Imagine this scenario: a loved one is convicted of a felony, grand larceny, there was a very discernible change in the way he acted and treated others in the months leading up to his conviction, but the family didn't take any course of action or intervention to address the behavior. He goes through his sentence and comes out of prison supposedly a new man. Soon he is convicted of yet another charge of grand larceny and he picked up a capital murder charge as well. One may wonder as to why prison didn't influence him to not do the same action again, and no it's not because he's a ¨Bad Apple.¨ It's because the system doesn't do anything to fix his lack of self respect or demeanor towards people, nor will it shift its focus away from criminalization and toward rehabilitation.

The criminal justice system doesn’t do enough for detainees in American society because convicts adopt a culture from American prisons that does not integrate into what’s considered the norm; this results in the need to repeat the behavior that landed them in prison in the first place.  For example, criminals are mostly commiting crimes because of their situation, lack of career choice, or the inability to provide for family. If the system made an effort to educate their convicts then they’d be able to find secure jobs and social relationships. In addition, if the system gave the detainees the ability to work towards goals that they wanted to achieve they’d learn to apply themselves. A statement made by Chris Coons, a reporter from CNN, states, “... it focuses far too much on criminalization and incarceration and far too little on rehabilitation” (America's Criminal Justice System). If the system only focuses on the proverbial slap on the wrist how are those who have committed crimes going to reform?  Some may say that if that kind of policy is established it'd be abused, but that's where the concept of discipline applies itself. If a felon were to commit an additional offense while in the new system then anything they may have earned will be taken away. But within just earning creature comforts, the convicts themselves could go through a reform school-esque program, gaining career knowledge and regaining the ability to function within a modern society.

The founding principle behind any kind of prison or jail is to detain those who have broken the law and put them away. This system draws many similarities with the “quiet corner”, a common practice within kindergartens and elementary schools but does it ever really help with the problem students? For example, if the systems in place were reformed to better rehabilitate these felons and give them a sense of pride in the things they do and the ability to provide for their families rather than having to resort to crime.

The criminal justice system is unable to rehabilitate its convicts. If the criminal justice system was reformed and its general focus shifted away from convicting and more toward healing imagine the amount of resources the United States, or even the entire world,  wouldn't have to sacrifice towards prisons and insurance. Convicts could become rehabilitated workers and the hundreds of thousands of people currently detained now could help the world become better as a whole.

Sincerely,

Sokrates