LaMay 1

Kyle LaMay
Mr. Davis
U.S. Government
1 November 2015
Prison Reform Final Draft
Do you think that its right that the majority of people in prison have committed
nonviolent crimes and are living amongst rapists, child molesters, cold-blooded killers, and
thieves? In our country this is a major issue and is something that has been going on for a great
length of time. Each year a wide variety of people are sent to prison for crimes such as
possession of marijuana and substance use rather than receiving treatment somewhere that will
actually help them and lead them on a better path. To make matters worse, some of these
nonviolent offenders are put into solitary confinement programs, which lead to even more
problems and little to no changes in the individuals. Additionally, due to the substantial amount
of nonviolent offenders in prisons, it leads to overcrowding in prisons and is very costly for tax
payers. All of these problems with the unfair treatment of nonviolent offenders should be fixed
and resolved because there are too many nonviolent criminals in prison, there is too much money
and effort spent on nonviolent criminals, and there are a wide variety of better alternatives for
them.
In prisons across the country there are substantial amounts of prisoners being kept in
prisons, which causes there to be overcrowding and prisoners who should be elsewhere due to
their non-violent crimes. The reason for this is the fact that nonviolent offenders account for the
majority of the prisoners incarcerated. In the book, The Perpetual Prisoner Machine: How
America Profits from Crime, it states that, 70 to 80 percent of the incredibly harsh sentencing
measures are non-violent offenders (Dyer 178). This shows that nonviolent criminals are being
punished substantially more than those who commit violent crimes, which is also a cause of the
unnecessary amount of prisoners in prisons. Nonviolent criminals also shouldnt be in prisons

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because, Prison punishment fails to alter nonviolent criminal behavior, especially when that
kind of behavior is driven by addiction and lack of basic education skills (Abrahamson). This
proves that it is useless to keep nonviolent criminals in prison because they wont change their
habits and wont be enhancing their lives in any way whatsoever. According to Portland State
University, Another study done in 2006 found that a high prison population has a direct,
negative effect on the psychological state of inmates (A Degree in). This reveals that
overcrowding in prisons comes with negative effects that can easily affect the nonviolent
offenders and cause them to be psychologically damaged or make their well-being even worse.
Not only is overcrowding in prisons a problem that comes with negative effects, but also the
amount of finances and energy spent on nonviolent criminals is a major issue that needs to be
solved.
The reason for all the excessive amount of money and effort being spent on nonviolent
criminals is because of the high costs for housing them, feeding them, medical care, and other
costs. The problem is caused by treating nonviolent and non-serious criminals the same as
violent criminals. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, this problem can be
fixed due to the fact that, A number of innovative strategies can save public funds and improve
public health by keeping low-risk, non-violent, drug-involved offenders out of prison or jail
(Alternatives to Incarceration). This conveys that if there were to be changes made with
nonviolent criminals being in prison, it would help our country in many important ways and
would ultimately lead to substantial savings in money. As claimed by recent studies, It costs an
average of about $47,000 per year to incarcerate an inmate in prison in California. Over twothirds of these costs are for security and inmate health care (How much does). This supports the
fact that a considerable amount of money is spent on inmates and also shows that this money can
be used for other purposes such as putting nonviolent offenders in places where they can actually

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improve their lives. According to a scholar from Salve Regina University, Five states are
investing more in incarcerating offenders for punishment, not rehabilitation, than they are in
innocent youth with a chance to be educated and not follow a path of crime (The Injustices
Inflicted). This shows that these states need to focus on putting their money elsewhere in order to
help the youth that may be going down a path of crime or to help the nonviolent offenders who
are being put in prisons rather than rehabilitation centers. Furthermore, due to the fact that large
sums of money are spent on inmates each year, some of that money can be used for better
alternatives to those who have committed nonviolent crimes.
Alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders can lead them onto a better path
and let them be in an environment that will force them to change their ways and better
themselves. Prisons do little to nothing to treat the needs of those who havent committed violent
crimes and rarely allow them to seek alternatives to being imprisoned. According to the United
States Sentencing Commission, During the past ten years, alternatives to incarceration have
been imposed for between 15 and 25 percent of federal offenders (Alternative Sentencing in).
This shows that there arent yet many nonviolent offenders that are given alternatives, but it
shows that these alternatives are on the rise and will hopefully increase as the years go by. One
example of an alternative to prison stated by the adult probation services is that, There is an
alternative to jail program that enforces that non-violent offenders be drug tested and monitored
very strictly (Adult Probation). This appears to be a preferable alternative to prison time for
nonviolent offenders because this way they are forced to change their ways in a positive manner
and arent required to be behind bars with hardly any supervision. Another alternative to prison
for a nonviolent offender is that, People with minimal crime histories could be supervised,
restituted, or put into community service instead of prison (Smart on Crime). This reflects a
better replacement to prison because now these nonviolent offenders can help out the

