Sierra Heaton

3757 South Fishery Lane

South Salt Lake, UT 84119

January 9, 2018

Instructor Bohannon
English 2010-429
Salt Lake Community College
Taylorsville, UT 84084

To whom it may concern,

The topic I chose to write about for my argumentative paper was the United States Prison
Systems. I found this subject fascinating, after I was required to create a power point on this
current event. I wanted to learn more about why this topic is becoming more relevant in the
news, and what kinds of problems our country was facing because of the way we disciplined. I
also wanted to find out why the US has the highest rate of incarceration and the highest
recidivism rate in the world. It appeared that we were failing at something inside our justice
system that was causing us to have an outstanding number of prisoners. I was curious as to what
the surrounding nations were doing and how their approach to incarceration has proven to keep
people at a lower percentage of recidivism. This topic was exciting, current, and intriguing,
making it an enjoyable topic to research.

My paper will be addressed to the American public, specifically those paying taxes. The readers
will become acquainted with the issues inside the modern-day prison systems, and how other
nations (particularly Norway) have integrated a new system to solve them. I will explain why
these problems affect all citizens, economically, socially, and environmentally, and how we as a
nation can solve these problems. By the end of this essay, I hope to convince the average
everyday citizen that they make a difference in solving this problem.

The hardest part of this assignment was narrowing down the massive amount of research I had
collected. There were so many problems and issues that dealt with our prisons that I did not
know where to start, or what issue to focus on. Besides the fact that prisoners are being treated as
animals, there is an entirely different side of problems dealing with prison corporations. I had no
idea that prisons were mostly run by corporations instead of the government. All this information
was overwhelming. As a began looking at the similarities all my sources had in common, I
noticed that they all kept falling back to the same issue: high recidivism rates. Recidivism is the
foundation of every other issue incarcerations are facing. If we can find a way to solve this
problem then every other issue will fall into place as well. We may not be able to fix everything
overnight, but it’s a suitable place to start.

Sincerely,

Sierra Heaton
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Sierra Heaton

Instructor Bohannon

English 2020

2 April 2018

Why do we Fail at Rehabilitation?

Devising a Prison Reformation in America

The United States prison system is a subject that has never crossed the minds of most

citizens. It never particularly interested me either, until a close friend of mine was arrested.

Talking to him about his experiences has opened my eyes about a massive underlying problem

that need to be addressed in this country. Many might think that this topic is irrelevant, but it is

affecting every citizen in more ways than one. The United States approach to incarceration is

unsuccessful because recidivism rates are astounding, prisons are dehumanizing, and nothing is

being done to help those inside.

The United States currently has 2.2 million people incarcerated. Ryan Cox, stated in a

2013 TED talk, “If we had thirty people in a room, two of you would be in jail, two more of you

would be on probation, and three more of you will have an encounter with the justice system

within a year” (Cox, 2013). This makes America one of the highest jailers in the world. The

United States also have a recidivism rate of 77% (Foss,2016). That means that 77% of prisoners

that are released from jail, will return in less than five years. This percentage is appalling, yet

nothing has ever been done to decrease it. More people go back to prison then stay out. Some

might say it is because of the many mentally ill people the U.S. has, and others might blame the
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war on drugs. However, after researching other nations approaches to incarcerations, there is one

major difference they seem to value in their prisons, which is rehabilitation.

The second reason the United States fails at incarceration stems from the fact that the

penal institutions are dehumanizing. Michael Moore, a journalist and documenter stated, “our

prisons are not preparing people for reintegration into society.” The jails and prisons in America

are more dehumanizing than any other country. Protocol is to lock an individual inside a tiny

cell, that resembles a concrete box, surrounded with firearms and wire, and then repeatedly

remind them that they are a criminal. In turn, it makes inmates not care about their actions and

decisions in the outside world. Because of what they have been labeled as, it’s what they believe.

Lastly there is no help available for prisoners inside jails and prisons. The United States

does not provide proper training to convicts for the outside world. There is no mental health

treatment, limited drug treatment, and no ability to receive job training and education, inside

these institutions. Neighboring countries have recognized these issues and created ways to solve

these problems. One specific nation has completely reformed their prisons within the last thirty

years and has decreased their recidivism rate to a little to nothing amount. Their approach to

incarceration has proven to be successful and should be considered in the U.S. as a way resolve

the many issues stated above.

Solution

Although American’s prison system is unsuccessful, other countries (specifically

Norway) are fixing problems that occur in prisons by providing special resources, hiring

mentors, and allowing inmates to participate in extracurricular activities.

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Norway’s penal institutions are “designed to heal rather than harm” (Davis, 2014).

Instead of concrete walls, and depressing solitary quarters, prisons in Norway have painted walls,

bathrooms, and an open living room. It somewhat resembles a college dormitory room. They

offer drug rehabilitation, as well as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is a type of

counseling that helps prisoners understand what may have drove them to commit the crime, and

ways to prevent it from happening again. It gives them a way to decompress and cope with their

emotions. Most inmates, reconnect with the family or peers that may have gotten them involved

in the crime. Cognitive behavior therapy gives them strategies to help avoid those people and

situations as well as offers a support system that a convict may not have had access to. This is an

incredible alternative to the limited counseling available to prisoners in the United States.

