The Flaws in the US's Punitive Prison System and the Importance of Rehabilitation

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The Flaws in the U.S’s Punitive Prison System and the Importance of Rehabilitation

By Wai Chi Ethan Leung

The Lawrenceville School, Class of 2023 Lawrence Township, New Jersey

Edited by: Alexandra Dishnica Reviewed by: Sameer Hinduja

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A. INTRODUCTION

Prisons and jails are integral components of every criminal justice system globally, although the philosophy that underpins each incarceration system varies. In contemporary societies, prison system designs are based on correctional models that lie within a spectrum, where one end is rehabilitative and the other is punitive. A punitive approach focuses on penalizing the offenders, whereas a rehabilitative system emphasizes educating and facilitating the reintegration of offenders. Since the 1970s, the United States has adopted a punitive approach with questionable effects, suggesting reform is urgently needed. To determine the suitable reforms for the U.S., exploring the most pressing issues facing the country's prison system and investigating possible reform initiatives using examples from other countries are essential.

Unfortunately, the American public often stigmatizes and ostracizes prisoners and assumes that they are individuals who deserve no place in society. Many Americans subconsciously label inmates as “evil” human beings who deserve, at best, to live in isolation as a consequence of any “malicious” action (Moore). Society often disregards the well-being of the inmates and denigrates them as “second class citizens” which has, in turn, blinded the community from recognizing human-rights concerns in correctional facilities (Prisonfellopship.org). The U.S has become the country with the highest incarceration rate in the world, with 655 inmates per 100,000 of the national population and a total prison population of 2.2 million (Walmsley). This overwhelming incarcerated population has resulted in a substantial decline in the quality of our correctional facilities—violence, overcrowding, and poor hygiene are common problems, and initiatives to combat these issues have shown no significant progress. Additionally, two out of three released prisoners have been re-incarcerated within three years of

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their release, casting doubt on the value of the prison system. This system fails to secure a brighter future for offenders and ensure a safe public (HealthyPeople.gov).

What can the government do to solve the issues of substandard correctional facilities and improve the effectiveness of the prison system in the U.S.? The core problem lies with America’s ideology that prisons should be structured punitively. To resolve the issues haunting America’s correctional facilities, the country should consider a combination of alternative sentencing strategies and rehabilitative approaches, which are growing in popularity in other countries.

B. DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHIES OF INCARCERATION

Modern incarceration systems typically fall within a spectrum where one end is punitive, and the other is rehabilitative. Punitive prison systems, sometimes referred to as punitive justice or retributive justice, are fixated on punishing criminal offenders while rehabilitative prisons systems, or rehabilitative justice, attempt to seek justice by offering physical, mental, or cognitive aid and education so that criminal offenders can reintegrate into society (Criminal Justice Online Blog).

1. Punitive Approach

In modern prison systems, rehabilitative approaches, compared to punitive methods, are more beneficial financially and socially. If one were to break down the underlying intent of punitive justice and rehabilitative justice, it would be discipline and reintegration respectively (Criminal Justice Online Blog). From the perspective of a newly convicted individual, punishment need not entail an understanding of one's crimes. The issue with punitive justice is its superficial reasoning: if one does something wrong, he or she gets punished and locked up so society will not have to suffer from further disturbances. While this ideology may seem

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straightforward and correct to many, it fails because the problem is never resolved; Instead, it is merely hidden. If prisons adopt a punitive approach, punishing the offenders becomes the reason for the prison to exist. This approach becomes questionable because punishment cannot be an end goal in itself. Society should be accountable and take responsibility for its own failures. Resources must be diverted to support and rehabilitate those who have behaved in socially unacceptable ways. As the punitive approach to imprisonment attributes all the blame to the offender, it is shortsighted because the offender’s unique circumstances and background is often ignored.

2. Rehabilitative Approach

The rehabilitative approach recognizes that in addition to the offenders, society needs to share the blame for the crimes committed. Rehabilitation focuses on ensuring that the offenders understand their actions and the harms they have caused while providing opportunities for their future reintegration into the community. Although it is more costly, this approach is favored by many countries because it carries considerable benefits (Manudeep). First, by adopting a rehabilitative justice system and emphasizing the goal of “reintegration,” society ultimately benefits economically. Through education in prisons, inmates develop the skills necessary to find work when they finally rejoin society. Currently, 68 percent of all males in prisons have not received a high school diploma in the U.S. A rehabilitative approach and the provision of basic education to inmates would most certainly equip them with the necessary skills (Hanson). A 2008 survey reported that of those who were released from prisons two years or less, 31 percent of them remained unemployed. Providing inmates with vocational training, education, guidance on decision making and emotional self-regulation, and where applicable, overcoming drug

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addiction or psychiatric help must be the first step in making sure these inmates have a place in society.

