Separation In Prisons

Separation exists between society and the penal system, and due to this, there is a grave lack of knowledge of what is happening in prisons and how we can improve the situation we currently have in regards to the prison system. There are major flaws within the penal system, and Angela Davis highlighted a main one in secrecy. We know based off of research that our prison population commonly consists of individuals who struggle academically (Petersilia, 2003, pg 32). Because of this lack of strong schooling, they may not possess basic skills like reading, with about 20 % performing at an illiterate level within state facilities (Petersilia, 2003, pg 32), which prisons are not going around glorifying. Another hidden and degrading factor that
A prison’s intended use was for holding cells prior to trial (October 22, film), and in present day, we have seen a tremendous shift, as we are currently in a mass incarceration era (Petersilia, 2003). Due to a shift in policies during the 70’s with the end of the Progressive era, we have currently over two million persons incarcerated (Cullen & Johnson, 2012). The problem with this change is that harshness is now acceptable (October 22, class) and we now imprison anyone deemed a threat (October 22, class). What is often overlooked is that some of these “threats” are not what they appear. As Jessica alluded to in her presentation, there is a grave problem with mental illness in the prison system, with on a federal level, 45% of surveyed inmates having a preexisting mental illness (December 8, presentations), and having a mental illness while incarcerated can put one in more vulnerable situations (October 1, presentations). Ryan also noted that 40% of addicts are currently incarcerated (December 8, presentations). Those are examples of society spending time and money to imprison individuals who would otherwise require treatment, which is neither an effective, nor efficient use of resources (September 15,
What we currently do focuses heavily on inmates presently when we incapacitate them, and not how to try and help them change (Cullen & Johnson, 2012). If what we are doing is not successful in the goal of lowering recidivism (September 15, class), there needs to be another shift in theory. Societal perception is a major factor in whether a system is seen as working (September 15, class) and they feel that incapacitation is okay because they feel safer, yet they are unaware of the problems that exist behind prison walls, thus reflecting the utilitarian basis of the theory (October 22,