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Natalie LeJeune Project 103 11/12/2017 Does Work?

For many Americans, TV dramas are the only even vague insight to .

Citizens see cops as tragic protagonists struggling with their own demons. TV inmates are either villains or are truly innocent. However, the reality isn’t quite so black and white.

The process of prison around the world is highly dynamic and contains layers upon layers of catastrophic dilemmas and harrowing perspectives. It is no question that the system has failed many and benefited others. Particularly, two developed world nations contain two vastly different systems. In order to compare and contrast them, it is important to know the statistics, processes, and perspectives from each system.

There are several primary objectives that make up the prison pie: retribution, incapacitation, and rehabilitation. Each piece is essential and contributes vitally to the big idea. However, some aspects of the system get lost or forgotten in certain areas. Depending on how much an individual prison values a certain objective, money is poured respectively in that area. Systems that hold one value over the other will hire more personnel and spend more on resources relating to that objective; for example, a prison that places rehabilitation over all else may spend more on hiring respected psychologists and setting up college prison programs. When one aspect is focused on too much, aspects of the system may fall apart or problems will arise.

Retribution can be easily described as ; what do the criminals deserve for their ? In more archaic times, retribution was the sole purpose of prison and could be more accurately described as . For example, in ancient

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Mesopotamia, the Code of Hammurabi governed the principle of “an eye for an eye,” the notion that each offender should be dealt exactly their back to them with varying degrees of harshness dependant on your societal status. However, modern society has seemingly moved away from this presumed dated way of reasoning. Every offender in the United States gets treated the same way, right? It has to be; this principle is the very basis of the equal land of opportunity.

Incapacitation is the basic notion that because the threats to society are locked up, they cannot cause further damage. Many argue that the current prison system works simply because of this principle; the removal of from society obviously prohibits them from committing further crimes. However, as with all objectives of prison, incapacitation has its issues. As stated by The Encyclopedia of Prisons and

Correctional Facilities, “So, according to this theory, punishment is not concerned with the nature of the offender, as is the case with rehabilitation, or with the nature of the offense, as is the case with retribution. Rather, punishment is justified by the risk individuals are believed to pose to society in the future. As a result, individuals can be punished for “hypothetical” crimes. In other words, they can be incarcerated, not for crimes they have actually committed but for crimes it is anticipated or assumed they will commit.” Incapacitation only “works” for the duration of a sentence. If a is presumed to be a further threat to society, the sentence can be continuously extended.

This doctrine is primarily what causes life sentences, and can leave someone locked away for the duration of their time on earth.

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While the idea behind deterrence is similar to incapacitation, it is strategically used as a very different method. This notion can be summarized by the TV documentary Scared Straight, in which delinquent juveniles are forced to tour harsh

United States prisons and get threatened and bullied by prisoners. The idea behind the show is that the adolescents will realize what their future holds for them if they continue down the same path and be scared enough to reform themselves. In essence, this idea is the foundation of deterrence. In theory, citizens will not want to commit crimes because they do not want to go to prison. This method of the prison system is arguably the least used and potentially the most effective: perhaps if citizens knew the statistics behind getting caught for crimes and the harsh realities of the for them, crime rates would go down. However, this method is seen as primarily ineffective. The data shows that increasing the severity of punishments does not deter crime.

Lastly, rehabilitation is a widely controversial aspect of prison. While many see this idea as a primary goal, others feel that most prisoners are beyond redemption. The principle of correctional rehabilitation is that prisons should put more effort into transitioning their inmates to the outside world. This aspect includes hiring psychiatrists to analyze and counsel the inmates, setting up prison college systems, and allowing prisoners to make a wage during their sentence. In addition, this aspect may also include allowing prisoners to have regular communication with loved ones outside prison, as support systems are proven to be wildly effective when considering lowering rates. However, all of these aspects are heavily debated on because the essential principle of rehabilitation implies that eventually, the inmate will get out. Many

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citizens and even prisons view inmates as less than normal people and as a result never imagine the prisoner when he or she gets out. For many, the idea that someone who committed a crime may one day be walking next to them again seems unreal.

However, this situation is inevitable. As a result, it is unquestionably necessary that prisoners are able to make a pleasant transition from stone walls to city streets.

