conditions+in+prisons

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3. Overcrowded conditions in prisons are unacceptable and must be remedied.


 * QUESTION 3: PRO-A

Reyna Lusson


 * Overcrowding in Prisons: Unconstitutional **

Overcrowding in prisons is cruel and unusual punishment, and is therefore unconstitutional. Our 8th amendment bans cruel and unusual punishment, and I would say that a grand total of less than 28 square feet violates both of these rules. The idea of crowed living conditions being cruel is debatable, but what is more discussed is that fact that the situation is unusual; when two people are convicted of the exact same crime—drug possession, for example—it says in our constitution that these two people should under-go the same punishment, and that includes the same living conditions in prison. Why should one person face over-crowing when the other doesn’t have to? This is one reason overcrowding is unusual. In addition to unequal treatment of inmate, overcrowding causes more problems and conflict among prisoners; “because the guards often can't see over the bunks, anything can happen—assaults, rapes, gambling, [or] loan sharking” (Clark). Because it provides unequal treatment for equal times, and because it increases violence and issues among inmates, overcrowding in prisons is unconstitutional.


 * Citation: **

Clark, C. S. (1994, February 4). Prison overcrowding. //CQ Researcher //, //4 // , 97-120.  || QUESTION 3: PRO-B

TJ Kenendy

Overcrowding on prisons is an issue that needs to be resolved before things get out of control. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics "In 2009, over 7.2 million people were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole at yearend — 3.1% of all U.S. adult residents or 1 in every 32 adults." (bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov) This is the highest in the world, and causes big problems in placing people in prison causing overcrowding. The overcrowding causes big problems within a jail. With so many people in a tight space illness and disease, if not detected, can spread rapidly to inmates and employ's of the prison and leading to great loss of government money fixing the problem. One of the main goals of prison is to re-habilitate prisoners into society and prevent them from re-offending. In an overcrowded prison environment prisons do not get the need re-habilitation to prevent them from re-offending and returning to prison. Re-offending does more than effect the prisons, it fills up courts with re-offenders along with new ones slowing down the system. The biggest problem with overcrowding is safety, for both prisoners and prison employes. The limited space causes tension amongst prison gangs fighting over territory leading to fights, riots, and death with prisons employes getting hurt or killed in the brawl. Over all overcrowding is a problem that needs to be fixed before it gets out of control.

//Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)//. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. < [|http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp]>.

"Improving Conditions in Overcrowded Prisons — Prison Fellowship International." //Prison Fellowship International//. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. < [|http://www.pfi.org/cjr/downloads/ten-keys-to-improving-conditions-in-overcrowded-prisons]> || John Masters Almost evry Crime that is committed is worthy of doing time but it is understandable that petty crimes are almost worthless for time in jail. Other than that, I think that it is necessary to keep criminals locked up. Larry Landis, a public defender,says, "'I understand if you lock up a rapist, you prevent rapes...,'" and then he talks about how putting a drug dealer behind bars does not help by saying, "'...somebody still wants to buy, so you're not preventing anything. Why waste resources on incarcerating them? Use those resources to invest in additional monitoring, supervision or treatment or law enforcement,'" (Landis). I disagree with this statement because by taking a drug dealer off the streets, you are preventing his or her buyers from getting drugs and that is almost like therapy in itself. You are also helping the convict recover from their addiction. Judge Steven Alm states that, "[y]ou don't want to send a 20-year-old who's driving a stolen car and has a little dope on him when he's caught to prison... [h]e's not going to come out better," (Alm). I don not agree with this because if that person gets caught, they know how easy it will be to get caught for a second time. He won't do things like that again and that is why we should send him to jail. Overcrowded prisons are of course a problem, but the solution is not to take people, who deserve their time, out of prison.
 * QUESTION 3: CON-A

Works Cited Katel, P. (2011, March 11). Downsizing prisons. //CQ Researcher//, //21//, 217-240. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/ || QUESTION 3: CON-B BEN In today’s world there have been many crimes committed, leading into many inmates in jail. There has been an argument whether this crammed place, is considered cruel and unusual. In an article by Peter Katel, he states “I understand if you lock up a rapist, you prevent rapes…But locking up low-level drug dealers is different, he says, because the market for drugs is endless.” This I think is true. Even though the overcrowding of jails isn’t that big of a deal, Cops need to set their priorities. People who are doing drugs are not putting anyone else in danger except themselves. Drug dealers aren’t putting anyone in danger, because the person buying the drug is aware of the effects. In another article, Charles S. Clark states “In Georgia, some prison inmates are housed in trailers; in New Jersey many live in tents; and in North Carolina, hundreds of prisoners don't even remain in the state.” I think this is ridiculous, if your jail can’t keep up with the amount of inmates coming in, then you should let up on the arresting. I mean the US has the most people arrested in the world, more than Russia, more than the Middle East, and more than the UK. Though jails have too many inmates, I don’t think it’s the conditions that are wrong; I think it’s the rate of arrests. Clark, C. S. (1994, February 4). Prison overcrowding. //CQ Researcher //, //4 // , 97-120. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/ Katel, P. (2011, March 11). Downsizing prisons. //CQ Researcher //, //21 // , 217-240. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/ ||