There is one serious fault that America has yet to actually address: the medieval prison system that we have implemented and have actually enlarged over the last few decades.
There is one serious fault that America has yet to actually address: the medieval prison system that we have implemented and have actually enlarged over the last few decades.
No other nation imprisons its citizens the way America does. For a free democratic nation we have a system that belongs with some sort of tyranny or oppressive order. It is oppressive and targets people of color – particularly African-Americans.
There are more African-American males in prisons than in college institutions. That is not the stuff that makes a nation great.
I have a degree in Correctional Administration from the University of Wisconsin. It was during internships that I noticed the actual prison systems did not match the scholarly material I was studying.
There was no direct attempt to address recidivism or actually rehabilitate offenders. The prisons were warehouses that eventually developed into “cash cows” by the manipulative and greedy. US prisons for the most part have become predators on the general population.
Most people who enter prison are there because they could not afford to have adequate legal representation. Once they enter the system, there are programs and “catches” that keep them returning or not leaving at all.
I believe that 80% of those who are currently incarcerated should not even be there. They are no threat to society and should come out and start contributing.
That is not going to happen too soon. First of all, there are a lot of people who rely on a good population within prison grounds. Labor unions representing the guards lobby and ensure that they lock up as many as they can and keep the revolving door going for those who get out but are destined to return.
The construction lobby keeps the state and federal budgets flush with new capital for building more and more prisons. As they build them, the demand for more inmates increases. Then there is the slave labor within the prison cells that is also known as “prison industries”.
The incarcerated are forced to work 10 – 14 hours a day for the total pay of about $1.70 per day (not an hour – a day!). The owners of the prisons and the outside contractors sell the products of this work for whopping profits and personal gain. Privatized prisons are the worst as the profit motive greatly increases.
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