Additionally, when offenders lack the training or skills to re-engage in society, they can be easily caught in a vicious cycle and succumb to crime again. By focusing on rehabilitation, prisons can help reduce recidivism rates by addressing the cause of the offense. Studies have also found a positive correlation between poverty and mass incarceration. Currently, two-thirds of detainees in jail report annual incomes lower than $12000 a year (Center for Community Change). For prisoners to overcome the obstacles established by imprisonment—such as employment barriers, criminal debt, and difficulty accessing public benefits—equipping former detainees with the basic skills needed to overcome these challenges is a must. If not, the rate of recidivism would only continue to increase.

Moreover, a rehabilitative approach is economically beneficial to prisons and communities. Adopting a rehabilitative approach, if done correctly, should result in a reduction of recidivism rates. In addition, rehabilitative systems would reduce the number of convicted individuals for misdemeanor crimes. Thus, it would lower the financial costs of prisons as the populations of inmates should be significantly reduced (Bandyopadhyay). By rehabilitating the prison populations, which often hold a significant portion of the population, there would be a stronger workforce, which would undoubtedly result in economic benefits (Urban.org).

C. HISTORY OF PUNISHMENT IN THE UNITED STATES

The U.S’s first prison, the Walnut Street Prison, built in the 1790s, took a rehabilitative approach, reflecting the Quaker’s belief in man's ability to reform through reflection and remorse (dwc.org). It aimed to address the needs and remedy the defects of criminal offenders. The prison

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housed inmates with life sentences and limited their contact with society beyond its wall. Despite Walnut Street Penitentiary having horrendous living quarters, it was aimed at providing inmates with the opportunity to reflect on their misdeeds just like most correctional facilities in the 18th-19th century (Sweet). Similarly, Eastern State Penitentiary, one of the largest prisons that stayed operational for 141 years, was established based on the belief that strict discipline reformed inmates and integrated them back into society through enforcing repentance and regret (Eastern State Penitentiary). However, in the shifting political climate of the 1970s and the midst of rising crime rates and drug use, skepticism about the effectiveness of rehabilitation grew. The philosophy underlying our criminal justice system gravitated to crime prevention through deterrence. President Richard Nixon’s “war on drugs” in 1971 marked the start of an era where the legislatures enacted strict mandatory minimum sentencing laws in order to punish drug abuse sternly (UChicago). Practices that emphasized punishment as a form of deterrence were extended to cover less severe offenders, including potential nonviolent drug users (The Sentencing Project). The results were overcrowded prisons, where rehabilitation was no longer a goal (ACLU).

D. CURRENT PROBLEMS WITH THE U.S. SYSTEM 1. Overcrowding

As discussed above, the U.S. prison population has reached astounding numbers, higher than ever before. The problem is that American prisons were not designed to accommodate this vast population. With tight financial and human resources, limited training for prisons staff and lack of adequate facilities, overcrowding undermines the system’s ability to meet basic human needs, provide rehabilitation, and fund staff training (Criminal Justice Programs). The Equal

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Justice Initiatives has reported on the dreadful conditions inside prisons (EJI). There were reports about maggots found in foods provided for inmates (Perkins). Mental and physical abuse of inmates is a common result of the hostile predatory culture that prisons foster. Lack of property, dignity, privacy, and long-term isolation can also cause depression, psychological regression, and even cognitive dysfunction, but these issues are often ignored. The Equal Justice Initiatives also reports that correctional officers aren’t well trained and are often overly aggressive (EJI). In Georgia, for example, senior prison officials failed to intervene when guards brutally beat handcuffed inmates. Further, California correctional officers encouraged combat, placing rival gang members together in the prison yard, and shooting them when the fights got too chaotic (ACLU). Additionally, many inmates, especially female inmates, face the threat of sexual assault (Bozelko). All these problems are attributed mainly to overcrowding. The U.S. Constitution protects all American citizens, including prisoners, “from cruel and unusual punishment,” but it is uncertain if American penal practices honor this protection. It is essential that their rights be safeguarded and that inhumane treatment be eliminated.