Imagine never meeting your father. For as long as you remember, he’s been locked up for reasons that you are not old enough to understand. Your mother loves you and wants a better life for you, but as a single mother in the projects with several children, it is already a struggle to put food on the table, much less move to a better place with more opportunities. Maybe she brings lots of men around who promise her money and end up beating her. Her heart is in the right place, but this scene is devastating and psychologically damaging to a child. Your heart is in the right place too, but when you see every other youth you know getting caught up in selling, it seems like fair game to help out your family. You know that the drug ordeal is wrong, or maybe you don’t, but it’s the only way. Of all high school students in the United States, 25% don’t have to imagine. However, the big picture includes so much more than adolescent drug money.

The United States prison system clearly has its flaws. “The land of the free” has more citizens behind bars than any other nation in the world, both scaled to other countries and in general. The country has less than 5% of the world’s population, yet it holds 25% of the world’s prison population (World Prison Populations). This almost unbelievable statistic has been cited by many major political figures, including Hillary

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Clinton, but has been fact checked by numerous sources only to be proven as true. Per

100,000 citizens, the United States incarcerates 725, the highest prisoner-per-citizen rate in the world. The only nation that even comes close is Russia at 581. The United

Kingdom, a country that is considered highly comparable to to the US, incarcerates only

145 per 100,000 (World Prison Populations). Clearly, mass incarceration in the United

States should be considered an issue.

However, mass incarceration isn’t the only problem that plagues the United

States’ system. A much less considered viewpoint is the issue of crime cycles. These cycles present themselves in a number of ways, but all have the same end result: more citizens in prison. The first cycle includes children: when a citizen gets locked up, this adult potentially is leaving behind a child. This child, because United States prison allow such limited visitation rights and communication between prisoners and loved ones, leaves this child without one or potentially two parents. Without a strong parental figure around as the child grows, the kid is much more likely to commit a serious crime and end up in prison himself. If the system allowed for more visitation and contact, the child could possibly have grown up with a better moral support system and more incentive to choose a better life path. The next cycle is similar: this same original adult who was incarcerated, upon getting released from prison, often has no real support system due to getting cut off from the outside world, and no true prospects for continuing on with their life. Because the system places such little emphasis on rehabilitation and life after prison, the prisoner probably has no opportunity for getting a job. In addition, because of the United States’ philosophy and removal of themselves from prisoners, said citizens

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committed of a crime are very unlikely to acquire a substantial job upon getting released. With no job and little to no support system, these released persons are much more likely to return to a life of crime and get locked up again. Another interesting point to view when considering crime cycles is that studies have been done that have seen a

strong correlation between zip codes, academic achievement, and prison rates. A study

done in Texas found that children born in particular zipcodes are more likely to not

graduate from high school; additionally, these same zipcodes have higher incarceration

rates than others (Clarke). All of these cycles seem to point to a similar conclusion:

some citizens never have a chance at a better path when it comes to incarceration in

the United States.

A common threat to the stability of United States prisons is the actual treatment of prisoners. A long history of unjustified exists between prisoners and correctional staff. A quote from Human Rights Watch details this fact.

“A federal judge in 1999 concluded that Texas prisons were pervaded by a

“culture of sadistic and malicious violence.” In 1995, a federal judge found a stunning

pattern of staff assaults, abusive use of electronic stun devices guns, beatings, and

brutality at Pelican Bay Prison in California, and concluded the violence “appears to be

open, acknowledged, tolerated and sometimes expressly approved” by high ranking

officials.

In recent years, U.S. prison inmates have been beaten with fists and batons,

stomped on, kicked, shot, stunned with electronic devices, doused with chemical

sprays, choked, and slammed face first onto concrete floors by the officers whose job it

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is to guard them. Inmates have ended up with broken jaws, smashed ribs, perforated

eardrums, missing teeth, burn scars—not to mention psychological scars and emotional

pain. Some have died.

Both men and women prisoners—but especially women—face staff and . Correctional officers will bribe, coerce, or violently force inmates into granting sexual favors, including oral sex or intercourse. Prison staff have laughed at

and ignored the pleas of male prisoners seeking protection from rape by other inmates.”

It’s no secret that this treatment of prisoners happens daily. The article goes on

to claim that many prisoners upon receiving broken ribs, swollen limbs, and imprinted

boot marks on their faces, the official report claims that the inmate’s injuries were

“self-inflicted.” A memoir written by Kerry Max Cook, a man who was falsely on death

row for two decades, claims that he was deprived of a shower for months. When he

finally begged for his right to be clean, prison staff threw him in a dark cell with

murderous inmates who proceeded to beat the shit out of him. When they were through,

staff dragged him back into his own cell and told him to let them know when he wanted

another shower.

