The Problem Of Prison Overcrowding - 1598 Words

In this article, the authors determine several short-term solutions to the major problem of prison overcrowding and argue that the problem of prison overcrowding would not be ending anytime soon, due to the inadequate attempts by state governments to deal with the inhumane living conditions in overcrowded prisons. This article relates to the topic because the authors analyze how the federal government and some individual states, such as California and Florida, respond to the constrained resources causing unsuitable conditions in overfilled prisons. This source illuminates the perpetuity of prison overcrowding, as most attempts made by state government have been focused on limiting the number of prisoners and not on living conditions. The†¦show more content†¦Guetzkow This article strives to answer the how litigation and politics effects prison overcrowding. The two authors argue that the effects of prison overcrowding litigation has no actual effect in solving the issue of o vercrowding and would actually increase incarceration rates due to the promotion of a tough-on-crime political agenda. This source is relevant to my topic because it gives more information and quantitative data on how prison overcrowding policy affected five different aspects of the issue, which are prisons admissions, release, capital outlays for corrections, prison crowding, and incarceration rates. The main finding of the article is that politics played a large role in prison overcrowding, as politicians used a tough-on-crime agenda and increased spending on prisons to win elections. There is no reason to doubt the evidence and there are no problems with the source. Bachman This scholarly article by Bachman tries to solve the prison overcrowding issue in Alabama under the US Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). Bachman argues that a potential federal remedial order is needed to fix this issue, as states are not well equipped to deal with this issue. This source is relevant to my topic as it dives deeper into the issue of prison overcrowding at the state level. The source reveals how bad living conditions are in state prisons, especially those in Alabama, have become today due toShow MoreRelatedThe Problem Of Prison Overcrowding1166 Words   |  5 PagesRealignment Prison overcrowding has always been a problem in California prisons. It has been growing over the year and has now lead the United States Supreme Court to take part in trying to find a solution to this problem. Because of this issue, Plata litigation came through and had a significant impact on the way we see community corrections. The ruling in the Plata litigation in turn lead to AB 109 or The Public Safety Realignment Act to be implemented as a solution to California’s growing problem of overcrowdingRead MoreThe Problem Of Prison Overcrowding1395 Words   |  6 Pagesjustice system is prison overcrowding. To examine a nation’s soul, all one has to do is look inside of its prisons. Even though we have 5 percent of the world’s population we have 25 percent of the world’s prison population. The makeup of our prison population range from first time drug offenders to serial killers. Prisons serve a necessary function in society if used properly to keep the worst of the worst of the streets. In the last 40 years prisons has become a hammer where every problem appears toRead MoreThe Problem Of Prison Overcrowding1767 Words   |  8 PagesHave you ever noticed the serious issue of prison overcrowding? Growth of prison inmates over the years. Since the late 1900 s the prisons have been filling rapidly and that has caused a huge problems in the 2000 s. Overcrowding is not as easy of a fix that everyone thinks it is there is way more to it and it is way more complex. There are many reason that the inmate population continues to grow. Throughout the years, there has been a huge debate on ways to lower crime rate so there won t be asRead MoreThe Problem Of Prison Overcrowding2447 Words   |  10 PagesPrison overcrowding is a major problem in our criminal justice system and it continues to be a hotly debated topic as to how we should address the problem. One of the main reasons our prison systems have a problem with overcrowding is drugs. More specifically, the war on drugs started by President Reagan in 1982 brought a dramatic increase to the number of people put behind bars for drug offences. Mandatory minimum sentencing and truth in sentencing are two policies which have sent drug offendersRead MoreThe Problem Of Prison Overcrowding Essay1773 Words   |  8 Pagesthe 1980s, the California prison system and parolee population have grown tenfold. This is in great part due to the three strikes law that passed in 1994. This law made it a requirement for any offender convicted of a felony with two previous felonies to go to prison for a minimum of twenty five years. This law sent many people to prison for longer sentences due to non-violent drug offenses, when in actuality they should have been sentenced to rehab. Prison overcrowding is an important topic thatRead MoreThe Overcrowding Problem in Prisons1800 Words   |  7 Pages The number of people held in prison facilities across the world is increasing at a treme ndous rate with each passing day. This comprises both the people who have already been sentenced and those that are at the pre-trial stage. The effect of this is an increase in the prison population which leads to the problem of overcrowding (Atabay, 2013). Overcrowding in prisons can be defined as a situation where the number of prisoners in a given penal institution exceeds the official carrying capacityRead MoreThe Problem Of Prison Overcrowding880 Words   |  4 Pages. They get very limited space, making it easier to pass infections or diseases along each individual in the cell. The reason why there is a congestion in prisons is because to construct a cell is very expensive. Each cell in prisons cost about $75,000 to construct. According to the textbook, it would cost approximately 31 million dollars to build a medium security facility. The state tries to overcrowd prisoners in a cell to save money because cells are expensive to build, but on the long run theyRead MoreThe Problem Of Prison Overcrowding1572 Words   |  7 Pagesthe past 30 odd years, California’s prison population has grown by 750 percent (â€Å"California’s Perpetuating Prison Crisis†). As this percentage perpetuates to make substantial gains, inmates are suffering in confinement cells, officials are negotiating over the issue, and the public is protesting to make their opinions count. The prison crisis has continued to grow over the years, causing a great uproar among all of California’s 32 state prisons. Prison overcrowding has been an increasingly vital issueRead MoreThe Problem Of Prison Overcrowding998 Words   |  4 PagesPrison overcrowding has been seen as an issue since the early 1990’s in California. It all began when California began to aggressively increased sentencing in the late 1980’s and 1990’s in response to a nationwide fear about crime rates. During this time period California â€Å"enacted more than 1,000 laws that increased sentencing in a five-year span to settle these fears† (Fuchs). The effect of these laws resulted in a high prison population when California prisons reached a number of 173,000 by 2007Read MorePrison Overcrowding Is A Serious Problem1448 Words   |  6 PagesPrison overcrowding is a result of the imprisonment of drug users and first time offenders of non-violent crimes. The number of people being incarcerated greatly outweighs the number of prisons across the country. Prison overcrowding is a serious problem beca use it can be dangerous to both prisoners and correction officers. When prisoners are forced to live in crowded situations, the possibility of violence is greater (Oliver 44). Issues such as assaults and rapes can occur when there is not