Do prisons really work?

Question

Have they lowered crime rates? Have they done any good at all? What could we do instead of prisons? Should we do like they did in biblical times?

Answer 1

Gere is a link to a series of articles that appears to be tailored for your question!:

Can Prisoners Be Reformed? :
- Prisons in Crisis
- Is the Solution Part of the Problem?
- Is Real Reform Possible?
- Opening a Window of Hope ...
http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/2001/5/8a/article_01.htm

(This ^ URL will likely be modified soon, at which time the Advanced Search at http://watchtower.org/search/search_e.htm will find its new URL.)

Answer 2

They don't lower crime rate that much. You are released from prison and now you are felon, ex-con and you have a criminal record. If you don't have a life of crime to fall back on - you are faced with great obstacles. It's hard to do a lot of things because you are a felon. Jobs, loans, housing,insurance and I could go on and on. Very few are rehabilitated. It is warehousing people and give them the bare necessities to live on. I spent 20 months in Prison for forgery and it was the worst 20 months of my life. After being released, I had trouble going to Walmart. And if I knew the answer to the prison problem, believe me I would be the first to step up! What they are doing now isn't working for sure. And I was at a min., security prison and the conditions weren't good, even for prison. As in biblical times are concerned. I think there would a lot less crime if we punished people publicly.

Answer 3

what a bunch of morons. The prison system is a business, just like oil, and the war on drugs. The powers that be are not interested in reducing recidivism, but keeping the prisons full. In the south, prisons are in depressed areas, to bolster stagnant economies. Good idea, right? wrong, now they have to keep them full. They love non-violent offenders, as they can be sent out to work in the community as slave labor. It's the same principle as fines, do you think they care if you wear a seat belt?
Just another way to take your hard earned money. Violent offenders should be jailed, all others should perform commmunity service.

Answer 4

Other than keeping felons from committing more crimes while they are in lock up ... NO.

We should face the facts, with all the crap we give inmates (weight rooms, commissary priveleges, TV, radio, conjugal visits, steak on the menu, free elective surgery, etc) Prison life might just be better than living on the outside!

We need to keep them warehoused as long as possible (under circumstances alot more sparse than they have now.) Atleast we won't have to worry about them committing new offenses while the are inside!

Answer 5

Prisons are just a place to throw people away. Biblical punishments are not good enough. All people who break the law need to be killed and left to rot. Anyone can be judge, jury and executioner. A well place nuke will probably be the best. If the government is bad so are the people. All must go! God Bless America!

Answer 6

Prisons are a temporary fix. The justice and rehabilitation system in place is inefficient and failing miserably. US has 5% of the world's population, yet is only second to China in sheer number of prisoners.

Answer 7

Of course they haven't lowered any crime rates, I mean we've just used this system for hundreds of years...

And yes they do help.

Answer 8

I think it does some good help to an extent. =)
In some countries(like Singapore), we have corrective programmes to amalgate these people back into society.
So, i would say prisons are necessary to keep criminals in.

Answer 9

Prisons do keep the misfits out of my hair.

Answer 10

Find an island where they can't leave and just put them all there together and let them kill each other.