2. Mental Illness If our overcrowded and under-resourced prison system is stressed and cannot satisfactorily deal with healthy inmates, it is extremely ill-equipped to deal with inmates with psychiatric conditions. The punitive nature of the American justice system results in deleterious impact on inmates' mental health. Society often disregards the well-being of inmates after they are locked up, and human-rights concerns in correctional facilities are ignored. Clinical studies have shown that on average, while incarcerated, 8 to 19 percent of prisoners have psychiatric disorders and another 15 to 20 percent have some forms of psychiatric intervention (Metzner). The Marshall Project in November 2018 published data indicating that 30 percent of California

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state prisoners suffer from psychiatric conditions that require necessary treatment. The numbers in New York and Texas are 20 percent and 21 percent respectively (Lyod). The statistics depict a systematic failure of our prison system. Punitive approaches dehumanize inmates to where they are susceptible to mental health illness: there are many factors in prisons that negatively affect mental health, including overcrowding, violence, solitude, lack of privacy, lack of meaningful activity, isolation from social networks, and inadequate health services (including mental health services), in prisons. (WHO).

Further, prisons are often used as dumping grounds for people with mental disorders. People who commit crimes due to mental illnesses are often inappropriately swept into prisons instead of being assigned proper help. While prisons are neither intended nor equipped to treat mental conditions, the responsibilities often fall on them because of the lack of external support, resources and public attention. The situation worsens as mental disorders impair the ability of these inmates to cope with environments that are harsh even for healthy inmates, making them more likely to be exploited by other inmates and prison officers alike. As prisons rely on obedience and highly regimented routine, when mentally ill inmates cannot comply with the expectations laid out for everyone in jail, the result is a vicious cycle of greater and greater punishment, and the end-of-the-line could be solitary confinement (Davies). Correctional facilities must reform immediately to avoid worsening the psychological state of those inmates who are already susceptible to the stressful setting within the prison walls.

3. Racism

A by-product of the high incarceration rate in the US is a system that disproportionately affects Black, Latino and Indigenous people. The Sentencing Project reports that Black people are incarcerated in state prisons at about 5.1 times the rate of white people (The Sentencing

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Project). To put that into perspective, in some states, 1 in 10 Black men are incarcerated at any given time (Sawyer). The Criminal Justice Policy Program (CJPP) report at Harvard Law School confirms that Black and Latinos are overrepresented in Massachusetts’ criminal justice system and receive longer sentences than their white counterparts when convicted (DW.org). The report also found that racial disparities were particularly extreme for defendants facing drug and weapons charges. Black and Latinx defendants facing drug and weapon charges were more likely to be convicted, incarcerated, and receive longer sentences than white people facing similar charges. Prison terms are life-altering experiences for most inmates and the detrimental consequences arise from the obstacles prison terms create to rebuilding stable life. As the Black and Latino are disproportionately incarcerated, the communities where these inmates come from are also suffering from the consequence disproportionately when the inmates are unable to fit in upon release (The Sentencing Project).While the culprit is not the prison system itself but the criminal justice system as a whole, in particular the law enforcement agencies, the Black, Latino and indigenous communities have to disproportionately bear the social cost of incarceration.

4. High Recidivism Rate

The point of incarceration in the U.S. is also questionable as public safety is not ensured despite the country’s high incarceration rate (Steman). In May of 2018, the U.S. The Department of Justice reported that long-term recidivism among prisoners released from the U.S. showed an abysmal 83 percent re-arrest rate over a nine-year study period (Department of Justice). Additionally, the U.S. Sentencing Commission reports that recidivism among federal prisoners released on January 24, 2019, showed a 39.8 percent recidivism rate for nonviolent and about 64 percent recidivism rate for violent prisoners over eight years (Clarke). These numbers demonstrated that the U.S. prison system has not only failed in helping offenders to rehabilitate

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and reintegrate, but arguably, it may be doing a disservice to public safety. The risk of recidivism is high because without appropriate rehabilitation, inmates may acquire criminal habits while incarcerated, return to their prior criminal network upon release, or simply suffer from the consequences that derive from incarceration, such as loss of employment, loss of stable housing, or the disruption of family ties, forcing them to engage in crime again.