Among all of these issues, another quietly plagues the United State’s system and

is more rarely spoken about than the others: racial disparity. The racial divide in prisons

has been around for a long time and exists practically everywhere on the globe, but

presents a particular problem when sized up next to the land that claims to treat all fairly

and equally. The first point here is that black people are incarcerated at a rate of 5 times

more than white people. Anyone who is playing devil’s advocate may logically bring up

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the viewpoint that perhaps black people just commit more crimes than white people.

Many only see the misconception that this racial disparity is not a result of systematic

, but shortcomings in the black community. However, statistics show otherwise.

More black Americans are in prison, but more white Americans commit crimes

(Alexander 3). How can this be? First of all, police are more likely to confront and arrest

black citizens. For example, both of these races are shown to smoke marijuana at

similar rates, but black people are 3.7 times more likely to “get caught” with it (Farbota).

However, not all arrests lead to conviction. However, even if a black and white person

were to be arrested for the same crime, the white person’s case is more likely to be let

go. According to Kim Farbota from Huffington Post, this “could help explain why, for

example, while black defendants represent about 35% of drug arrests, 46% of those

convicted of drug crimes are black.” The last step here is that even when convicted of

the same crime, a black person or more likely to get incarcerated. A white person is

more likely to have to pay a fine or perform community service.

These statistics didn’t climb their way to that position overnight. There are so

many contributing factors here: poverty, education levels, unemployment, “war on

drugs” campaigns, and social isolation. Twenty-three years ago, one of Nixon’s aides confessed in an interview that the “war on drugs” campaign had a primary enemy:

African Americans. "You understand what I'm saying? We knew we couldn't make it

illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the

hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin. And then criminalizing both heavily, we

could disrupt those communities," John Ehrlichman, assistant to Nixon, said in the

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interview. "We could arrest their leaders. raid their homes, break up their meetings, and

vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the

drugs? Of course we did" (Lobianco). This confession obviously exacerbated the rumor

that has been circulating for decades that the United States government pumped drugs

into black communities themselves. Even if this theory isn’t true, it is undeniable that the

War on Drugs had devastating effects for black people. Even Barack Obama called the

whole thing “counterproductive” ( Fact Sheet).

However, the racial inequality doesn’t end there (hint: it never does). So many

layers can be unfolded regarding racial complications in the United States, even when just considering the prison perspective. So black people are more likely to be behind bars than white people. What’s the effect of that? Why is that so terrible? What’s the big picture here? This racial inequality creates a massive divide between the black community and everyone else. It has already been discussed how a criminal record can vastly diminish a former prisoner’s chances of getting a job; however, the racial perspective brings a new point to light. Crime cycles are exacerbated in the black

community. They leave black families in poor neighborhoods with no chance of getting

out, while if they were white, the incarcerated family member may have never been

arrested in the first place. One in 40 American kids has a parent in prison. For black

kids, it’s one in 15 (Schenwar 12). Crime cycles are the biggest reason why bad

neighborhoods and projects are more likely to contain black people. It creates the

biggest divide socially between black and white people. Michelle Alexander, author of

The New Jim Crow, even argues that whether consciously or subconsciously, these

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informal prison policies have created modern in the United States.

Normally, black citizens cannot be subjected to old Jim Crow practices. However, after

being incarcerated, black citizens can be legally treated like second-rate citizens; black

Americans can then get discriminated against for employment and housing, be barred

from voting, and get denied food stamps. In the words of Michelle Alexander herself,

“As a criminal you have scarcely more rights, and arguably less respect, than a black

man living in Alabama at the height of Jim Crow. We have not ended racial in

America: we have simply redesigned it.” (Alexander, 2).

When presented with all these anecdotes, one might claim that the United States

has a seriously imperfect system. However, are there any positives to this structure?

Amidst all the cons, some pros do rise from the industry. For example, as a result of prison labor, some inmates to learn valuable trades or skills, such as welding. These skills could be beneficial to a prisoner upon being released from the system.

Additionally, Brian E. Olivier, a convicted felon with a Ph. D in , claims that his six years spent in prison gave him plenty of time to reflect on life and put his actions in perspective. It allowed him to think through what he needed to do to straighten his life out. Another pro to being in the system is healthcare. Many prisoners who were too

poor to afford to take care of themselves outside of the industry gain the necessary

treatment they’ve needed for years upon being locked up. Additionally, prisoners who

were addicted to hard drugs have a much more difficult time acquiring these drugs while

serving a sentence. In essence, addicts are forced to face their obsession and quit

these harmful drugs.

