Law Homework Help

After you finish the readings for Week 6, post a message (here) in the conference in which you complete the following: “What do you see as effective solutions to problems of overcrowding in correctional institutions? Is building more prisons the answer? What about privatization?” Be Specific.

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Tony Whitaker

I think the most effective way to solve the overcrowding in prisons if to find a more effective way of punishment for nonviolent offenders such as someone being convicted for petty offensives of nonviolent drug offenders, the prisons are so overcrowded because of this I think this solution will allow violent offenders to serve out their time and nonviolent offenders to be punish in a more sustainable and effective way. Building more prisons would just make the overcrowding worst because then it will feel like they must fill the prisons because it is too empty and they risk the prison being closed. although there are some good pros to privatization in prisons there are also a lot of cons as well such as it creates corruption because without prisoners the prison has no profit which may cause the prisoners to serve a longer sentence then intended.

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Edward Chavez

Although building more prisons would seem to be the answer to prison overcrowding, it really is not the solution for the problem. If the state were to build more prisons, then you’ll need to hire more guards to watch over them and run the place. Being a prison guard is not the easiest job in the world to have, it comes with a lot of stress. Not to mention what it costs to run the place. But there are a few things that can be done that would help. One thing would be to give the judges some flexability on any convictions and replace all mandatory sentencing laws. Leave it up to the judge to make the sentence to fit the crime. Another thing that can and should be done is to get rid of the, “Three Strikes Law”, for all non-violent convictions. In California, those who get convicted for non-violent crimes will still get 25 to life sentencing. According to the web page, “Insider”, “Nearly 4000 prisoners in California are now serving life sentences for a third strike offense that was neither violent nor serious”. This number makes up more than 40 percent of the 8500 third-strike population. One more thing I think would help with overcrowding would to have an earlier release time for prisoners who show they trying to stay the course and not make them do their minimum time before being released back out.

References

Christopher Petrella, Insider, 2012, Ten Ways To Reduce The Prison Population In America, (https://www.businessinsider.com/10-ways-to-reduce-us-prison-population-2012-10 (Links to an external site.))

Michael Mitchell, 2014, 4 Ways States Can Reduce Incarceration Rates (https://www.cbpp.org/blog/4-ways-states-can-reduce-incarceration-rates (Links to an external site.))