Why Does the Media and Political Participation Matter?
We must look at why this problem has not been fixed yet. The perception of prisoners in America is that they are all terrible people that need to be punished, and yes they need to be punished but to what extent? When does punishment turn back to hurt us? The reason I say this is because the prisoners that are being punished, many times in very cruel ways, are going to be released one day and become your fellow citizens. Who do you want coming out? The hardened criminal, or the reformed person with a new life ahead of them?
In Norway they view imprisonment and the fact that the person's freedom is taken away as punishment enough, with this in mind they can then focus not on continued punishment but on rehabilitation (Huffington Post).
In Norway they view imprisonment and the fact that the person's freedom is taken away as punishment enough, with this in mind they can then focus not on continued punishment but on rehabilitation (Huffington Post).
We have to understand that if prisoners are treated less than human they will not become better people. We must treat them with the respect of a fellow citizen, who may have flaws, but never the less deserves a chance to rehabilitate. Bernie Sanders sums up this idea perfectly when talking about prisoner voting rights. This not only applies to prisoners being able to vote, it applies to how prisoners should be treated.
SolutionsThink of this, the media generally only covers the prisoners in a very dark manner, showing the worst, never the rehabilitation. All of the TV shows and movies focus on the extreme violence of gangs and criminals. This causes a warped view of how to treat criminals. They seem to be everywhere right? So the response is to be okay with how they are currently treated. The problem here is that extreme punishments like solitary confinement only exacerbate the problems, solitary confinement in Norway doesn't even exist.
|
What then?
Here is where the individual should get involved. Unfortunately, political participation is a factor relating only to the personal. So we all need to be more aware of how the current system treats prisoners, and that their behavior may be a result from such treatment. Each of us must play our part in making rehabilitation more common.
For more information on how to make an impact please visit https://www.sentencingproject.org/actions/
For more information on how to make an impact please visit https://www.sentencingproject.org/actions/