Parole

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that it is a popular myth that placing criminals in prison keeps the society safe; however, the hard fact is that, overall, prisons benefit neither the society nor the criminal. The author stresses that there is way too little statistical data to believe that prisons deter crime; plus psychologists have proven that a reward given for a behavior, which is desired, has a far greater impact than punishment given for an undesired behavior. The paper concludes that the whole concept of prisons has placated the public with the psychological idea that they are safer with the criminals behind bars; however, prisons spawn rage and hostility within the prisoners.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Placing Criminals in Prison Benefits Everyone
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Another assumption most famous in the minds of the general public is that prison systems keep us safe from "dangerous" criminals that are confined there. Who exactly is a dangerous person? No one is born dangerous. It is us who label them as to be "dangerous". Labeling someone as "dangerous" means that we find ourselves to be in a position to predict the future of someone else's behavior. There has been no scientifically or otherwise established fact that there exists such an ability to make such a prediction. The people who tend to label others "dangerous" are in error and this error leads to the uncalled for imprisonment of many individuals. However, today authorities use this labeling system to lock up protestors and political militants."

More papers on Parole:

• Essay # 72413 : "Parole in California "
• Essay # 36926 : "Parole"
• Term Paper # 120414 : "Parole Effectiveness"
• Term Paper # 119665 : "Parole: Second Chances"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: