Essay Sample on Rehabilitation as a Better Solution Instead of Sending to Prison

Introduction

Brett's story has widely studied the impact of increasing mass incarceration in the United States through the documentary "The Prison in Twelve Landscapes" that depicts how American society has adapted to cushion and make profits from the situation. The recent critics about the prison system explain that the prisons manufacture violence and injustice. The United States economy has significantly been shaped by mass incarceration. The American prison population has gradually increased over the past decade with 2.2 Million prisoners which is the highest in the world. The story shows how prisons shape the system of government, job market and demographics of various neighborhoods across the United States. The film shows how prisons are removed from populated landscapes and moved to hidden landscapes; they still play a critical role in our everyday lives. Therefore, this paper aims to focus on the role of prison in Eastern Kentucky and how mass incarceration affects American society.

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Gilmore's study on the political and economic Canada's prison population increase in the past half-century presents a favorable instance for a spatial inquiry into the United States as a basis for understanding the American prison system. The Prison in 12 Landscapes manifests in less familiar sites across the United States. In a post-mining town in Eastern Kentucky, the residents heavily rely on prisons for jobs. Although all sorts of exploitation happen in prisons, they are a massive resource for residents the scene that takes place in Appalachia in East Kentucky where coal mining was taking place. The coal industry declines during Obama's administration to opt for cleaner and environmentally friendly energy. The coal communities in these regions primarily relied on coal mining, hence, closing down coal mines devastates and deprive coal communities.

The aspirations for a future for coal communities and their desires to feel worth in the world are exploited by the possibilities of more prisons built on their towns. Gilmore highlights a jail as a place of extraction when coalmines extract coal from the ground. Conversely, prisons are displacing people from their communities and holding them captive in these places. Prisons are extractive institutions, and when they extract money, they channel it to other sources other than the prisons and the communities around the prison. Prisons are waste of holding individuals captive, depriving them of their creative capabilities, individuals at the prime of their lives who can be productive to the community.

The 2.2 Million individuals in prison have lost contact with their family, jobs as well as freedom. The prison sentence is expected to be rehabilitation. However, many join gang activities and associate with illegal activities for financial aid: the adverse mental and physical outcomes of individuals who have been imprisoned on effects that include depression and anxiety among children and partners of the individuals. The harmful effects of incarceration are not entirely confined to the family members of the individual, residents of neighborhoods that have high rates of imprisonment undergo stress because they undergo disrupted social and family networks with increased crime rates. Stigma is associated with the community mass incarceration; they experience stigma when their members are imprisoned (Gilmore & Gulag, 2008) established that the stigmatization process may also attach to communities with high levels of mass incarceration. The main issue is the lack of social integration for an effective transition into society.

Similarly, when a particular community loses a significant portion of their population can be destructive. The period in prison means that they are already marginal people and after their imprisonment term, they are distressed because of the presence of numerous disrupted families and joblessness. They add competition in the already overcrowded population. Families of inmates endure economic hardship. Moreover, Clear (2007) have established that children show behavioral problems a school that affects their performance at school. Furthermore, the law that constrains felons the right to vote has significantly changed the outcome of presidential elections and Senate races in the United States.

The United States has the highest incarceration population in the world, a significant number who are given long sentences compared to individuals with similar crimes in other countries. African Americans form the highest population in prison and mostly because of drug-related crimes. These create the impression that the most privileged professional population, the experience of incarceration is a simple brush. The poor community is however disadvantaged the black individuals; the prison is a destination that is part of ordinary life that is much similar to the high school and college passage for the rich whites. Approximately more than half of the African American population without a high school diploma are charged at some point in their lives. They form the highest community in command of the criminal justice system in American prisons. The scale and the brutality of United States prisons is the moral challenge of American life.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe that rehabilitation would be a better solution instead of sending every individual to prison. Reducing sentencing period for some crimes as compared to other countries to prevent overcrowding in prisons. This will also relieve the tax burden incurred in maintaining prisoners. This will also reduce the vulnerability of the poor population and African Americans.

Works Cited

Clear, Todd R. "The Problem of Concentrated Incarceration." Imprisoning CommunitiesHow Mass Incarceration Makes Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Worse, 2007, pp. 3-14., doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305791.003.0001.

Gilmore, Ruth, & Gulag , Golden. Prisons, Surplus, Crisis, and Opposition in Globalizing California." Critical Criminology, vol. 16, no. 2, Jan. 2008, pp. 157-163., doi:10.1007/s10612-008-9051-y.