Criminal Prison System
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The demographics of the prison system mirror the demographics of the population in general in two basic ways. One way is that many inmates, who are incarcerated, do everyday things that the general population does as well. Some of these include, staying in shape by jogging, and lifting weights. They like to play poker with their fellow “friends” on Wednesday nights, among many other things. The other way they relate is that since there are so many violent criminals entering prison everyday, new room must be made for them. The only way to do this is in a rather controversial manner, and that is to let inmates in their late 40s and 50s get out of jail early. While many people worry about this idea, many researchers say that when criminals hit middle age, they start to “burn out”, meaning that when criminals reach this age, they are affected by aging, exactly like the rest of the general population. They become much less hostile, and less prone to violent behavior. They have served an ample amount of time in a correctional facility, and they know the consequences they will face if they commit another crime.
The single most reliable factor in predicting recidivism is age. This is because signs of aging are very apparent, and easy to notice. When an inmate first arrives in jail, they stand out from the so called “veterans”. The younger generation of inmates snitch on each other, steal out of lockers, cut in front of people in lunch lines, start fights, and the like. When these inmates begin to reach the age of 40-50, they will not act at all like this. They are aging, and this is the most reliable indicator in predicting recidivism.
The “three strikes” law has its pros and cons. It is a good law, because if a criminal commits a serious crime, such as murder, the only justice the family/friends of the victims have is to see the murderer suffer for the rest of his life. This law will see to it that this happens. On the other hand, what if somebody is accused of a serious crime that they truly did not commit? Does this mean that somebody will be put away for the rest of his life, no questions asked? There must be some kind of balance or justification between the two.
If I were to redesign our criminals justice system, I would make a couple changes. Firstly, if room is needed for the newer, more violent inmates, I would make it so the inmates who have are sick/dying would be the ones