My thoughts on Criminal Justice and Prison Reform

The United States has one of the largest prison populations in the world. America is lagging behind other nations when it comes to criminal justice and prison reform. Human rights violations happen daily inside U.S. prisons. Something needs to be done so that prisoners are treated humanely and so that there are less inmates in the United States. Here are some of my thoughts on criminal justice and prison reform.

The United States needs to abolish the death penalty on the federal and state levels and also for the U.S. military. In 2023, there are still 27 States that use the death penalty as a form of punishment. A death penalty is way more expensive than a trial where life in prison is the maximum punishment. There is also the fact that due to the number of appeals that can be made by death row inmates, it usually takes years or even decades for a prisoner to be executed. Some death row die before their planned date of execution which in my opinion makes being on death row kind of pointless. It is also very hypocritical to say that since you took a life, you deserve to die. Basically the government is killing the criminal. It reminds me of the old saying, "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Marijuana should be legal in all 50 States. It is nearly impossible to overdose on Marijuana in fact, it is much easier to overdose on alcohol which is legal. Studies have shown that in certain cases, Marijuana has medical benefits including treating chronic pain and glaucoma. Making Marijuana legal would drastically reduce the prison population and the number of prisons needed in this country. People addicted to Marijuana need to go to rehab and get the help that they need instead of going to prison. People who are or have been in prison for Marijuana related offences need to be exonerated of those charges

Solitary confinement should not be used as punishment for minor offenses and should only be used to keep prisoners safe. Solitary confinement that lasts longer than 15 days is recognized as torture by the United Nations and many human rights groups. Being in solitary confinement for long periods of time is harmful for everyone but especially for certain groups including people under 21 and over 55, pregnant people, and people with mental and physical disabilities. There are also countless stories of prison staff abusing inmates in solitary confinement. 

The prison food should be healthier and provide enough nutrition for inmates. Most prison food in America is not fit for human consumption. Also, prisoners only get a couple minutes to eat and are often rushed by the guards. Inmates should also get more privileges because they are likely to behave themselves when they have a lot to lose. I do not expect the United States to have prisons like Scandinavian countries because it is impractical because of the amount of prisoners that this country has. Prisoners who are not serving life without parole can sometimes get time of their sentence for good behavior but that is not the case for people serving life without the possibility of parole which is why they need another incentive to follow the rules. Right now, there is no incentive for those serving life without the possibility of parole because of the very little privileges that they get in prison and that they will never leave prison. More inmates with good behavior leads to guards and prison staff being less stressed. Finally, the punishment for committing a crime should be the loss of freedom and not to be treated inhumanely.