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Over Population in the Prison System Costs Billions, and That Affect Us All!

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Over Population in the Prison System Costs Billions, and That Affect Us All!
Over population in the prison system costs billions, and that affect us all!

Tjy Helms
Composition 1 ENG1001 BH Week 5
Professor Henry
05/6/2011

I say why should we the people pay to house, feed, and provide medical care for people who have never had a history of violent behavior? The issue becomes compounded when we cram thousands of people into a space designed for hundreds. Look at the number of people who are doing hard time, for non-violent crimes. These are the people who are costing us unneeded expenses. I’m willing to pay to keep the murders and rapists off the streets, to keep the child molesters as far away from my children as I can get them. But I’m not willing to pay to house feed and care for the guy who should have paid a fine and gone home.
Over population in the prison system costs billions, is harmful to society, and creates health issues and concerns that affect us all! Clemmitt, M. (2007, January 5) who wrote on Prison health care reports that “A high percentage of the more than 2 million inmates in U.S. jails and prisons suffer from mental illness, addiction or infectious and chronic diseases like HIV/AIDS and diabetes. About a quarter suffer from major depression and a fifth from psychosis” Clark, C. S. (1994, February 4) the writer of Prison overcrowding found that "The federal prison system is 37 percent over-capacity, while budget-strapped states are housing prisoners in tents, hallways and gymnasiums -- or releasing them early." Health care is a huge issue when we talk about over population. When a person is incarcerated they are entitled to free health care. Clemmitt, in his 2007 paper on Prison health care quotes the Supreme Court’s ruling in 1976 that “deliberate indifference to an inmate's medical needs is cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment” (Para. 23). Even when law abiding members of society cannot provide health care for themselves, they are required/forced to provide health care for those who


References: Clark, C. S. (1994). Prison Overcrowding. CQ Researcher, 4, 97-120. Retrieved from: http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre1994020400&type=hitlist&num=3 Clemmitt, M. (2007, January 5). Prison health care. CQ Researcher, 17, 1-24. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/ Katel, P. (2006, June 2). War on drugs. CQ Researcher, 16, 481-504. Retrieved from: http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2006060200&type=hitlist&num=2 Katel, P. (2007, April 6). Prison reform. CQ Researcher, 17, 289-312. Retrieved from: http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2007040600&type=hitlist&num=2
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