An Ineffective Penal System?

Paper Summary:

The paper contends that the American public's desire to exact retribution from criminals has resulted in ineffective policy, poor implementation, severe overcrowding in prisons and a whopping price tag. The paper discusses three main problems in the U.S. penal system; harsh sentencing, substandard prison conditions and corporate corruption. The paper asserts that a comprehensive change in the approach to sentencing and drug policy may be needed. The paper shows the benefits of restorative justice and strongly maintains that although alternative programs may be more expensive than tossing a prisoner into a crowded cell for twenty years, they are definitely worth it. The paper uses in-text MLA style citation and does not append a bibliography.

From the Paper:

"In the United States, the "tough on crime" approach that has been guiding criminal justice policy since the 1970s has lead to a penal system that not only fails the "13.5 million adults who pass through them each year," (1 - www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/10/ar2006061000719.html) but also the American public. This punitive approach has involved: the hiring of more police; the construction of more prisons; and, longer prison terms for a wide variety of crimes, many of which are non-violent or drug-related. Since the media furor over Willie Horton during the 1988 Presidential election, the "tough on crime" approach has only gotten tougher. The result: the highest incarceration level in the world."

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