Most people in this country are part of the "let them rot" crowd. For many, they think if the conditions are bad and the treatment is bad that prison will serve as a "proper deterrent." America does not want the focus of prison to be rehabilitation. They want it to be about punishment and nothing else. Of course this doesn't work. 2/3rds of people released from prison will end up right back in. Police have even told me that it's frustrating to see. And they see it every single day. They have told me the system is failing.
There are some prisons that are double their designed capacity. Overcrowding has become a massive problem for several states. California for example has been forced to violate the sentencing laws and trigger early release because they just can't take anymore. The overcrowding has led to poor conditions in many state prisons.
The other problem of course is the increasing privatization. Prison and rehabilitation should NEVER be for profit. It should be a job of the state with constant oversight. Privatizing these prisons have lead to more laws and longer terms, more abuses, and sometimes horrible conditions. And that's increasing our incarceration rate. We are right now the world's leading jailer. Pretty soon, 1% of our population will be incarcerated. No country on the planet comes close to us on this. We spend nearly $90 billion on our jails and prisons. That more then the GDP of many small countries.
Mental health is a big problem. Especially since over the past few decades the states have pretty much shut down mental hospitals. And they basically just put these people out on the streets. Of course they eventually end up in the prison system where they don't have adequate help.
Of course you can't talk about this with anyone without being insulted and called a "bleeding heart liberal who cares more about criminals than victims."
Look, I understand prison isn't supposed to be a Ritz Carlton. It's not supposed to be easy. I get that and agree. But we are supposed to be an advanced civilization. And although these people have made mistakes and have broken laws, they are still human beings. Treating them like animals does absolutely nothing to help society nor does it make us look very good in the eyes of the world (or history). Some of these prisons have very poor conditions. Contaminated water. Rape, violence, gangs running amok. Correctional officers smuggling in drugs and even weapons and mistreating inmates. Poor medical care. Sick inmates being left to die in cells. There is the report of the one prison in Alabama overrun by rats and disease. This is supposed to be America, not North Korea.
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