Overcrowding in Prison?

Question

Some people are saying that "the key to fighting crime is putting criminals behind bars." What should be done about the overcrowding of prisons, then?

Answer 1

Crowded prisons make this a sad world. I believe that for the petty crimes, they should MAKE them do something they don't want to do, like work, maybe? (and at jobs they hate, or ones that nobody else wants!) I realise that there is work release, but isn't that optional? I'm not sure. Maybe if they were working in the first place, they wouldn't have had time to get themselves into trouble!(or tell them that if they go to jail so many times, they will go on death row! Hey, most of them can't be rehabilitated anyway, right?) And as for the death row inmates, kill them all and make room for more! What are they waiting for?

Answer 2

I think we need to take a serious look at mandatory sentencing guidlines, what is really a crime against society and what our government considers a crime because they can't put a system in place to regulate human behavior while making money from it.

I think we need to look at how the total percentage of our citizens that are behind bars stacks up against the rest of the civilized world. It's shcoking, to say the least.

We need to have serious debate and decide if our prisons will be or should be used to rehabilitate or punish those that are sent there.

We need to look at the disparity of prison terms between the haves and the have nots, one of the main factors that the have nots use as rational for disregarding the laws in the first place.

We need to put in place a system to weed out the mentally ill and decide whether prisons or mental health institutions are the place for them.

The most immediate thing that needs to be done is build enough space to accomodate those already in prisons and begin a nationwide dialogue to find out how to turn this trend around. It could be argued that overcrowding will in itself be deemed cruel and unusual, then what?

Answer 3

Prisons are overcrowded with people charged with petty crimes or drug dealers who get longer sentences than murderers or child molesters.
THIS is a money making corrupted circle. Don't you see if they don't put people in jail then lawyers, judges and people who work for prisons will have no jobs. THIS IS A BUSINESS
made from the poor and middle class because you don't see to many rich people go to jail.
JUSTICES and Liberties cost lots of money!!!!

Answer 4

Start putting down the trouble makers instead of spending millions to isolate them from the general population.

If an inmate assaults another inmate or staff member and that assault results in serious injury, execute them. Tacking on a life sentence to someone already sentenced to 60 years isn't much of a deterrent.

Put the more nonviolent offender to work on farming and building roads. Make the prison system profitable.

Knowing you WILL be sentenced to hard labor instead of kicking back, chowing down and doing PT all day is a major deterrent all in itself.

Bring back the chain gangs, screw those who say it's like slavery, it's NOT slavery it's PUNISHMENT.

Answer 5

Well you need to get a guy with an M60 to go in there and get all Rambo on them AckAckAckAck Blamblam blast. This is for the murderers, rapists, and pedos. Especially the goons who sit on death row for decades.

Answer 6

Build more.