race within the group that they are housed. Sheriffs and other employees of the jail act as a gang themselves, forcing their authority onto the prisoners, which may be necessary in some instances such as self-defense, although encourages gang activity. The authority figures that should be acting as role models for positive behavior are now feeding into the negative behavior that most likely resulted in the gang members being arrested and sent to jail to begin with. It appears as though nothing is being done to discourage gang involvement and activity, because separating gang members in jail only prevents violence from taking place and protects individuals in the interim. If they are only protected while serving time in prison, and are not encouraged to disassociate themselves with their gang involvement, they are likely to continue with their prior habits upon their release and have a high likelihood of returning to prison in the future.

            Rehabilitation can be partnered with prison to make it more successful. Former prisoners that have turned their lives around for the better and are now successful can be a part of the rehabilitation process. Their presence can provide encouragement and prove the reality of the possibility of improving one’s own life. Former prisoners and gang members can share stories of how they survived their own struggles and provide suggestions to current prisoners for ways that they can improve their own lives. People who are struggling need encouragement, not more challenges, therefore suggestions given in the form of basic step by step processes can prove to be more realistic and easy to follow. Witnessing that somebody who was once in their same situation has been able to improve their life provides more encouragement for the person who is currently struggling to take steps towards improving their own life.

            What I found most interesting about the article was reading about the abuse that took place in certain prisons in the United States prior to being reformed, and about the violence and deaths that continue to take place. Violence in prison is not the answer to ending violence in society. It only encourages more violence in my opinion. When I think of this scenario, I think of punishments inflicted upon children by their parents. If parents take their anger out on their children by spanking them for example, they are teaching the children to do the same when the children are angry. Teaching a child a lesson to end their negative behavior in a positive manner is more effective and productive. For example, if a child throws a toy, and you remove the toy from the possession of the child, you are teaching the child not to throw things. Hopefully when the child is in need of punishing their own children in the future, they will remember this type of effective punishment, and continue the process of teaching appropriate lessons to their own children.

            Overall, reading the article taught me a lot about the prison system in the United States that I was not previously aware of. It gave me a beginning bit of insight into the reality of what takes place in prisons, and helped me to understand some of the reasons for recidivism. As the article states, society has not done much to change the current state of the prison system, although what confuses me is that as a member of society I have no idea of how one would go about making a change. In my opinion, much of the change that is needed is in the control of the government. I understand that if previous changes have been made the possibility for more change exists, although it is a matter of an unknown amount of time that it would take to finally notice that any change has been made.