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Prison Reform in the U.S Andreas Carollo

Prison reform in us

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Page 1: Prison reform in us

Prison Reform in the U.SAndreas Carollo

Page 2: Prison reform in us

The Issue With the Current Prison System

-Mass incarcerations

-U.S prison populations peaked 2.2 million in 2016, holds 22% of all inmates worldwide

-Over 60% of prison populations are made up of drug offenses

-Results in over-populated prisons and high prices to pay for inmates (food, water, shelter, etc.)

-More economically sound to treat this issue as a treatment instead of a punishment

Page 3: Prison reform in us

The Problem With Implementing Reform

-Cost $74 billion each year to fund all prisons with taxpayers money

-Big companies who invest in private prisons generate revenue off the amount of money brought in, such as Corrections Corp. of America

-Varies from $14,000-$60,000 to incarcerate/keep a prisoner behind bars

-Can save up to $30 billion to rehabilitate all drug offenses in U.S prisons, would cost private investors, politicians, and lobbyists much profit

Page 4: Prison reform in us

Questions About Prison Reform

-How can a citizen push to reform how prisons systems are currently run?

-What roles do large companies play in funding prisons and making profits?

-Is this an issue on a global scale?

-Is this an issue of morality of economics?

-What kind of political skullduggery keeps the prison systems this way?

Page 5: Prison reform in us

Available Research on Prison Reform

-Many reliable news sources cover this issue through blog posts and articles.

-Various economists study the issue and publish journals and articles of their findings and research

-Records from all private and public prison systems in the U.S

-Information from databases such as ABI and ebsco (located on Rowan’s library website)

Page 6: Prison reform in us

Specific Sources

-Godard, Thierry. "The Economics of the American Prison System." The Economics of the American Prison System. N.p., 19 Nov. 2015. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

-"Drug Rehab Instead of Prison Could Save Billions, Says Report." Rehab International. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

-Downs, Ray. "Who's Getting Rich off the Prison-Industrial Complex? | VICE | United States." VICE. N.p., 17 May 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

Page 7: Prison reform in us

Potential Challenges

-Taking the benefactors (big investors) out of the equation so that there is no bribery/persuasion while trying to reform the system

-Reform to rehabilitation can lead to a surplus of patients at rehabilitation centers

-Transition from prison to “free world” can be tough to acclimate to

Page 8: Prison reform in us

Why Is It Relevant?

-U.S prison population is at an all-time high

-Everybody keeps ignoring the issue although it needs to be addressed

-Every day more people are incarcerated for issues that would be better solved through means of rehabilitation rather than prison.