Unit VII Body Revision

Running head: PRISON REFORM 1

Prison Reform

Robert Benders

Columbia Southern University

PRISON REFORM 2

Prison Reform

Prison reform is crucial because it helps the convicts to transform into their lives back

into society upon release by creating a constructive culture through prison programming. It

entails providing the inmates with the essential skills, education, and character development that

help them transition to life outside prison successfully. Duwe (2017) points out that eight months

after being released, over 70% of men are still unable to secure work. This finding aligns with

the fact that former prisoners face numerous difficulties in trying to succeed in the post-prison

life, which bar them from obtaining employment, housing, and other necessities pertinent to

becoming productive in society. Some of the factors that contribute to this situation include

societal stigma against offenders and lack of skills for self-employment, job searching, and

technical know-how. This can be frustrating for the former convicts, and it may negatively

impact their mental health status and quality of life. Therefore, proper and effective prison

programming can help reduce these challenges by preparing the inmates through boosting their

skills and technical knowledge, consequently, assisting prisoners to transition back to society and

reduce recidivism.

Moreover, prison reform contributes significantly to reducing recidivism. Recidivism

refers to cases where prisoners who have served their sentences return to crime after their

release. Accordingly, prison reform seeks to ensure that inmates use their time in incarceration

engaging in constructive activities and sustaining positive relationships with their close family or

friends who are their support network (Farmer, 2017; Kreager & Kruttstchnitt, 2018). By

building on their skills and maintaining a healthy system of support, prisoners have a starting

point when released from incarceration, which makes it easier for them to maintain good conduct

and be constructive in society. Research shows that only 31 percent of inmates in federal prisons

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PRISON REFORM 3

receive regular visitors because many of them do not understand prison visitation policies

(Farmer, 2017). Hence, prison reforms seek to fix this problem by providing more time for

visitations so that inmates can maintain their support networks. In this way, the reforms can

significantly contribute to reducing recidivism, even though there is criticism over their effect on

the behavior of prisoners.

Critics of prison reform claim that the resulting changes in the prison systems may make

them too comfortable, reducing their ability to serve as a deterrent to crime. Critics note that

prison sentences should serve as a punishment for offenses and should not be too lenient that

offenders fail to be afraid of it. Duwe (2017) points out that the critics of prison reform are

concerned about the prisons getting too comfortable and less punishing for offenders, which will

make them care much less about the consequences of crime. This concern is relevant because a

prison sentence serves as the main deterrent to crime in any criminal justice system, and thus

compromising it in favor of offenders may reduce its effectiveness. However, a basic and

significantly right a prisoner does not get during incarceration is liberty (Duwe, 2017; Toman,

2019). Inmates do not have the freedom of movement or association to carry out many activities

because they are limited by tight rules and schedules and lack freedom of choice. Accordingly,

these restrictions are a great punishment to the inmates, and prison programming and frequent

visitation are not enough to make incarceration a comfortable alternative to freedom.

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PRISON REFORM 4

References

Duwe, G. (2017). The use and impact of correctional programming for inmates on pre-and

postrelease outcomes. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National

Institute of Justice.

Farmer, M. (2017). The importance of strengthening prisoners’ family ties to prevent reoffending

and reduce intergenerational crime. Ministry of Justice. Retrieved from

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/importance-of-strengthening-prisoners-

family-ties-to-prevent-reoffending-and-reduce-intergenerational-crime

Kreager, D. A., & Kruttschnitt, C. (2018). Inmate society in the era of mass incarceration.

Annual Review of Criminology, 1, 261-283. doi:10.1146/annurev-criminol-032317-

092513

Toman, E. L. (2019). The victim–offender overlap behind bars: Linking prison misconduct and

victimization. Justice Quarterly, 36(2), 350-382. doi:10.1080/07418825.2017.1402072

Comment Summary Page 2

1. The Body paragraphs should come as a separate section after the conclusion of the Lit Review. i. When you submit your revision, submit the entire paper as it written thus far.

2. transform into their lives back into society?

Awkward wording here - read aloud and revise for clarity. 3. This what? Specify this vague pronoun. 4. It may also increase their risk of recidivism if they are unable to obtain a job and thus a paycheck.

Page 3 5. I would make it clear here that increased visitation is just one way that reforms could help decrease recidivism.

As is, the construction of the paragraph makes it sound like these visits are the main factor that determines recidivism.

6. Specify who "them" is. 7. significant