Henry - Prison systems

Henry Quillin
Mr. Roddy
IHSS
25 March 2020
Prison Conditions 
I chose to read “Objects Made by Prisoners in the United States”. This article is very interesting and provides a small insight as to what it might be like to be incarcerated in an American prison. It shows that inmates are not given many basic items and don’t have access to some of the things that we, as free people, could not live without. It is astonishing to me that inmates don’t even get access to a proper toothbrush, and are instead given toothbrushes that don’t have a handle. It could be argued that this is sensible because there are many instances where prisons have made shivs out of the toothbrush they were given; however, I believe that this is a problem that starts with the harsh prison conditions, not the inmates themselves.  If prisoners were given the proper resources that they need, there would be less violence, as inmates would not have to fight for basic items. Overcrowding, insufficient staff training, excessive solitary confinement, and insecure facilities are all recipes for violence. These horrible conditions are what make American prisons so dangerous. Inmates endure dangerous situations every day, and one in five American prisoners say they’ve been assaulted by another prisoner or a guard. According to Dave Gilson, “19% of all male inmates in US prisons say they’ve been physically assaulted by other inmates”, and “21% say they’ve been assaulted by prison staff.” If prisons treated their inmates better in the first place, then violence would not be as widespread and prisons could overall become less dangerous. So instead of trying to solve the problem by taking the handles off toothbrushes and melting off the plastic on pens, prisons need to start providing better conditions and taking better care of their inmates.

Works Cited 
Gilson, Dave. “10 Stats about Assault and Sexual Violence in America's Prisons.” Mother Jones,
        23 June 2017, www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/attacks-and-assaults-behind-bars-cca-              private-prisons/. 

Comments

  1. Andreas CantuMarch 26, 2020 at 8:49 AM

    How does the public handle the news of the lack of rights given to prisoners. Even if they have committed crimes they should still be treated with some decency because, it reflects our country into the eyes of those looking to come this country. Have there been any monumental steps in the aid to prisoners.

    ReplyDelete

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