Almost everyone has heard the phrase “If you do the crime, you do the time”. Worldwide, incarceration is the most widely used form of punishment. In the United States, there are over 60 categories of crime, with a punishment that could range in the common paying a fine, or the rare death penalty. Oftentimes, a crime will leave a person in the slammer. Media has given the appearance that American prisons are hell-on-earth, and this should surely be enough motivation to prevent second-time offenders, or even dissuade people from committing a crime in the first place. Media is notorious for exaggeration, so it makes one wonder, is the United States’ incarceration system that tough? The truth is, compared to some of the world’s prisons, the ones can be considered soft and inefficient.. After all, the United States has the highest rate of people incarcerated compared to any other country. And no, it is not because Americans are more violent, or the laws are too rigid. In fact, most inmates are given opportunities to rehabilitate themselves, a program that has done nothing but waste money and show criminals that America’s punishment system is a joke. The prisoners have more freedom they deserve, cost of living is free for them, and most of them end up become recurring offenders.

Some believe that criminals can be rehabilitated through kindness and encouragement. Not entrapment and strict enforcement. Supporters of these programs believe that the inmates should be able to live as normal of a life as possible, with plenty of recreation time, religious support, and therapy with a counselor. Rehabilitation has given the incarcerated the ability to cut time off their sentence, because people are convinced that they’ve changed. The proof in the matter is that 70% of those released return to jail within a few years. Look no further than a sex offender registry for proof. Most of the people listed are repeat offenders; ones who committed a crime, served jail time, and ended up back in jail because they repeated themselves. Does it truly seem like the prisons are making bad people good? Yes, prison rehabilitation is an accepted practice, but they have poor results to show for it.

The belief that some criminals are genetically predisposed to commit a crime has been considered since 1907, when Sir Francis Galton first put forth the theory of inheritance of criminal tendencies. Since then, sophisticated studies have confirmed a genetic basis for some criminal actions. Patricia Cohen, author of the article “Genetic Basis for Crime: A New Look” writes that, “One gene that has been linked to violence regulates the production of the monoamine oxidase A enzyme, which controls the amount of serotonin in the brain. People with a version of the gene that produces less of the enzyme tend to be significantly more impulsive and aggressive”. Some defense attorneys have tried to argue that their client should not be held responsible for their illegal action because the “the genes made him do it”, yet this same reason is conveniently ignored as people argue for rehabilitation rights for inmates.And it is true that some people are more likely to commit a crime based on the genes they may have, but gene expression cannot be altered at will, and therefore discredits the effectiveness of rehabilitation to alter one’s criminal behavior. The gene that produces monoamine oxidase A enzyme, which can lead to aggression and violence is triggered by high stress situations. Rehab might be able to temporarily repress the gene’s expression, but if they were released because the parole board thought the rehab worked, they would be severely mistaken. Further proof that the rehabilitation method is ineffective is the psychologist belief that behavior is consistent throughout one’s life. Whether their criminal behavior is part of one’s genome, or a learned behavior, one thing is remains the same: chances are, having programs where inmates can talk about their feelings to rehabilitate themselves or be treated with exceeding kindness will most likely not change their feelings, nor will it make them feel guilt if they don’t already.
Most of the advocates for prison reform believe that not only can some of these criminals change, but they also deserve redemption. This idea can be controversial, but some of the people locked up are the lowest of the low, ones with no moral compass or compassion. They are cold blooded criminals, and it is highly unlikely that they will see reason be regretful. They are most likely irredeemable.These are the serial killers, rapists, and child molesters. Ones who are disgusting excuses for human beings who thrive on the pain of others, and are probably laughing at the people who try to make them into honorable people. And those who think that their pathetic attempts to change these criminals’ ways of life are foolish and ignorant, wasting their time and the taxpayers’ money. What makes them so deserving of the redemption that uses up too much of federal spending, anyways?

Another major failure of America’s prisons is the amount of money being wasted on them. The average cost of one inmate per year is over $20,000, several thousand dollars more than the annual income of someone earning minimum wage. One of the biggest wasters of money on prisoners is the state of California. On average, California spends approximately $8,667 per student, but over $50,000 per inmate. That’s almost 6 times as much for prisoners, but that is not the most horrifying. Every single state in the United States spends more on an inmate than they do on a student per year. Perhaps the problem is not that the prisoners aren’t getting rehabilitating, but rather that they have had a lacking education, and turned towards a life of crime. Also, orphaned children and those in the foster care system are more likely to commit a crime. Perhaps if the waste of money used on the prisons was used to support these children, the crime rate would decrease.
Programs like the Inmate Education and Correctional Education is another method to rehabilitation that just makes no sense. Inmates can now get a college degree, with no extra cost to them. Just think about how much earning a college degree costs for the average, law-abiding citizen. Approximately $30,000 on average is spent on college annually, but is free for a criminal Of course, there is no such thing as “free”, so that means someone (the taxpayers) have to willingly pay for one of these people to get a college education, as part of their rehabilitation process. Free healthcare, and “room and board” is yet another “bonus” of prison. Of course, it would be inhumane to make them starve, but are entertainment sources like television necessary?

According to Adam Liptak, author of “U.S. Prison Population Dwarfs that of other Nations”, the USA has 5% of the world’s population and 25% of those incarcerated. Some argue that this is because people are more violent, or laws are harsher, but there is visible trend that might explain the reason. Liptak states, “The spike in American incarceration rates is quite recent”. So is the spike in cost per inmate annually. Not too long ago, state governments would spend more on students annually than prisoners. Nowadays, governments spend way too much on those incarcerated (and not enough for child education), yet the rate of incarceration keeps on climbing. It is probable that the American prisons are not efficient in the slightest.

Throughout the years and in different parts of the world, different styles of prisons have been used and evaluated for effectiveness. One one hand, harsh prisons, or tough love, are perhaps too tough. On the other hand, prisons that are too nurturing lead to indifference and increased likelihood for crime. There needs to be a balance of both to decrease crime rates; people must fear a prison enough so that they will be dissuaded from committing a crime, yet it can’t be inhumane because there are some in the prison system that aren’t bad people and might not deserve that. This ideal prison has yet to be discovered, and flaws are always present in United States prisons or jails.