Prison System And The Death Penalty

Prison System And The Death Penalty

Poor prison conditions brought about by overcrowding have detrimental effects on prisoners making the entire process of incarceration pointless. Prison building has failed to eliminate this problem of overcrowding mainly because of the increasing rates of crime that have seen more inmates entering prisons than leaving each day. The problem is further compounded by convicts being released only to be readmitted again after re-offending. Dammer and Fairchild (2006) point out that prison overcrowding has continued to be on the increase all over the world due over-reliance on long mandatory sentences, detention without bail, and even intensive supervision of probationers. The poor state of most prisons are also another reason for overcrowding as it promotes re-offending since rehabilitation of prisoners in such deplorable conditions can not be effective. Since prisons have failed in rehabilitating criminals and deterring crime, incarceration in prison buildings which is even more costly financially can not eliminate the problem of overcrowding.

The attempt to contract inmate custody with one of the model nations for long term prison sentences would be met with disbelief in the United States even by free-marketeers who have always agitated for privatization of other government services. There are those who would justify the contracting of inmate custody on the basis of its effectiveness in other countries like Germany, Japan, France, and Britain among others while most would see it as a failure of the government to meet its obligations to the society. Of significant consideration would be the increased costs of contracting inmate custody to what would be equated to private firms on the tax payers’ hard earned money (Fitzgerald, 1988). In effect, contracting inmate custody would be perceived as an inability by the state and the federal government to protect the rights of its citizens by passing on this responsibility to systems from other nations. From another perspective, law enforcement, which includes inmate rehabilitation, is administered by the enforcement agencies on behalf of the citizens and therefore there is no reason why contracting inmate custody would be illegal provided that the contract is carried out in accordance with the United States’ legal requirements for prisons. In most political circles, it would be argued that in as much as law enforcement is significantly covered in constitutional principles, the government’s responsibility in ensuring the society remains safe does mean that it has to provide all the protection and rehabilitation services all by itself. In comparison with other European countries, for example Sweden, incarceration for minor offenses would be replaced by day fines and community service (Dammer & Fairchild, 2006). Probation and monitoring of repeat offenders would also greatly benefit from electronic monitoring of offenders.

I strongly hold a position against the death penalty for the following reasons. First of all deterrence as a way of preventing crime should not be an excuse to implementing a barbaric law especially since the few murderers do not rationally justify the act. In as much as death penalty incapacitates the offender from committing homicide again, the same measure is equally achieved by life sentences. Secondly, in as far as retribution for the victims is concerned, the rule of an eye for an eye as espoused by death penalty fails to recognize the sacredness of life and furthermore any form of killing, by the state or individual, is wrong, unethical, and unjust. Thirdly there have been recent laws enacted that significantly restrict the appeal process leading to many innocent people being executed (Woof, 2004). Finally in the United States, capital punishment has often been applied arbitrarily and unfairly especially on racial and socio-economic basis leading to innocent but poor people with inadequate defense being executed.

References

Dammer, H. R. Fairchild, E. (2006). Comparative Criminal Justice Systems (3rd ed.). New York:Wadsworth.

Fitzgerald, R. (1988). When Government Goes Private: Successful Alternatives to PublicServices. New York: Universe Books.

Woolf, A. (2004). World issues – Capital Punishment. New York: Chrysalis Education.

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