Prison Modifications

Mariahlyne Briones, "We Need a Prison System Change - And Now," can be found here


I really enjoyed Mariahlyne Briones blog post that compares our prison system to Norway's prison system. I've heard several times that other countries have very successful systems that are completely different to America's and although when you first hear about it, it does sound insane, but these other countries have less crime, better economic status, and a less stressed country sooooo why not consider changing a few thins? This article was particularly intriguing because it has to do with prison systems. A topic like this is controversial because it has to with criminals like do they really deserve freedom and the rights to be treated this way when they've done something horrible?
Briones states that Norway treats their prisoners as "people" unlike Americans, who treat their prisoners like "animals," but what dumfounded me the most was Norway's inmates actually freedom. Though most of us may be against this, consider that their recidivism (prisoners who return to prison) is at 20% meanwhile America is at nearly 77%. This statistic is what really captured me because she has a point, why are we going to imprison a man for 20 years over weed, but imprison a man charged with rape, murder, assault, etc., for months or just a few years? This is a tactic that could potentially work in America, however, I do agree that this is not something that can happen in a short amount of time because this would be a major transition with our current system. And maybe this isn't a factor that could be enforced with all inmates but perhaps those charged with minor charges.
Mariahlyne Briones' article was very interesting to me and gave me a new way to perceive the function of our prison system when comparing two countries systems. Briones did a great job on this article, I thought it was well informed, intriguing, and credible. This is very controversial topic, but something to consider for sure, in my opinion.