Officers that act more as mentors and motivators, instead of guards, is another approach

Norway uses. This provides another support system that a prisoner can use to get help and

decreases the dehumanization aspect. Besides mentors, inmates also have access to educational

classes and skill programs. If America implemented this, more inmates would have a skill and

something to fall on when they got released. Michael Moore commented that “Norway reserves

prison for the worst” (Moore 2016). This is beneficial to many who are in prison for victimless

crimes and misdemeanors, as they can receive the attention/support they need. Ultimately, if the

United states could implement these same applications, our communities would be safer.

America’s and Norway’s prisons are vastly different. While the U.S. focuses on

punishment, Norway focuses on rehabilitation. Most inmates in America live in solitary

confinement for a sizable portion of their day, while Norway encourages convicts to socialize. It

is not surprising that depression and suicide rates are high inside our prisons, as found by the

World Prison Brief, but in Norway’s penal institutions it is rarely seen. It is incredible to see a
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system that works and has statistics to prove it. While these reformations have proven to be

beneficial, cost would be the major setback for implementing these plans into the prison systems.

Although implementing Norway’s tactics into our prison system would raise tax dollars,

we are already spending this money. The U.S. spends about thirty-one thousand dollars a year

per prisoner while Norway spends an average of thirty-eight thousand dollars a year (Cox, 2013).

Looking at these statistics, Norway spends 15-20% more on their prisoners, except their inmates

are receiving mental help, rehabilitation, education, and applicable jobs skills. More importantly,

by implementing these plans into our prisons, our prison populations would decrease, therefore

lowering the tax payer’s costs in the long run.

There are multiple ways to approach this massive epidemic. Every citizen can make a

difference by getting congregations, schools, and extracurricular groups involved in local penal

institutions. Many church groups have begun to teach classes and provide activities for inmates.

Besides local organizations, doctors, teachers, yoga instructors, and social workers, have started

to volunteer time as well. This draws awareness to the lack of certified workers inside prisons.

Writing letters to local politicians is another way for individuals to bring attention to these

inhumane issues and advocate change.

Inside penal institutions, the government must enable a legitimate rehabilitation program,

and create improved treatment centers. It is impediment for those with mental health issues to

receive the treatment and care they need. Secondly, the Correction Corporations of America

must employ therapists, educators, and mentors into these programs, rather than guards with little

knowledge in rehabilitation. Penitentiaries must have a support system that inmates can

surround themselves with, instead of a staff that they are dominated by. Both systems need to

implement job trainings and career classes to prepare inmates to sustain themselves in the outside
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world. Rather than dehumanizing convicts, we can give them the resources, to keep them out of

jail. “Justice for society demands that people we release from prison should be less likely to

cause further harm or distress to others, and better equipped to live as law-abiding citizens”

(Moore, 2016).

The United States recidivism rates are astounding, its prisons are dehumanizing, and

there is little to no support for prisoners. America is failing at incarceration. The unsuccessful

methods our prisons use, are affecting all people. However, there are solutions and actions that

can be taken to decline our recidivism rate and solve our incarceration problem. Without making

changes to our criminal system, our prison and criminal rate will continue to grow. With the

eighty billion dollars we are spending each year on prisons, changes can easily be made to help

our citizens.
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Works Cited

Cox, Ryan. “What Can We Learn from the World's ‘Most Humane’

Prison?” TEDxSanAntonio Independently Organized TED Event, Ted Talk,

tedxsanantonio.com/2013-speakers/ryan-cox/.

Davis, Daniel. “Comparative Analysis of United States and Norwegian Prison System.”

SlideServe, 11 Oct. 2014, www.slideserve.com/judith/comparative-analysis-of-united-

states-and-norwegian-prison-system.

Foss, Adam. A Prosecutor's Vision for a Better Justice System. TED2016, TED Talk,

2016,www.ted.com/talks/adam_foss_a_prosecutor_s_vision_for_a_better_justice_system

/up-next.

Glaze, Lauren E. “Correctional Populations in the United States, 2013.” Bureau of Justice

Statistics (BJS), Office of Justice Programs, 19 Dec. 2014,

www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5177.

“Highest to Lowest-Prison Population Rate.” World Prison Brief, Institute for Criminal Policy

Research, www.prisonstudies.org/highest-

lowest/prison_population_rate?field_region_taxonomy_tid=All.

Knafo, Saki. “The U.S. Is Locking People Up For Being Poor.” The Huffington Post,

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 Feb. 2014, www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/12/debtors-

prisons-report_n_4768320.html.

Michael, Moore, director. “Inside the World's Most Humane Prison.” Documentaries, Channel 4

News, 27 Oct. 2016.

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