Prison Reform In America

Being locked away behind bars in prison is something that one would not like to imagine for themselves. While outsiders view the scandalous cases that play out every day in our courts, they rarely think about what happens to the convicted person when found guilty. Unless a person has a close relationship to a convicted person or gains the rare access into the world of the unknown, he is highly unlikely to have any idea what happens in everyday life in prisons across America. For those that have not served time in prison, they are likely to picture a scene with mediocre conditions and inmates locked away in their cells dreaming of what the outside world may look like. Imagine walking into a facility and seeing violence occur before you. How would you react? You may question if the actions taking place line up with the actual duty of prison guards. Why is the prison system in America so corrupt, and how could this problem be solved? As prison abuse becomes a more discussed issue, this discussion will focus on what actually is occurring in prisons across America, the history of prison reform, and the potential solutions for reform in the future. …show more content…
Without a doubt, prison inmates undeniably live under extreme cruelty and are not protected under the Constitution. As laid out in the Constitution, "...nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws" (US Const. amend. XIV, sec. 1). Though a prisoner obviously does not have the rights of a free man, they are not to be violated under the Equal Protection Clause. Ramen Fabian, who was convicted for one year due to a drug conviction, gives his personal story to what happened to him the first day he arrived in a New York State prison. He describes the torches and beating he received for talking to another inmate when he was not supposed too. Because of this inexcusable violence towards Fabian, he had to be rushed into emergency surgery to save his life. (Robbins, 1-2). This article provides a perfect example of what has happened and is currently happening in our jails. As of last year, Officer Bukowski, the prison guard responsible for the beating of Fabian, was still an employee of the state. His consequences for his actions only led him to a charge of assault and suspension without pay. Enough is enough! In order to fix a problem, one must come up with the necessary …show more content…
From extensive research and observation, I have concluded that prison abuse is in fact not a myth and is happening everyday across this nation. After looking at a few examples of what is occurring in the secret world of prison, readers can see that although some facilities may treat prisoners fairly, there is still horrendous, unlawful abuse in many jail facilities. As American citizens, it is our moral duty to speak about up about this issue. We must make our voices heard to our neighbors, our local leaders, and especially lawmakers and those that could have the most impact on change. Just because a person has committed a crime and is now a prisoner does not mean that they are now subject to torcher and