Prison Overcrowding

Paper Summary:

The paper examines two studies on the problems associated with overcrowding and discusses how a primary reason for overcrowding is the 'crack cocaine' laws. The paper asserts that to alleviate the overcrowding and to lower the government expenditures spent on keeping these prisoners incarcerated, these 'crack cocaine' laws should be annulled or at least modified to take into account the circumstances involving the individuals participating in such drug usage. The paper maintains that the costs of incarceration should instead be spent on educating the offenders on the consequences of drug use. The paper also discusses how offenders sent to prison are more likely to return to a life of crime upon their release.

From the Paper:

"Since much of the overcrowding currently existing in both the state, and federal prison systems is primarily due to the incarceration of the nonviolent offender, and especially the mandatory sentencing of 'crack cocaine' users, it is suggested that to alleviate such overcrowding, and the associate problems caused by overcrowding, a more beneficial method of dealing with these nonviolent offenders be implemented.
"The question that is being asked is whether society would benefit more if nonviolent criminals received punishments other than jail sentences, or would such leniency lead to a lesser regard for the consequences of committing crimes, therefore leading to a rise in nonviolent, and violent, crime rates?"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Baumer, T., Adams, K., (2006) Controlling a Jail Population by Partially Closing the Front Door, The Prison Journal, Vol. 86, Issue 3, pp 386-402
• Chung, S.Y. (2000) Prison Overcrowding: Standards in Determining Eighth Amendment Violations, Fordham Law Review, Vol 68, No 6, pg 235
• Haney, C., (2006) The Wages of Prison Overcrowding: Harmful Psychological Consequences, Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, Vol. 22, pp 265 - 293
• Moraff, C. (2007) A Crack in the System, The American Prospect, accessed July 21, 2007 at http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org/WebZ/FSPage?pagetype=return_frameset:sessionid=fsapp5-45806-f4ea37kz-m33ac3:entitypagenum=10:0:entityframedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sentencingproject.org%2Fpubs%2Ftsppubs%2F1035bs:entityframedtitle=Index+to+Legal+Periodicals+%26+Books:entityframedtimeout=20:entityopenTitle=:entityopenAuthor=:entityopenNumber
• Porporino, F.J., (1990) Differences in Response to Long-Term Imprisonment: Implications for the Management of Long-term Offenders, Prison Journal, Vol. 35, pg 36

More papers on Prison Overcrowding:

• Analytical Essay # 140901 : "Prison Overcrowding"
• Term Paper # 149473 : "Prison Overcrowding and the Criminal Justice System"
• Persuasive Essay # 148278 : "Impact of Prison Overcrowding"
• Essay # 108345 : "Prison Overcrowding"

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