Although there have been many arguments over the focus of the American justice system in prisons, the main focus should be rehabilitation. Some think prisons should focus strictly on the punishment for the crime committed, as well as others thinking prisons are solely for protecting society from criminals. However, protection from society will only take you until the prison sentence has ended and the criminal has been released to once again possibly commit another crime, if not the same one. As far as the punishment is concerned, going to jail is the punishment. They are not to be punished any further than the punishment of the amount of time spent incarcerated.
Many prisons and correctional facilities have begun focusing their units on rehabilitation. The New York State Department of Correctional Services has made it a point to provide societal protection through benefits for inmates. One point of their mission statement reads: Offers inmates and opportunity to improve their employment potential and their ability to function in a non criminal fashion (Aristizábal). Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, announced, in May of 2007, a reform in California’s prison system including an effort provide beds for treatment and rehabilitation, while reducing the overcrowding caused by the amount of inmates in gyms and dayrooms.. McKean, a federal correctional facility in Bradford, Pennsylvania is considered to be one of the nicest prisons in America, often compared to a college campus. The past warden, Dennis Luther, created “Beliefs about the Treatment of Inmates.” The first six points are as follows: 1. Inmates are sent to prison as punishment and not for punishment. 2. Correctional workers have a responsibility to ensure that inmates are returned to the community no more angry or hostile than when they were committed. 3. Inmates are entitled to a safe and humane environment while in prison. 4. You must believe in man's capacity to change his behavior. 5....