Corrections: It’s in the Name
Tags: Jail, Criminal Justice, Rehabilitation, Prison, Mental Illness

The point of the penal system is for the inmates to learn how to live their lives without crime — to rehabilitate them to the point that they can live a normal life outside of the joint. This has not been the case for a long time. More often than not, inmates return to the system after previously serving time. Mental illness within the system contributes to this, and nothing contributes more than the environment and mistreatment inmates receive from each other and staff when there, and for these reasons, it is vitally important that correctional facilities, along with jails and prisons, should do just that — correct.

Returning to the system:

The criminal justice system often has recurring inmates. This is a known fact among many. According to James Gilligan, two-thirds of inmates re-offend within three years of leaving the system, and over 90% of inmates return to the system within a few years of getting out. In a short amount of time, these men and women commit more crimes, often worse than they’d done the first time. This really says something about the way the system is run because It’s not as if only a certain few inmates return to the system, it’s common for 90% of them to go back. Those who have been to jail or prison and returned clearly were not given the knowledge and help needed for living a normal life on the outside. It’s not fair for the inmates, nor the employees, nor the taxpayers to have to deal with and pay for a problem that could be fixed simply by submerging them into a more positive and respectful environment. There’s also a cycle that people with mental illness go through in the system. Mentally ill people will be picked up and taken to jail after committing a crime, as well.

Mental illness:

Mental illness is and has been for a long time a great problem within the criminal justice system. Not only are there people there who have suffered outside of the system, but there are also people inside that have acquired some forms of mental illness simply from just being there, such as depression. According to Etienne Benson of the American Psychology Association, “psychologically healthy individuals could become sadistic or depressed when placed in a prison-like environment.” The system is doing something wrong. He also says that the prison population “has rates of mental illness at least three times the national average.” Now, this can either be because they develop mental illness on the inside, or because those with actual issues are more likely to end up in jail than those with none. People may think that inmates, with or without mental illness, are terrible and don’t deserve to be treated as humans, but they’re still people. It’s not fair that human beings are treated so terribly in a place that should be helping them get back on their feet.

Mistreatment in the Penal Environment:

The penal system simply doesn’t work due to the bad environment and mistreatment inmates receive while there. James Gilligan describes it like this: “The more severely children are punished, the more violent they become, as children and as adults. The same is true of adults, especially those in prison.” His comparison of children and prisoners just makes sense. He later says “it is vitally important how we treat them while they are incarcerated.” This is such a true statement that those running America’s prisons and jails can’t seem to grasp. There’s a reason that so many inmates return to the system, and it’s because they’re not and haven’t been treated like human beings. Diane Taylor of The Guardian says “decent prisons in which prisoners are respected seem to provide a foundation for prisoner self-growth. Indecent, unsafe prisons allow no such growth and further damage those who have to survive there.” This goes along with what Gilligan said. The treatment of our prisoners is very important for their futures, and the future of our criminal justice system. She also says that “the best the prison estate can offer prisoners is an environment where they are treated with ‘decency and dignity’.” So, if this is the best they can do, why aren’t they doing it?

Summary:

Punishment is not helping people in prisons and jails. In a way, it’s hurting inmates more. They may deserve the time they are doing, but they do not deserve to be treated with anything less than some sort of decency. Although we cannot control how inmates end up in the system, we can bring back the rehabilitative morals of the system to better their lives, because, in the end, they’re still people.