The four key purposes of prison are punishment, deterrence, rehabilitation, and incapacitation. Is the current prison system in America really achieving those goals? 

Throughout history, U.S. prisons have been facing a severe overcrowding problem since the 1980s, during the implementation of strict drug laws. The harsh drug laws led to unnecessary arrests growing the community in jails. And today, the issue has still not been resolved. The overcrowding issue itself is already a problem but it also leads to more complications in prison like poor living conditions due to cramped spaces, violence among inmates, and issues involving mental and physical health. Prisons are meant to provide a sense of security to society by locking up criminals, but constantly imprisoning people is not enough to lower crime rates and resolve the horrible environment in prison. America’s prison system is flawed because of unfair sentences, miserable living conditions, and brutality among inmates. 

Historical Background 
Reviewing the major historical events of the U.S. prison system will provide insight into how the prisons and their flaws in the past contribute to the modern prison system. Starting way back in 1790, the very first penal institution in the U.S. was called the Walnut Street Jail. The prison had hygienic conditions because it isolated prisoners into separate rooms, thus allowing “minimal human contact.” Unlike the conditions in Walnut Street Jail, in 1835, the first women’s prison was formed and had inhumane living conditions, a complete downgrade to the Walnut Street Jail. The horrific environment in the jail led to its suspension thirty years later. In 1866, a year after the conclusion of the Civil War, a new policy called convict leasing was introduced. Convict leasing is unethical as it allows prisons to have the ability to lease out humans to private businesses. The policy treats human beings as animals for sale and also contributes to slavery. It is ironic how the policy formed right after the Civil War ended because the war supposedly gave freedom to millions of enslaved people, but with the convict leasing system in place, it does not allow full freedom to the imprisoned. Although the system was outlawed in 1928, it still contributed to slavery and is unethical. Now, the significance of the overcrowding issue first began in 1971, when President Nixon declared drug abuse to be “public enemy number one” which consequently increased the population in prisons. According to author Emily Dufton, Nixon “transformed the public image of the drug user into one of a dangerous and anarchic threat to American civilization.” People that were doing drugs legally ended up becoming a threat and were imprisoned. Then in the 1980s, President Reagan vastly expanded these efforts with the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 and the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. Prison populations skyrocketed dramatically from this point onward and today, America has the world’s highest prison population of over 2,068,800. 

The Current Prison System
The prison system has gone through drastic changes over the years and is still changing now. Today, the state and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) are in control of the prison system. They are in charge of any problems “[such] as riots, escapes, prison mismanagement and brutality towards prisoners.” Imprisonment is not always the only option for punishment as there are other forms like community service and probation. However, the type of punishment is decided by the type of crime. If the judge decides the crime is extremely cruel then the offender will face a life sentence without the option of parole, but all of this also depends on the state laws. The modern prison is separated into levels that range from the least violent to the most violent offenders. The most violent offenders have the most security. Next is the process of determining prison sentences. The purpose of the trial is to analyze the evidence and to determine the length of imprisonment. The judge makes the final decision of the person accused and the jury is sometimes present to help aid the judge’s decision. Certain factors like the “brutality and nature of crime committed, state and federal sentencing procedures, the previous record of the convicted criminal and the judgment of the judge” all have a role in the final outcome. It is common for the offender to plead guilty because it will allow them to “receive a lesser prison sentence as opposed to participating in a trial, being found guilty and having to endure a much harder sentence.”   

Flaws in the Sentencing Process 
There are plenty of flaws in the prison system but the sentencing process is one of the major flaws. Race is a factor that is evident in the sentencing process. A pie chart below shows that there are a ton of cases revolving around nonviolent offenders being imprisoned and the percentage breakdown of each race. It is not a surprising fact that the highest percentage of nonviolent offenders are Black Americans considering how throughout U.S. history, Black Americans are always victims of oppression. Race will always be a factor in the decision-making whether judges choose to consider it or not. Another source confirms the idea of race having a clear role in sentences: “Latinos and blacks tend to be sentenced more harshly than whites for lower-level crimes [..] However, Latinos and blacks convicted of high-level drug offenses also tend to be more harshly sentenced than similarly-situated whites.” This proves that the same crimes performed by both the minority and the whites, the whites will almost always get let off lightly compared to the minorities. The history of white supremacy being dominant is shown again. A bold line of racial prejudice evidently exists in history and today. The prison sentencing process in America should be equal and fair to all races.

Unneeded Imprisonments
A total of “576,000 people are behind bars with no compelling public safety reason.” The statistics above show that a large number of people were unfairly put in jail. The people that “deserves” to be in jail are those that commit serious felonies like murder or rape. The people that should not be in jail for more than a year are misdemeanor crimes like petty theft. Although the type of misdemeanor crime that was committed does matter, most minor crimes deserve probation, community service, or fines. Prisons must be imprisoning people that should be in jail because excessive imprisonments will only worsen the overcrowding problem. A most recent example regarding the effects of overpopulation is a situation in Haiti where “eight inmates have died at an overcrowded prison” because the prison ran out of food two months ago. This shows the poor negligence of the prison facility and the horrible effects of overpopulated prisons. When prisoners are released back into society, it is important for them to be in good condition to not only live a decent life but to also lower the risks of reoffending.

Comparing the U.S. with Other Prisons in the World 
The general concept of prison is a great idea but it has many imperfections. Constructing a humane prison is important for deterrence and rehabilitation. An example of an effective prison is the Bastøy Prison in Norway. Sources state that “they’re humane and part of the reason Norway’s crime rates are low compared to other countries.” The prison cells are built with great quality which is the total opposite of the cold rusty U.S. prison cells. Sources claim that the prison strongly focuses on rehabilitation and the only punishment is “the prisoner’s right to be a free member of society.” Focusing on rehabilitation in training programs is a great way to reform criminals for the better. The Bastøy Prison is able to lower crime rates and improve prisoners due to its quality. 

The decent treatment in Norway affects the percentage of re-offenders: “Norway has the lowest reoffending rate in Scandinavia. Two years after release, only 20% of prisoners have been re-convicted. [...] Over 50% of prisoners in the United States will be back in jail within three years of their release.” The statistic shows that Norway’s prison system is successful in deterrence and rehabilitation as the percentage of re-offenders is significantly lower than the U.S.. The two dramatically different prisons provide two dramatically different results. America’s prisons are in desperate need of reform.  

Conclusion 
The current prison system in the U.S. is flawed and is not necessarily reaching the four key purposes. The conditions in penitentiaries affect everyone in society, not just the prison community. Prisons will need to improve on the overpopulation and ongoing violence in jails. There needs to be better solutions to improving the overcrowding issue as it has been going on for decades and is worsening every year. Just building more prisons will not fix the problem, instead, officials like the BOP should also lower the incarceration rates which will then allow fewer unnecessary imprisonments and thus lower the high population rates in jails. Another concern with overpopulated jails is the spread of diseases. Ex-convicts can spread diseases to the world that were caught in jail after living in unhygienic conditions. A modern example is the spread of COVID-19 in jails which led to hundreds of deaths. Lastly, violence is a problem that needs to be resolved as the trauma from aggressive fights will last forever within a person’s memory. The prison system has many flaws that are yet to be fixed.

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