As I rode by the castle like building I recounted all the
horrific stories that I had heard that went on behind the stone building. Which
once symbolized a building where those who housed it would be rehabilitated and
helped to fit back into society as an active and upstanding citizen, now is as
brutal and dangerous as being on the streets. The lack of caring that the
correctional officers, wardens, and those in power have leads the defenseless
to experience gang rapes, endure brutal beatings, and die from vicious
killings. Unfortunately the penal system now reflects the same places that more
than half of the inmates had come from, causing a sense of comfort. With the
comfort of knowing that your old friends, new friends and family will all be
there once your processed or will be arriving shortly after, the fact that you will be fed and
have a warm (not so comfortable) bed to sleep in every night is partially the
reason why many aren’t afraid to revisit the horrific place; these "accomodations" cause
the reentry into society to be extremely hard. Shortly after you’ve entered
the jail-house mentality will quickly set in, the need to protect your self by
any means necessary and the willingness to physically fight anyone tooth and
nail for what you believe in is quickly embedded into prisoners.(causing the fights that are showen below)
The part that saddens me the most about the prison system is the wasted
intelligence. The many chemists, business men, and philosophers
with so much knowledge of the street life they could give classes to help other
children who are also growing up in a rough environment realize there’s more to
life than slinging crack rock. Barbers, lawyers, and inventors; can you imagine
how intelligent the convict is who invented make shift clippers and needles for
tattoos. If those in power were to
accurately assess and watch these inmates they’d to realize the intelligence they possess. And instead of investing
in their downfall, more investment in there techniques will began to take place causing a tremendous turn around in society. The investment into these inmates futures will give them a sense of hope, organizing recreational activities, more schooling oppurtuties and rewards for participation will show them a sense of self-worth, and giving the inmates a sense of responsibility will result in less time to commit "in-prison crimes."
The penal system should try harder to getting back to
rehabilitation. Stop treating these inmates like caged in animals and understand
that we as humans make mistakes. Give them something more to look forward to,
make them choose a program once they enter the system. Assign advocates and
counselors to the prisoners, there shouldn’t be an option not to get up, these
inmates need structure. Because of where most of them come from structure is
a virtue they lack, the feeling of someone caring and having a role model is
often unheard of, so if prison is the place where they’ll get it than so be it.
Prison shouldn’t be considered a place where you just serve time and receive “three
hots and a cot”; it should be a much more structured environment where success is
the only option. If there were more rules and regulations concerning success in
the penile system the likelihood of over crowding, the brutal crimes I mentioned
earlier, recidivism, and the lack of being able to fully function in the environment
will be null and void.
A change is needed!
