Do you think the USA depends too much on the jail system to punish criminals?

Question

I think the USA legal system depends too much on jails and prisions...I'm not saying that I am anti-punishment but I think we need to look to other methods to punish certain criminals what do you guys think and do you have any ideas on what should be done?

Answer 1

We need penal colonies in the Aleutian Islands. Send all of them there, and airlift them food once a month. Let em do what they want - if they all kill each other, no great loss.

Love jack

Answer 2

Living in the USA and seeing how the system does fail for any number of different reasons, some of them legitimate, I like the approach of a country like Singapore who, a few years ago you may recall, got embroiled in an international criminal justice battle when a fellow by the name of Michael Faye (sp?) was caught and punished for committing some variety of sex crime. (I don't recall all of the details now.) His punishment was several licks with the wet rotan, presumably on his back and/or backside. At the time, it was described that procedures called for a doctor to be present, not so much to prevent injury from occurring as that was inevitable, but to wake the person up partly through their punishment if they should pass out so they could feel more of the pain inflicted. Given the comparitive crime rate of Singapore to the USA, perhaps they are onto something over there. I'd certainly be willing to give it a shot.

Answer 3

The state rely's on jails/prison/trv's (techinal rule violation camps) becuase that's all state allows. It would cost a significant amount for the states to invest in alternative rehabilitation centers, not to mention the cost to run the facility, pay a reasonable salary to it's staff, and care for the prisoners. The prisoners who need to eat, sleep, and receive proper care, IE: medical expenses, medications, etc... If you have a housing unit of 300, that's 300 people who have 300 differant needs, need for psychotropic drugs, mental health care, therapy with a psychiatrist/social worker, emergency room visits, clothing, food, recreation, incidentals and MUCH MUCH MORE. It cost approximately $15-25,000 to provide care for a single prisoner, so the bottom line really is cost unless the state decides to outsource rehabilitation programs to privately owned and operated facilities. Which is happening, slowly. There also is a large number of recidivist within the criminal community, meaning that most criminals are habitual offenders. I really hate to say it but a prision is like a brothal for devaints they do their deed, pay their time, get out and come back for round to, it's a way of life, it revolves around the biopsychsocial model, which some would beg to differ. Research some sociological theories about crime and devaince.

Prison is a joke for some of those people, here's why, prison teaches criminals how to become more proficient at their crimes upon release becuase they are surrounded by other criminals all day long. what else do they have to talk about other than where they went wrong and what they would've done differantly if they could do it again. There not sorry for what they did. They are sorry they got caught. They live vicariously through one another. It is not true in all cases but you'd be surprised about a devaints approach to life and survival methods. Any how I could babble on and on my undergrad is criminal justice. Sorry for spelling/grammatical errors my computer is not cooperating with me regarding spell check

Answer 4

No, the US should build as many prisons as they need, or decide just how much crime the citizens wish to tolerate or are willing to pay for. I am interested in your reason for saying something so ridiculous, unless you are bitter because a close family member is in jail for Christmas or something. Until you or any other liberal has a better idea, or a real solution to explain and share, jail, prison, execution, are the best ways to punish the criminal and remove the threat of continued predacious crime from harming you or anyone else. Most people who have been the victim of a crime (violent of not) feel violated and agree that removal from society is best for all concerned. Thank you for asking.

Answer 5

They suck the tax payers dry. think of approximately it. They tax our paychecks to furnish criminals unfastened nutrients, room and board! How stupid is that? So society has to pay the debt of criminals? as a result i've got faith in the dying penalty now and returned because of the fact that is not honest that a assassin gets to stay with a unfastened mattress with unfastened nutrients and roof over his head once you have homeless human beings out on the streets who did no longer dedicate against the regulation, yet they're homeless nonetheless! So some homeless human beings somewhat do desire to get locked up! some surely attempt to get locked up and that's a difficulty. did you be attentive to that the criminals get sturdy, unfastened wellbeing care in some prisons? And maximum non criminals could pay for it, and their own, and that is not honest in any respect.

Answer 6

The jail system is supposed to punish criminals... That's it's whole purpose... On second thought, your right... Why punish them at all??? Maybe, whenever someone commits a crime, we should all GATHER ROUND AND HAVE A GROUP HUG AND ASK THEM NICELY NOT TO DO IT AGAIN... That'll teach 'em!!!

Answer 7

jail is a good method to put criminals away for some time. And it also helps corruption to keep up as usual because the sentences arent long enough as they should be for some charges. Its simple. If they killed, let them be killed as well and if they commited a fraud, lock them up till they rot.
LOL

Answer 8

Unfortunately our legal system depends on elected officials whose job is to look tough on crime. The practice of minimum sentences and zero tolerance have swelled the prisons and put hardened criminals on the streets. We need to pick our battles like the Canadians do for what they consider low level crimes.

Answer 9

What else could be done. We want to keep people away from society to protect us and punish criminals. I don't care that jails aren't rehabilitative, because clearly they are not.

Answer 10

It's a terrible thing to take away somebody's freedom, and the only justification for it is to protect the rest of society from a violent predator. Unfortunately, we use incarceration for many non-violent offenses. These would be more justly dealt with by using a combination of restitution and community ervice: make the offender GIVE to society, rather than make society pay to warehouse them. Those with drug problems belong in rehab, not in prison with REAL criminals. The "War on Drugs", which has tried to incarcerate our way our of the drug problem, is a total failure. The punishmnet does more damage to the individual and to society than the drugs themselves, and making them illegal only creates lucrative opportunities for the black market in drugs, which produces a lot of violent crime.