Penal System Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Penal System - Assignment Example The prisoners in state prisons have committed white collar crimes or what can be termed as â€Å"petty† crimes such as robbery compared to the crimes of the prisoners in supermax prisons (Lawrence and Mears, 2004). They have minimal sentences of just a few years after which they will be released back to society. Their rehabilitation is therefore important to prepare them to survive accordingly once released. For those in supermax prisons however, they will never move back to society again and hence it is not important to rehabilitate them as they would not need it anyway. What is the whole point of offering them educational, correctional or even vocational programs similar to what is offered to inmates in state prisons when they will not have an opportunity to put the programs into practice? Hershberger also raises an important issue about the safety of the guards dealing with the prisoners in supermax prisons. They are dealing with the categorized worst criminals in history and hence they have to be protected. Their protection is guaranteed by having the prisoners locked up 23 hours every day with their freedom restricted as much as possible (Hershberger, 1998). Even though it seems unfair to the prisoners in supermax prisons to have to live such a life, I have to state that it is in the best interest of everyone to have them locked up that much, have their freedom restricted and even be punished. They committed crimes that cannot even be mentioned and hence should not be accorded any niceties at all (Mears and Watson, 2006). I do not see any point in the state or federal government wasting their resources in rehabilitating these criminals. The money they spend on their security and food is enough already. This may seem inhumane but remember they have done inhumane acts in order to land in the supermax prisons. Sinden raises very crucial points in the issue of privatizing the prisons in the US. The issue may have worked with the educational system and