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Issues in the Correctional Systems of the United States.

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Issues in the Correctional Systems of the United States.
Issues in the Correctional Systems of the United States

I have chosen to research the correctional system of the United States for many reasons. The first reason is that I believe this component of the legal system has the most problems facing it. Another reason is that this topic interests me and I would like to learn more about it.

There are many important issues, challenges and problems within the United States correctional system that need to be addressed. I found it difficult to focus on just three issues. The first problem I will discuss in my paper will be the issue of the growing population in the prisons. Prisons are overcrowded and murderers who have served barely half of their sentence are being released because the state facility needs their beds for other inmates. The second issue that I will discuss is prisoners and drugs; including, drug addicted prisoners and drug treatment prisoners. The third issue that I will talk about also pertains to drugs and deals with the problem of drug trafficking in prisons.

The first component of the United States correctional system that I have chose to discuss is the problem caused by overcrowded prisons. This is an important topic because overcrowded facilities are a huge problem in America and are very detrimental to society. Prisoners who have been convicted of murder, but have shown good behavior while in prison, are being released with not even serving half of their sentence. The parole board is releasing these prisoners because space is needed for other prisoners coming in. What if, that prisoner that was released early because of overcrowded prisons had killed a member of your family and might now go kill someone else? Wouldn't that make you a little upset with our system?

There are many reasons why prisons in the United States are so overcrowded. To understand overcrowdedness one must first understand how expensive it is to build and maintain these correctional facilities. In 1993 the average cost to keep


Bibliography: Bender, David. Does Capital Punishment Deter Crime Greenhaven press, CA 1998. Cose, Ellis. Newsweek-"America 's Prison Generations". November 13, 2000 Currie, Elliot. Crime and Punishment in America. Henry Holt and Company, NY 1998 Gaines, Ann. Prisons. Chelsea House, Philadelphia 1999. Jacobs, Nancy. Prisons and Jails: A Deterrent to Crime? Information Plus, Texas 1995.
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