Corrections Today
Introduction
What goes on in prison has come up to be one of the worse experiences according to most individuals that have been incarcerated, and those had had formally been incarcerated. The worse experiences in prisons have their sources far beyond the prison walls. This paper provides a review of unique problems and issues in corrections. The special issues and problems are discussed in Part 4 of the “Corrections Today” in chapter 11-13. The major components covered in the chapters to showcase the unique problems and issues in corrections include the special prison population discussed in chapter 11, capital punishment and the death row inmate provided in chapter twelve, and the juvenile offender discussed in chapter thirteen.
Part 4 of the book coverage goes through various problems faced by inmates in different conditions or those that require special needs compared to others. The inmates within the special prison populations include special offense inmates, such as those with a history of substance abuse, sex offenders and terrorists; special needs inmates, including those with chronic mental health issues and HIV; and special population inmates, such as the elderly and illegal migrant inmates. The capital punishment and the death row inmate chapter discuss various views and reactions of the supporters and opponents of capital punishment. In the juvenile offender chapter, the book analyzes how the juvenile justice system handles young offenders. The chapter also provides the consideration of boot camps and adult prisons as a replacement for youthful offenders, juvenile’s transfers to adult courts, and the need to change the sentencing structure of juvenile offenders as it looks forward on tackling issues in the juvenile justice system.
Summary of Chapter 11
The chapter focuses on the special prison populations. It describes the problems of inmates with a substance-involved history, such as drug addiction. The chapter provides that the major problems with inmates with substance abuse history include the prison’s ability to provide needed treatment. The inmates also pose a challenge to the prison’s lawful environment maintenance if they get involved in drug use or trafficking. The chapter also highlights the problems and challenges sex offenders bring o the prison, including classification to avoid hardship while incarcerated. The terrorists incarcerated also presents issues to the prisons. The incarcerated terrorists take it as an opportunity to recruit members and also develop means of communicating with the outside world to encourage the continuity of terrorist attacks. The inmates with HIV, chronic mental illness, and elderly inmates face many challenges while incarcerated, including lack of consistent medication and psychiatric intervention, harassment, and a safe environment for their particular conditions.
Summary of Chapter 12
The chapter’s objectives are covered by describing various concepts regarding capital punishment met and the death row inmate. The major concepts discussed include a public opinion regarding the death penalty. The chapter provides that more than 80% of individuals in the 20th and 21st century favor the death penalty, with the violent increase within the two decades as may reason behind the public opinion. The concept of the aggravation versus mitigation concerning the death penalty is also covered. The concept provides that the death phase can only be considered if there are enough aggravation factors that show the defendant must be put death than the mitigation factors that show why the death penalty should be considered. Although the U.S. Supreme Court considers the death penalty as not cruel or unusual punishment, it maintains that race is not a factor in the execution process and individuals with mental impairment and juveniles are not subject to the death penalty. However, the chapter concludes that the death penalty does not deter murder.
Summary of Chapter 13
The chapter discusses problems and issues concerning juvenile offenders. It highlights the history of juvenile justice in the United States and the changes that have occurred in the last two decades. The changes include those conducted in the sentencing structure with the introduction of determinate sentencing. Increasing community treatment methods, such as probation, house arrest, and residential programs, have proven effective in juvenile correction efforts. The current juvenile system has also introduced the aftercare programs that help juvenile justice system institutions achieve a smooth transition process back into the community. The statutory exclusions and prosecutorial discretions that enable the transfer of a juvenile to adult court have seen most juveniles suffer when sent incarcerated in adult prisons. They are always overwhelmed by older and more aggressive inmates.
Conclusion
The chapters discuss various issues and problems that tend to be unique in correctional facilities. The problems faced with special inmates make the special prison population have a hard time beyond even the punishment they should face. Although some of the problems can be easily handled, implementing the measures to mitigate and prevent the problems and issues remains a challenge due to various factors, including funding. Another unique problem discussed is the death penalty, which was found to be more favored in the current two decades despite it not having an impact in deterring murder in society. The juvenile justice system’s issues and problems are reducing as new sentencing structures and disciplinary mechanisms are employed in the juvenile system.
References
Bartollas, C., & Siegel, L. (2018). Corrections Today, 4th Edn. Cengage Learning.
