How Free is America?

Many Americans agree that the U.S. prison system is a flawed one. Unfortunately, very little opportunity for reform exists for inmates. Although some prisons have started providing classes and opportunities to own and take care of shelter animals, these institutions are few and far between.

Private, for-profit prisons are even worse, most times demonstrating “problems with their policies and procedures, training, health care complaint process, emergency medical response and physician case reviews.” 

But what can we do about it? 

Reports by Associated Press to the situation have stated that California is now banning privately-owned prisons and taking steps to minimize the amount of immigrants being held in state jails. Democratic governor Gavin Newsom said that the over incarceration “‘does not reflect our values’”.

The press then goes on to explain that California, Illinois, and a couple other states have passed laws like this in an attempt to decrease the amount of inmates who are in jail for no reason or minor infractions from the prison system. (CLICK HERE if you would like to read the article).

The truth is, immigrants and people of color are often sentenced to unfair amounts of time in exchange for a minor grievance, which leads to the overcrowding of prisons. Because of this, they are sent to privately owned prisons who make a profit off of their suffering. These new laws are meant to discourage the unfair treatment of inmates, and hopefully lead to a future with less inmates overall.

So, here are a few questions to consider: why are some people so against banning private prisons? Why is there so little tolerance for inmates of color and immigrants? What could be inferred about the states that have passed laws similar to this one? And, most importantly, will this solve the problems with inequality and reform in the U.S. prison systems?