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The previous pros of prison have focused on rehabilitation of prisoners; however, a major beneficial point to the industry revolves around incapacitation. While in prison, inmates theoretically cannot commit further crimes. To some philosophers, this point is the only true pro that “works” based on its basic principle. While some prisoners, such as gang and mafia members, may still be able to pull strings while behind bars, the vast majority of prisoners cannot. The theory is that, while prisoners are locked up, they cannot commit further crimes. Based of this fact alone, many feel that the entire system, flaws and all, is justified.

However, the United States is only one developed country with a highly institutionalized prison system. Other nations have radically different executions regarding prison. For example, as opposed to the US, when ’s prisoners get released from prison, they stay out. While 67% of United State’s citizens will be rearrested following their release from prison, Norway has a recidivism rate of only 20%

(Sterbenz). Norway’s crime rates are much lower than the United States’, too; as of

2000, Norway had .6 murders per 100,000 citizens. The United States has 5 murders per 100,000. The last statistic regarding incarceration rates is possibly the most shocking: Norway incarcerates only 71 per 100,000 people while the US incarcerates

743. These statistics seem to beg a similar question: what is Norway doing differently than the United States?

In 1998, Norway’s Ministry of Justice released a statement after assessing their correctional goals; he declared that the country’s new priority regarding correctional facilities was rehabilitation. Another wave of change in 2007 prompted a new

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proclamation that claimed the country wanted to further emphasize reintegration. After

these acknowledgements, reform came about in the form of new policies, physical

prison redesigns, and inmate treatments. For example, the max sentence in Norway is

21 years. Despite how heinous the crime (with very few exceptions), no one can face a

harsher sentence. However, after the 21 years are over, each prisoner is assessed. If

necessary, the prisoner can be sentenced additional sentence increments of 5 years,

which can be added indefinitely if deemed necessary. While some may be appalled or

outraged that Anders Breivik, a Norwegian bomber and shooter who claimed 77 lives in

2011, only was sentenced to 21 years in prison, Norway’s criminal system calls it

“” (Fisher).

The first Norwegian prison to be built after the rehabilitory claims made by the government in 2007 is arguably the most controversial modern prison in existence.

Halden Prison was built with rehabilitation clearly at the forefront of the design. To

American citizens, Prison would seem indisputably alien with its blueberry forests, recording studio, and personal flat-screen TVs (Inside the World’s Most

Humane Prison). Every prisoner gets their own dorm-looking room with an en-suite

bathroom and windows with no bars and equipped with a sleek TV (which is supposedly

no good for hiding drugs and contraband as opposed to older models). Every 10-12

cells has a shared kitchen and living room, in which prisoners cook their own meals.

Activities are organized by prison staff from 8 to 8; basketball games, rock climbing,

soccer, and tennis allow inmates to pick up a hobby and blow off steam (Sterbenz).

Music teachers, who refer to their charges as “pupils,” never “prisoners,” conduct

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lessons in the recording studio on all sorts of musical instruments. Additionally, actual

interior decorators were hired during the construction of the facility to design the cheery,

hopeful interior, which is littered with artworks, murals, and brightly painted walls.

While these features sound ludicrous and surely more in line with a resort,

Halden is a maximum-security prison. Every feature has a purpose. Prisoners are able

to develop routines to reduce the tedium of confinement. Prisoners are taught valuable

skills that were potentially never learned due to poor upbringing; instructors teach

inmates the ins and outs of cooking for themselves as well as basic nutrition. Courses

prepare inmates for careers outside of prison, such as catering, woodworking, and

machinery work. In addition, vital support systems are encouraged; upon good

behavior, prisoners can invite their families to stay at the prison’s guesthouse to visit.

Prison staff think of their facility as a school to teach their pupils how to live normally. As

Halden’s prison director puts it,"Every inmate in Norwegian prison are going back to the society. Do you want people who are angry — or people who are rehabilitated

(Sterbenz)?”

Despite Norway’s system being vastly controversial, the numbers do not . It is

efficient. A study done by the University of Bergen found that Norwegian inmates who

get rel

eased are more likely to stay out of prison and start working. Because Norway

prisons focus so heavily on rehabilitation, most inmates receive critical job training while

serving their sentence. As a result, more previous prisoners are able to get jobs.

According to the University of Bergen, work is the key. If a stable job is obtained after

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serving a sentence, inmates are less likely to offend. In addition, because prisoners in

Norway get limited internet access and home leave on good behavior, integration into society is a much easier process. Because of these qualities of the system and many others like it, Norway’s recidivism rate is only 20 percent. In addition, Norway’s rate of overall crime is 36 times lower than than that of the United States (Norway vs United

States Crime Stats Compared). Despite all the negative arguments, the statistics are undisputable.