5. Respect for Human Dignity

While punishment serves an essential role in deterring future crimes, depriving inmates of acceptable living quarters and basic human rights is uncalled for; incarceration is already a form of punishment as inmates are excluded from society, especially their families. Additionally, inmates receive punishment in the form of limited freedom through designated eating hours, small living quarters, and finite food options, for example. It is unnecessary to impose additional punishments such as solitary confinement and unsanitary, crowded living quarters, especially ones that result in detrimental and lasting impacts that encourage inmates to commit more crimes in the future. The March 2016 issue of the New York Times Magazine described the life of inmates in a maximum-security prison (Benko). In Florence, Colorado, inmates confined in ADX, a supermax prison, reside within a 12-by-7-foot cell that has thick concrete walls, metal doors, and nothing but a tiny slot on the interior of the door for outside contact. Former warden Robert Hood describes the cell as a “clean version of hell.” (Benko) Furthermore, solitary confinement has become the convenient solution, instead of a last resort, to deal with problematic inmates. By trapping inmates inside a two-by-three-meter cell, prisons are responsible for unethical punishment, as solitary confinement creates irreversible life-long physiological effects. However, considering many of America's facilities are large, lack

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rehabilitative programs and other meaningful activities, and contain a large population ofmentally ill inmates, establishing respect is definitely not an easy task.

E. AN EXAMINATION OF OTHER CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS

The issue of how to address and respond to crime has always been a matter of debate. An examination of the approaches taken by other countries sheds light on the right mix between the punitive and rehabilitative approaches. 1. Norway Norway emphasizes rehabilitation: treatment and support to help the offender become a law-abiding member of society. This includes developing skills to improve employability or treating mental health problems. Though technically a maximum-security prison, Halden Prison has earned itself the nickname “the world’s most humane prison” (Weller). Ample access to windows allows prisoners to look at the grass and trees planted around the facility; rooms are furnished with a desk, air conditioning, and even an individual television; rooms are available for inmates to make music, exercise, or lounge; in the canteen, prisoners can use real silverware, cook and eat with each other as well as buy fresh fruit off the commissioner.

While prisons in Norway go against the conventional norm that prisons are unsanitary and unenjoyable, they are successful in decreasing the recidivism and incarceration rates in their country. In 2014, Norway had an incarceration rate of only 75 per 100,000 people (Dorjsuren). Additionally, Norway has one of the world’s lowest recidivism rates in the world, being only around 20 percent which is less than half of the United States’ prison population (Denny).

How could this be? What separates Norway and other countries is that it makes an effort to make prisoners feel at home. The government believes that by making the difference smaller

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between life inside and outside the prison, the easier the transition would be from prison to freedom. Building on its so-called "normalization principle," the inmates at Halden Prison, for instance, spend their typical days similar to other Norwegian citizens. (Williams).

Further, what makes the Norwegian system truly an outstanding one is the post-release support provided by the government. After release, in Norway, there are programs put in place to help offenders reintegrate into society such as active labor market programs set up to help ex-convicts find a job and access various social support services such as housing, social assistance, and disability insurance (Manudeep). 2. Germany and The Netherlands Germany’s Prison Act and Netherland’s 1998 Penitary Principles state that their sole aim of incarceration is to reintegrate prisoners into a life of social responsibility, free of crime. Through normalization, individuals have a fair amount of freedom and choices over their personal lives. For example, they get to choose their clothing and meals. In addition, work and education are required to instill self-worth in prisoners. The correctional staff working with inmates have undergone training similar to that of social workers and behavior specialists in the U.S (Vera.org). It is evident that instead of punishing prisoners and hoping they would learn their lesson through re-education and support , both countries are hoping to rehabilitate inmates to be valuable assets in the country's society. 3. United Kingdom The U.K adopts a model that stands ideologically in the middle of the U.S.’s punitive approach and a typical European rehabilitative approach. Although the U.K has a high prison population per capita, the highest in western Europe, the country has experimented with initiatives aimed at diverting low-level offenders away from prisons. An example is Operation

