Our prison system in the system in the United States may be one of the cleanest and most hygienic in the world, but other conditions are deplorable, and something needs to be done. Our government has a responsibility to protect its citizens, even if they are criminals. Our prisons in the United States are among the most populated and even the most dangerous in the entire world. The United States government can help fix this problem in a number of ways. They need to take responsibility and allocate funds more efficiently, improving areas that need improvement, and cutting back on the areas that have more slack. By improving the conditions in our jails, we will be able to slow the rate of deaths and sexual assault in our jail system. In 1995, our prison system held upwards of 1,400,000 males, and added 4,000,000 every year (Donaldson 1). This same study found that more than three-hundred-thousand males were sexually assaulted behind bars every year, and it is estimated that 60,000 prisoners are subjected to involuntary sex every day (Donaldson 1). In 1999, more than thirty-four-thousand assaults were committed by prisoners against other inmates in a twelve-month period, 27% higher than the previous twelve months (Smith 1). These horrible conditions in our jail system are becoming worse and worse, and immediate action needs to be taken by our government. In 2006, our government spent $68,747,203,000 on corrections in our prison system (Bureau 1), and yet our prisons are
