Is our prison system reformatory, or punitive?

Question

Do we send people to prison to reform them, or to punish them? Which do you feel better benefits our society as a whole? Remember, criminal cases are a violation of the people's law, not just the victim, hence 'the people vs. ---"

Answer 1

It is punitive.

By the way, it is NOT free. Prisoners have to pay all sorts of costs and fines upon release.

One problem with the whole criminal justice system is that people who reform it are not in power long enough for the reforms to have any effect. So, you have one administration in charge working on the reform of criminals. They get 4-8 years to create, implement, and trace the progress of their program. It's not enough time. Another administration gets into power and overturns the whole thing, focusing on punitive measures. Then another administration implements reform. It goes on and on like this, and there are so many paradigm shifts that things get out of whack, state employees get demoralized and apathetic, prisoners get inconsistent messages and stop-and-start treatment, etc., etc. There is no time to track the efficacy of anything, since it is all in a state of flux. People use short-term, short-sighted statistics to justify their implementation or cessation of whatever mode of operation. It's a gigantic mess, just like with most government-run things.

As for "which is better and which benefits society as a whole," I have no idea. It would be great if incarcerated people could receive some long-term, effective assistance, but who knows what that would be? It is so hard to work with career criminals, especially, since their lifestyle is so ingrained. It may be best to "get 'em while they're young" and institute a process of reform in first-timers, for example--in order to help prevent recidivism. But even this is iffy, since people don't have patience and don't really know what truly helps other people.

Answer 2

Incarceration is punitive at this time. During the 1970's and 1980's there was a reformatory system. As the prison population increased the prison direction and resources moved to a more punitive/reformatory system. First time offenders are given the greatest opportunity and those who are repeat offenders the prison resources for education, vocational or institutional jobs become further away from being able to acquire. Based on my experience prison should be pure punitive so that the very thought of having to return brings chills up ones spine. It should be hard work, no television, a radio and plenty of library time to acquire books to read, minimal prisoner movement. I say take it back to the basics and stay with that. The only problem with this picture is that prisoners would learn how to read, become versed on many topics. What would the world do with a group of men coming out of prison well read as any college professor? The prison system's history in Illinois use to be hard and produced many outstanding people because they were forced to READ.

Answer 3

The concept of the modern penitentiary began in the U.S. The first were developed by the Quakers in the nineteenth century. The purpose of the penitentiary was to give a wrongdoer the opportunity to understand their wrongdoing and resolve to correct their ways. It was to be a place for penitence. Through this process an individual could be redeemed and become a productive member of society.

The concept of prison as a reformatory is based on the belief that people can redeem themselves and that a second chance is possible. However, the view of incarceration as punitive instead of reformative is far more popular. There is very little thought given or financial support to programs geared toward reforming the convicted.

Which is better? Well, that depends. For grievously heinous crimes, punishment only may be quite reasonable. It is possible that some crimes warrant no consideration of a “second chance.” But, most people incarcerated today have not been convicted of a violent or brutal crime. The most common reason for incarceration is conviction for drug related offenses [non-violent.] In many of these cases, a focus on reform may be appropriate – particularly if there is an expectation that they will serve a limited sentence and then return to society. Reform can give them the skills to cope in civil society. This can also be quite cost effective for society as well. For example, illiteracy is quite high in the convicted population. A criminal who is illiterate, is far more likely to re-offend than someone who can read. Literacy classes in the lock-up could go a ways to reducing return visits. Literacy is essential to securing employment. Is it soft on crime? The short answer is, no and it is beneficial to society.

With regard to the punitive nature of prison, we should remember that a convicted criminal is sent to prison as punishment and not sent there for punishment. Punishment should be appropriate, proportional and not without limits. This is part of the rule of law. The U.S. incarcerates more of its population than any other developed country. We should ask ourselves what the return has been for all of this punishment. Are we safer? Are we better off?

Answer 4

Given the somewhat ''luxurious'' conditions some prisoners are enjoying these days, I think many jails are neither punitive or reformatory. Some prisoners have been known to re-offend in order to be sent BACK to jail so that they can enjoy the relative comfort. I know this does not apply to all jails but when you have prisoners enjoying playstations & Sky tv, it makes you wonder. I believe that banging someone up for X no. of years does v. little to make them understand the consequences of their actions, especially paedophiles/sex offenders. A high % of prisoners re-offend upon release.
Perhaps imprisonment could be coupled with therapy/community service, making the offender confront their victims or their families/the public & do something towards repairing the damage done. I thinks it largely depends on each individual case & history of the offender. I don't think one outweighs the other by a great margin but reform does have an edge over imprisonment.

Answer 5

Punitive-- Unfortunately our criminal justice system cannot afford to provide proper counseling or therapy to our many inmates-- did u know that the United States has the highest amount of people incarcerated in the world?! We need more resources and financial help to provide the adequate treatments, classes and staff to these individuals if not then prison will be a constant revolving door, which if u do your research its whats going on...... We have so many repeat offenders that may or may have not had a good upbringing, live a life of crime all their life, don't get an education, commit crimes out of boredom, for survival or plain ignorance they then they get caught, get locked up, they do their time but don't have a rehabilitative plan or a counselor in place... They then they get released and we expect them to be law-abiding citizens!! No, they come out angry at the world, spending months or years in jail w/ no counseling or therapy only make them harbor angry feeling at the system and the world around them-

Answer 6

As a starter, the U.S. has more of its citizens incarcerated than any other western country. This is a lead in as I would like to answer your question with another question.

Are the three strike laws (three strikes and you are (out) meaning in lock up for life) reformatory or punitive?

Answer 7

neither they claim reform but its no more than a 12 step AA program.the only punishment is loss of freedom.other than that it is a school for criminals who end up commiting more crimes after release and end up back to start the cycle all over again .change is needed badly in the justice system which is more crooked than the crooks

Answer 8

punitive everyone i ever knew that went in came out way worse and most the time end up back in there...i just saw the movie Civil Brand and it is a great example of prision systems.

Answer 9

It is punitive. There is very little reform going on. I don't know if that is right or wrong.

Answer 10

Both. Most states and the entire federal government focus on public safety (locking them up), and also re-entry (finding homes, jobs, social service agencies, substance abuse, etc. for when they leave). They also want to deter people from wanting to commit crimes against the people so they dont make their stay very easy.