Despite Norway’s system being painted like a utopia, it faces its drawbacks like all else, especially through an American’s eyes. The most obvious issue to this system is that an absorbent amount of money is spent on Norwegian prisoners. In the United

States, 31,000 dollars is spent per prisoner per year. In Norway, a harrowing 91,000 dollars is spent per prisoner per year. This comparison alone is enough for almost any

United States native to cringe. As a result of this drawback, taxpayers pay out more to see prisoners rehabilitated. Many United States citizens, given the current trend of political priority, would likely not find this agreeable. In addition, many citizens find that

Norway’s system does not provide sufficient retribution. Citizens want to see villains punished, not relaxing on their own couch watching the news from their private TV.

Many pose the argument that if their own child were to be murdered or attacked, the parent would be distraught to learn that their child’s assailant is living such a decent life.

Another argument against the system is that if all of the aforementioned amenities come with these prisons, many citizens might even have an incentive to commit crimes.

Naturally, nothing is without its flaws.

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In short, does prison work? The answer is truly, “sometimes.” Both systems have pros and cons, some (vastly) more significant than others. The bottom line is that the

United States’ prison system undoubtedly has its flaws, while Norway’s system has precise benefits. While every philosopher is free to make their own assumptions, the fact that the United States is in a state of desperation cannot be ignored. The American prison experience tears families apart like slaves on an auctioning block. 1 in 4 women in maximum-security prisons are blatantly sexually abused (Schenwar 66). Cyntonia

Brown, at only 16, was sentenced to life without parole in 2006 when killing the man who had raped and used her for sex trafficking for years (Finley). Is this justice? Some parts of the prison pie should be valued more than others, but will the United States ever find the right balance? As racial divides grow larger and old cycles grow deeper, the situation will continue to grow even more dire until reform occurs. However, as the

United States knows much too well, old habits die hard.

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Works Cited

Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of

Colorblindness, 2010. Print.

Clarke, Matt. “Texas Group Finds Correlation between Incarceration Rate and

Academic Achievement.” Texas Group Finds Correlation between Incarceration Rate

and Academic Achievement | , Prison Legal News, 12 June 2015,

www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2015/jun/12/texas-group-finds-correlation-between-inca

rceration-rate-and-academic-achievement/.

“Criminal Justice Fact Sheet.” NAACP, NAACP, 2017,

www.naacp.org/criminal-justice-fact-sheet/.

Farbota, Kim. “Black Crime Rates: What Happens When Numbers Aren't

Neutral.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 2 Sept. 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-farbota/black-crime-rates-your-st_b_8078586.html.

Finley, Taryn. “Celebs Rally For Cyntoia Brown, A Child Sex-Trafficking Victim

Who Killed A Man.” The Huffington Post, The Huffington Post, 26 Nov. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/heres-why-child-sex-trafficking-victim-cyntoia-browns-sto

ry-matters_us_5a1ad4cbe4b0d4906caf5c7b.

Fisher, Max. “A Different Justice: Why Anders Breivik Only Got 21 Years for

Killing 77 People.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 24 Aug. 2012,

www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/08/a-different-justice-why-anders-breivik

-only-got-21-years-for-killing-77-people/261532/

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LoBianco, Tom. “Report: Nixon's war on drugs targeted black people.” CNN,

Cable News Network, 24 Mar. 2016,

www.cnn.com/2016/03/23/politics/john-ehrlichman-richard-nixon-drug-war-blacks-hippie

/index.html.

“Norway vs United States Crime Stats Compared.” NationMaster.com,

NationMaster, 2017,

www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Norway/United-States/Crime.

“Prisoner Abuse: How Different are U.S. Prisons?” Human Rights Watch, 22

Sept. 2008,

www.hrw.org/news/2004/05/13/prisoner-abuse-how-different-are-us-prisons.

Schenwar, Maya. Locked Down, Locked out : Why Prison Doesn't Work and How

We Can Do Better. San Francisco :Berrett-Koehler Publishers, BK Currents Books,

2014. Print.

Sterbenz, Christina. “Why Norway's prison system is so successful.” Business

Insider, Business Insider, 11 Dec. 2014, www.businessinsider.com/why-norways-prison-system-is-so-successful-2014-12.

“World Prison Populations.” BBC News, BBC, 20 June 2005,

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