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Checkpoint, which is run by Durham Constabulary. This “deferred prosecution scheme” allows low harm offenders to avoid criminal prosecution if they agree to participate in programs directed at addressing their causes of offense (such as mental health issues or substance abuse). The results from this program are staggering: a 15 percent reduction in reoffending rates compared to similar offenders who did not participate (The Conversation). While there are similar efforts in the US, for instance, a recent effort including the USSC’s “First Offenders/ Alternative to incarceration” Proposed Amendment at the Federal level, the momentum needs to increase substantially (The Sentencing Project). 4. India An independent organization, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), demonstrated how free education could potentially help prisoners in jail (”IGNOU Educates”). To democratize education for Indian prisoners, the university has set up 94 study centers in prisons across the country, offering free training to inmates. These centers provide inmates with a University Certification for academic pursuits, gain employment and workplace education. The courses offer vocational skills like baking, welding, tailoring, and understanding motorcycle mechanics. IGNOU has also provided released inmates with chances of employment. For example, Mr. Raju, a graduate in Social Work from IGNOU, was offered a job as Assistant Business Development Manager at Taj Group of Companies (”IGNOU Educates”). Education in prisons not only functions to teach inmates, but it also helps them feel connected to society when living in a stressful environment.

F. COMPARING FOREIGN MODELS WITH THE U.S. SYSTEM1. Perception of the Offenders

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The foreign examples showcased an approach that views inmates with a sense of humanity that some in America do not share. The public must understand that inmates are members of our society, equally protected by the Constitution. However, no matter the success of these programs, it would not be feasible to transplant them, given the size of the U.S. prison population and the financial burden they entail. Nonetheless, we should appreciate that they focus on fully equipping inmates for the departure of prisons. (Starks). The American prison system must transition away from strict punishments and towards more rehabilitative practices ranging from education and vocational training, support for mental illness and overcoming drug addiction where necessary to give inmates chances for a better life upon release (Starks). 2. Incarceration is to Rehabilitate, Not Punish It is important to note that rehabilitation is possible in those foreign examples because incarceration is used differently than in the U.S. Incarceration is used as a primary form of punishment in America, including first-time and nonviolent offenders, and prison sentences are much longer. European countries rely much less on incarceration as a form of punishment, and only on rare occasions would one be sentenced to more than 20 years in jail. In Germany and the Netherlands, around 91 to 95 percent of prisoners are sentenced to two years or less in jail. Additionally, 75 percent on average have their sentence suspended, leaving very few who serve time in prison (Muenster). In contrast, the average stay for American prisons is three years. James Whitman, the Ford Foundation Professor of Comparative and Foreign Law at Yale Law School, stated that defendants in Europe are considered “particularly troubled and challenging social welfare state clients” rather than incurable individuals (Muenster).

G. HOW THE U.S. SHOULD FIX ITS SYSTEM

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The problems associated with the U.S. prison system’s problems are unique. The prevalence of gun ownership and the degree of wealth inequality are just some of the unique reasons attributed to the bias for a punitive system; the unique culture of overcriminalization and excessive reliance on punitive enforcement has given rise to mass incarceration and the decay of our prison system today. While modeling the U.S. prison system on a more progressive version such as that of Norway is a positive direction, the approach will have to be complemented with a strategy involving alternative sentencing for the prison system to become fully functional as an integral part of the criminal justice system.

1. The Ultimate Goal: Rehabilitation in an acceptable living environment

Experience from other countries supports the shift from punishment and deterrence to rehabilitation as the primary objective of prisons. While the process of rehabilitating inmates is more costly than simply locking up the offenders, prisons are meaningless unless they allow inmates to better their lives (Manudeep). Under this approach, educational and vocational training and counseling for substance abuse and psychiatric conditions are crucial to provide proper rehabilitation to offenders and reduce recidivism (Manudeep). Some may argue that prisons that provide televisions, education, and spacious living quarters are unnecessary and extravagant and that inmates do not deserve a high quality of living. Allowing televisions is highly controversial in that prisoners should not have living standards that significantly outperform the middle class; however, at a minimum, while emulating the Halden experience would be farfetched, U.S. prisons should invest and provide clean facilities and treat inmates respectfully (Technical Guidance for Prison Planning). Most importantly, correctional facilities should allow inmates to connect with the outside world. Prisoners get disconnected from their families or past when they are incarcerated, making them feel like they are entering a foreign

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world when finally being let out. Allowing inmates to keep those connections would ease the process of leaving jail and their mental health (APA.org). Further, prisoners, once leaving prison, with acquired knowledge and skills are better equipped to resist a life of crime and gain employment. Programs that treat alcohol and drug addiction similarly impact in helping rehabilitate prisoners. Contrary to common belief, prisoners released are less likely to be rearrested because they are given a chance to socialize with their families or make connections with the community (APA.org).

