Millions of people are incarcerated in the US, making it the largest population worldwide. The rising number of inmates in the country can be partly attributed to the country’s size. However, the country’s justice system likely needs reforms to control the numbers that appear to be rising annually. While the rising incarceration rate can be construed as the execution of justice, it also constitutes a source of social harm and injustice. The penal system in the US is not a just one because it emphasizes the increased imprisonment of offenders rather than rehabilitation.
The US justice system has raised multiple contentions globally due to its inability to control the prison populations. Travis et al. (2014) find that incarceration containment in the US is inversely proportional to the level of the country’s economic and political stability (Travis et al., 2014). The study further finds that the country’s population has more than quadrupled from 1970 to 2021 (Travis et al., 2014). These revelations depict the system’s massive flaw, given that social welfare and development have considerably risen during the named period. Today, the number of inmates in the US is at least five times the rate recorded in Europe (Travis et al., 2014). Thus, the US penal system has been focused on sentencing while ignoring other practical punishment methods. As a result, the prison populations are exceedingly higher than the social benefits in the country.
In summary, the penal system in the US is not just because the increased rate of imprisonment cannot be justified by the social benefits. Importantly, the country’s penal system exhibits an overwhelming reliance on incarceration. The justice of the system can only be realized if changes in sentencing, prison, and social policy were made. Particularly, there is a need to make significant changes in the imprisonment policy to avoid unnecessary incarcerations, while administering justice.
Reference
Travis, J., Western, B., & Redburn, F. S. (2014). The growth of incarceration in the United States: Exploring causes and consequences. The National Academies Press.