U.S. Prison Costs Essay

Words: 1627
Pages: 7
Open Document
U.S. Prison Costs

After reading the essay, “A Homemade Education,” an autobiography of Malcolm X, I became quite curious about how many dollars America spends toward the prison system and how it affects our society. The autobiography itself covers how Malcolm X gained a homemade education simply by reading books while serving time in prison. He claimed, “I don’t think anybody ever got more out of going to prison than I did…prison enabled me to study far more intensively…sometimes as much as fifteen hours a day” (35). There may be privileges of being sent to prison as one can sit and read books, but the cost of keeping prisons running outweighs the benefits. According to the article Pew Center, the United States has 5 percent of the …show more content…
The average cost for maintaining an older inmate is “$70,000- 2 to 3 times that of a younger inmate” (Pew Center). Because of the rising inmate health care costs, cost for prison staffing, and as well as the graying of the nation’s inmates, America is now spending more and more funds on the prison system than ever before. Budget cuts are happening because of the rising prison population. According to the article “Coalition files suit to curb prison spending,” in 2007, there was a 1.6 percent rate of growth that brought the prison population to 1,596,127. In 2006, America saw its biggest increase in the number of people in prison, with California responsible for 20 percent of those inmates. The state has built 23 new prisons for the upcoming 23 years. All prisons and jails are “24-7” operations that require large and highly trained staffs. Every year the cost of keeping the nation’s lock-ups running safely is continuing to overwhelm. The tangible feel of a jail or prison, has been the unquestioned weapon of choice in our battle against crime. I believed that a continual increase in our reliance on incarceration will pay declining dividends in crime prevention. Meaning that expanding prisons will accomplish less and cost more than it has in the past. This growing correction budgets consumption are leaving each state less and less in the pot for other needs. A 2007 data shows that prison costs consume 6.8 percent of state
Show More

Related Documents: U.S. Prison Costs Essay

Private Prison Mental Health Research Paper

Private prisons hold almost 10% of the United States prison population. This 10% suffers extensively from mental health issues stemming from the terrible conditions in these facilities. The prison system in its entirety affects the mental health of inmates for a myriad of reasons, these reasons however are noticeably more present in private facilities. This leads to widespread mental illness in inmates in private facilities. According to research, private prisons have dangerous conditions caused…

Words 1664 - Pages 7

Critical Issues in the American Criminal Justice System - Sentencing Decisions and the Death Penalty Essay

Dr. Allen Lowery CJ 6624 – Court Administration December 1, 2010 Abstract This paper discusses three critical issues in the criminal justice system. It touches on the general issues of punishment philosophies, sentence decision making, and prison overcrowding and focused more specifically on the negative effects of each. Highlighted in this informational paper is the interrelated nature of the issues; each issue affects and is affected by the others. Data and information has been gathered…

Words 4479 - Pages 18

Privatization Of Private Prisons

privatization movement of jails and prisons begin in 1980, after the government could no longer afford to open new prisons. A private prison, jail, or detention center is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned by a third party that is contracted by a local, state, or federal government agency. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, as of 2014 private ‘for-profit’ prisons housed 91,244 state prisoners, or 6.8 percent of the total state prison population. Companies operating…

Words 889 - Pages 4

Nancy Reagan's Argument Against The Death Penalty

penalty. Nancy Reagan. The death penalty has been a form of justice throughout history, including in colonial America, where figures like Jefferson, Rush, and Bradford influenced its reform. In the 19th century, some U.S. states reduced capital crimes and moved executions to prisons, with Pennsylvania leading in 1834, followed by Michigan's abolition of the death penalty for all crimes except treason in 1846. Despite these reforms, many states retained capital punishment, expanding its use. By 1963…

Words 1021 - Pages 5

Death Penalty Research Paper

For example, money spent for holding criminals in prison could be saved, prisons wouldn’t be overpopulated, and criminals wouldn’t be released from jail and continue their saga of crime. One of the main reasons the death penalty should be continued is because countless dollars are invested in criminals in jails, and those dollars could be saved. For example, “State prison systems spend more than $30 billion annually, and the bureau of prisons budgeted $5 billion for just 182,000 federal inmates…

Words 638 - Pages 3

Fait Sentencing Case Study

are two young men who received harsh prison sentences for their crimes. Their crimes did not involve weapons or violence and these young men had no previous felony convictions. These men were first-time non-violent drug offenders who received cruel and unusual prison sentences under the mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws. Swift was sentenced to prison for seven years for possession of one ounce (28 grams) of crack cocaine. Tank received an eighteen year prison sentence for possession and intent…

Words 866 - Pages 4

Public Shaming In US Prisons

“U.S. prisons are costly and overcrowded” (Text 2, Line 1) the U.S. cannot afford to be holding as many prisoners as it currently does. The Land of the Free has 5% of the world's population, and 25% of that percentage are in prison. In 2010, federal, state, and local agencies spent a combined $80 billion on corrections, or $260 per U.S. resident, which when calculated into today’s dollars is increased to 87 billion.…

Words 962 - Pages 4

Rehabilitation Vs. Punishment

whether they should be punished or rehabilitated. The two have publicized what a great impact it could have on the offenders, the society and the financial impact on society. Many people argue that a person who commits a crime needs to be place in prison instead of being placed in a rehabilitation program, without the thought of wondering why a person committed the crime. In this paper I will reconnoiter the effects of punishment and rehabilitation and showing why rehabilitation will make a better…

Words 1361 - Pages 6

Essay about Kiling the Killer

families. Introduction: Have you ever noticed in video games that when you kill someone, you spend less than a couple of hours in jail/prison? You get out within a certain amount of time just to hit the streets, buy the same guns, steal the same cars and kill more people. Well that’s similar to real life situations. Murderers spend an average of 23 years in prison. Now the point of this has nothing to do with video games and I am not blaming video games for murders, just using it simply as an example…

Words 1251 - Pages 6

Waiting For Superman

released on September 24, 2010. This documentary focuses on problems surrounding schools in the U.S. Throughout the film, students and parents are being interviewed by Geoffrey Canada about their experienced in education and why they want to go to school for. The three most important understanding I learned from watching this documentary include the Teacher Tenure, costing more to send a person to prison than sending a student to college, and the dance of the lemon. One issue in education that I learned…

Words 579 - Pages 3