2. Alternative Sentencing

This paper acknowledges that other reforms would be necessary to reach this rehabilitative goal. Most importantly, the U.S. should strive to accelerate alternative sentencing measures. First and foremost, the prison population has to be reduced. Any changes to the current prison system are unlikely to yield any benefit unless the prison population is reduced to a manageable size. Many sentences could have had better effects if they were served outside prison walls, keeping the population within prison walls under control. The majority of those incarcerated today are nonviolent offenders, so alternatives to incarceration can be utilized to reduce overcrowding, appropriately sentence convicts, improve prison conditions, protect offenders' families, and reallocate valuable prison resources towards rehabilitating inmates who remain incarcerated. We can perhaps look to the example of Operation Checkpoint in the U.K., which offers a successful model to deal with offenders with mental illness and offenders arrested for mild forms of substance abuse. Currently, in the U.K., many courts will allow crimes that are less severe such as drug, alcohol, or psychiatric problems to serve their time, instead of in jails or prisons, in rehabilitation or treatment programs (Crime Defense Lawyer). These practices should

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be encouraged and elevated from services generally provided by quasi-government organizations to service provided at the federal and state levels.

With limited programs such as Operation Checkpoint, there are many alternatives to incarceration available in the U.S. as long as lawyers and courts are willing to use them. Unless mandatory sentences are required by the law, judges have access to broader discretion to use alternatives. Whether negotiating a plea agreement or sentencing in convictions, defense attorneys and the courts should be encouraged to include an alternative plan to incarceration, especially in less serious and nonviolent crimes. Courts are familiar with non-prison sentences such as fines, restitution, and community service for misdemeanor crimes as an alternative to jail. Community service, for instance, should be encouraged in particular as it not only offers the offender an opportunity to contribute to the community but can also promote self-esteem and be highly educational. Probation as an alternative to jails and prisons is also quite common and is available in both misdemeanor and felony cases. On rare occasions, work release can also be an option. To avoid losing a job while serving a jail sentence, offenders often request this alternative which will most likely be available to offenders with minimal criminal records and are not considered a flight risk (Baldwin). These alternatives should be heavily promoted for offenders of relatively mild crime because these measures enable them to avoid the pitfalls of imprisonment and alleviate the pressure caused by overcrowding in the prison system.

H. CONCLUSION

In the U.S., overcriminalization and excessive reliance on punitive enforcement have led to mass incarceration. These trends have resulted in prison overcrowding despite increasing evidence that mass incarceration is ineffective in achieving public safety. Further, incarceration

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in its current scale leads to a breakdown of the system that was never designed for the immense size of the prison population. As a result, it gives rise to pressing humanitarian problems such as unacceptable living conditions, mental illness, and racial inequality. Consistent with the belief that now is the time to reform our prison system, experience from foreign countries supports a shift from punishment and deterrence to rehabilitation as the primary objective of prisons. Countries like Norway, the Netherlands, and Germany have adopted rehabilitative prison systems with notable success. They attempt to treat people who experience incarceration with a sense of humanity that those in America do not share. While various aspects of these programs would not be feasible given the size of our prison system, there are valuable ideas that merit their incorporation into our system, such as the aim of fully equipping inmates for the departure of prison.

Given the urgent need for our prison system to undergo profound and lasting reform, a strategy is needed first to tackle the problems of overcrowding and its consequences, followed by a revamp of the prison system in its ability to rehabilitate prisoners. As the size of our prison population is likely to remain bloated in the foreseeable future, it is unrealistic to alter our sentencing policies overnight. The ideal solution to prison overcrowding lies in the increased use of alternatives to imprisonment such as fines, restitution, community service, inpatient drug/alcohol rehabilitation, and inpatient psychiatric treatment. In the long term, the prison system must evolve into one that focuses on rehabilitation and treats offenders as members of our community who require help instead of considering them as “irredeemable individuals” who should be locked away. This is the only direction the U.S. prison system can take now to tackle the poor prison conditions, lower recidivism rates, enhance public safety, and end mass incarceration.

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