“Prison State” is a PBS Frontline documentary showcasing how flawed the prison system is in the United States. The film revolves around the state of Kentucky and follows four prisoners, two of which are adolescent females, Christel and Demetria, and two adult males, Charles and Keith.
Christel is a girl who constantly skips school and ends up getting locked up for it. Demetria assaulted her aunt, which is what landed her in juvenile jail, among other charges. Charles committed burglary and was locked up for it. Keith keeps getting put back in jail for nonviolent crimes. Each prisoner had a touching story to tell, but out of the four the main one to affect me the most was Christel. Christel had a tough beginning. She grew up without her dad being there for her most of her life because he was…show more content… Lambie and Randell (2013) proposes that the incarceration of juveniles has been exposed to be more harmful than rehabilitative. The authors cite literature, which suggests incarceration fails to meet the developmental needs of youth offenders. Furthermore, the authors recognize that this population suffers adverse consequences when placed in an environment that does not address, and often times worsens, existing mental health, learning, and behavioral problems (p. 456). Additionally, research shows that locking up juveniles is not an effective option in terms of either cost or outcome (Lambie & Randell, 2013, p. 448). An example of this incident from the film is Demetria. She states that being locked up does not make her better, it just makes her angrier. If prison is being proven that it is not an effective and efficient tool to correct maladaptive behaviors in children and adolescents, then why continue to consider it as an option? Society must be better educated about other possible intervention methods to use when it comes down to
