PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NEW YORK TIMES

A Norwegian prisoner stands in a special cell focused on addiction recovery.

Prisons are touted as rehabilitation programs and punishment facilities for people who break the law, but whether they truly reform remains one of society’s biggest debates. 

In theory, prisons should offer inmates education, job training and life skills on how to function in society; they should teach prisoners to be law-abiding citizens. But the system often fails to meet those expectations.

Prison systems differ from country to country, and the results show the difference the approach can make. 

For example, Norway orients prisons around three pillars: normality, progression and dynamic security.  

Norwegian staff are friendly and try to build relationships with inmates, daily routines are designed to reflect life outside of prison and activities point to reintegration. Norway’s approach leads to one of the lowest relapse rates globally.

German prisons focus on rehabilitation and normalization, relating life in prison to that of outside. This creates a sense of familiarity and normalcy for inmates inside prison, so they can implement the same when they are released. 

Now, let me get into the shitshow; the main issue with the prison system in the United States is that it focuses more on vengeance rather than rehabilitation. 

Systems that prioritize punishment over personal development of inmates see a higher rate of relapse. 

We have seen time and time again the brutality of these prisons. One example is the murder of Rocrast Mack by the guards at Alabama Ventress Correctional facility in 2010. 

After being accused of looking at a female officer inappropriately, he was beaten to death by guards in the facility.

If you teach inmates that, if they commit a crime, they will be kept in a box and given meals twice a day, what do you think they will do? 

They know the realities of the outside world are harsh; many were homeless and hungry, and life outside prison walls is often what pushed them to commit a crime in the first place.

Rather than focusing on making sure the prisoners have the worst time of their lives, why not educate them on why a life of crime was wrong in the first place?

Prisons should not only focus on punishment but also on the promise of rehabilitation that all these prisons advertise.

Let’s focus on educating them, making sure they have the requisite life skills before releasing them back into society, so they do not end up returning to prison in the first place. 

Place fair sentences and punishments for those who commit violent crimes, but for those who can have a second shot at life, why not take that chance and rehabilitate them? 

Categories: Opinion