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community, learn new things, and have the opportunity to turn themselves around in a productive
setting. While there are alternatives to prison that can be imposed for nonviolent offenders and
be helpful to them, there are some people that believe that nonviolent offenders shouldnt be
given any alternatives and should have to face their prison time just like every other criminal.
Some people believe that all offenders should be put into prisons even if their crime is
nonviolent because they should be treated just like other inmates. Also, others think that
nonviolent offenders shouldnt be granted any sort of alternative to prison. It appears that some
people think this way because they think that the law is the law and that nonviolent offenders
will recover from their addictions or nonviolent wrongdoings in a tight living space surrounded
by countless violent offenders. According to arguments in favor of Proposition 5, The
Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act is a smart way to solve these problems by treating
violent and nonviolent offenders differently (Nonviolent Drug Offenses). This shows that
nonviolent offenders and violent offenders shouldnt be treated equally due to the fact that it will
cause issues in the prison system to be fixed. As claimed by the Alabama Sentencing
Commission, The idea is that people who steal lawn mowers and credit cards should be treated
differently from those who shoot people(Bailey). This portrays the fact that nonviolent crimes
being treated the same as violent crimes is ridiculous because the severity of violent crimes is
much higher than that of nonviolent crimes. A student from Xavier University stated that,
Traditional sentencing in America by the way of mass incarceration is a failure; it does not deter
crime, it institutionalizes the inmates, and it does so at an incredible cost to the state (Jones).
This reveals that there are plenty of negatives that pertain to keeping nonviolent criminals in
prison and out of alternatives to prison. As stated by the Office of National Drug Control Policy,
Drug courts seek to reduce drug use and associated criminal behavior by retaining druginvolved offenders in treatment (Breaking the Cycle). This illustrates the idea that there are in

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fact effective alternatives for nonviolent offenders that can change them for the better. All in all,
there are some people that think that nonviolent criminals are similar to other types of criminals
and shouldnt be given other options than prison, but in reality there are also many people who
think otherwise due to all of the positives of keeping nonviolent offenders out of prisons.
At present there are a significant number of inmates in United States prisons, which
causes there to be a substantial amount of money and work exhausted on those who are
nonviolent offenders. Also, these problems can be repaired with the many alternatives to
incarceration for the nonviolent criminals. However, the main problem is that our prisons have
too high of a population and the nonviolent offenders arent receiving the correct treatment that
they rightfully deserve. What many dont realize is that prison usually makes the nonviolent
offenders nonviolent behavior even worse because they live in tight spaces, usually dont
receive any education, and are treated poorly when it comes to their health. For example,
someone suffering from a drug addiction is forced to stop taking drugs in prison, but they are
also not granted with any sort of rehabilitation or education on how to handle their addiction and
hopefully stop it completely. Moreover, if this country wants to enhance its economy and
improve the general welfare for the prisoners in prison, they must permit nonviolent criminals to
be in other programs besides prison in order to improve their lives and improve the lives of
everyday citizens.

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Works Cited
"A Degree in Demand That Makes a Difference." Pdx.edu. Portland State University, n.d. Web.
21 Oct. 2015.
http://online.ccj.pdx.edu/resources/news-articles/prison-overcrowding-is-agrowing-concern-in-the-u-s/
Abrahamson, Daniel N. Ag.ca.gov. N.p., 7 Nov. 2007. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/initiatives/pdfs/i751_07-0081_initiative.pdf
"Adult Probation." Yorkcountypa.gov. York County Pennsylvania, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
https://yorkcountypa.gov/courts-criminal-justice/court-courtrelated-offices/adultprobation/services.html
"Alternative Sentencing in the Federal Criminal Justice System." Ussc.gov. United States
Sentencing Commission, Jan. 2009. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
http://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/research-projectsand-surveys/alternatives/20090206_Alternatives.pdf
"Alternatives to Incarceration." Whitehouse.gov. Office of National Drug Control Policy, n.d.
Web. 21 Oct. 2015. https://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/alternatives-to-incarceration
Bailey, Stan. "Nonviolent Felons Get New Chance through Community Corrections."
Sentencingcommission.alacourt.gov. Alabama Sentencing Commission, 29 June 2003.
Web. 1 Nov. 2015.
http://sentencingcommission.alacourt.gov/News/news_art_bham_6.29.03.a.html
"Breaking the Cycle of Drugs and Crime." Ncjrs.gov. Office of National Drug Control Policy,
n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. https://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/policy/99ndcs/ivd.html
Works Cited Continued
"Corrections Spending in Colorado: Examining the Effects of Alternatives to Incarceration for
Non-Violent Drug Offenders." Du.edu. University of Denver, 2012. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
http://www.du.edu/ahss/ipps/media/documents/griesmer.pdf
Dyer, Joel. The Perpetual Prisoner Machine: How America Profits from Crime. Colorado:
Westview, 2000. Print. 16 Oct. 2015
"How Much Does It Cost to Incarcerate an Inmate?" Lao.ca.gov. Legislative Analyst's Office,
n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. http://www.lao.ca.gov/PolicyAreas/CJ/6_cj_inmatecost
Jones, Cooper. "Does Alternative Sentencing Reduce Recidivism? A Preliminary Analysis."

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Xavier.edu. Xavier University, n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.
http://www.xavier.edu/xjop/documents/XJOP_Vol_V_2014_Jones.pdf
"Nonviolent Drug Offenses." Voterguide.sos.ca.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2015.
http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/past/2008/general/argu-rebut/argu-rebutt5.htm
Ouellette, Carly B. "The Injustices Inflicted on Nonviolent Offenders in the U.S. Correctional
System." Digitalcommons.salve.edu. Salve Regina University, 8 Dec. 2008. Web. 22 Oct.
2015.

http://digitalcommons.salve.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

article=1022&context=pell_theses
"SMART on CRIME: Reforming The Criminal Justice System for the 21st Century."
Justice.gov. Department of Justice, Aug. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/ag/legacy/2013/08/12/smart-on-crime.pdf