What Has Become of Our Criminal System?

Our society is noted as having one of the largest incarcerated populations in the world. But we are considered one of the most industrialized and sophisticated countries. How is that possible? Let’s look at exactly how our society handles criminals.

In our society we incarcerate a large percentage of our minority population. During that time period, we do not do much towards rehabilitation. Instead we allow them to live a life of luxury. They are feed three square meals a day, heat and air, an opportunity to study and gain a college education, as well as their time in the yard for daily exercise. It is no wonder that our criminal population gets released from prison only to wind up locked back up in a couple of months. Our prison system is a revolving door. We might as well put a sign that says, “We leave the light on for you.”

Our country condemns others for the way that they handle criminals. Giving them a hard time for using extreme practices that they impose upon those that violate the rules and laws that govern their society. Yet here we treat criminals almost like first rate citizens. Yes we take away their freedom and strip them of their rights as citizens, but what punishment are we actually imposing upon them to deter them from committing the same crime again. The worst part if they are labeled as serial killers, they just spin the remainder of their days in isolation rather than making them pay for the same way their victims did.

So what is to become of the criminal population of our society? Will they continue to live off of tax payer dollars? Will they continue to violate the law in an effort to get back to the lifestyle they have grown accustom to? We really need to rethink the punishment we are imposing upon and decide if it is what they should be doing? What became of the days when there was such a thing as a chain gang?

During the days of chain gangs, criminals were put to work. They dug ditches for the state and worked on railroads. They did not live a pleasured life. Instead they worked hard and toiled from sun up to sun down and regretted ever getting locked up in the first place. Here we are in the middle of a war (one that we started), and we’re complaining about our men and women being lost in battle. Yet we’ve got all these criminals living a luxurious life behind bars and sitting on their butts not being held accountable for their actions. It is time that we make them earn their keep. What would be so wrong with sending them into battle to fight for the country that is feeding them and housing them free of charge? Why can’t they be trained to go to war? We put ankle monitors on them when we release them, we can put one on them when we send them into battle. We have already stripped them of their rights so why not give them an opportunity to get back on track.

Our criminals need to be held accountable. Depending on their crime, they should be enlisted immediately into the military. They should be trained and expected to be ready to serve their country and the most they can expect is to have something put on their books once a month. Stop killing innocent lives when you got people who need to start giving back to our society. People who need to pay back their debt to society and be held accountable for the actions. It’s time to rethink our penal code systems and make our criminals regret their jail time.