Prison System A Place Of Confinement - 888 Words

Prison is a place of confinement where people are legally detenated for a crime and/or are awaiting trial. Detention in no way should mean mistreatment. After reading the Shook, Gaucher and Vivar articles, it is clear that the prison system goes beyond just sentencing individuals for the crimes they have committed. It ends up brutally mistreating those confined, whether it is through the prison itself or the state paid staff. The Prisons and the Prisoners As we know human beings are relational beings. Humans live for interaction and communication. The prison system, however completely separates an individual from their families, friends and any sort of meaningful relations. It puts them in a small area, smaller than our washrooms, where†¦show more content†¦Thinking about people who are put in prison for crimes they committed at very young ages, are these people still the same individuals they were when they committed these crimes. These individuals go through life in prison hoping that they will be forgiven, however our state and the criminal justice system does not make it easy to do so. These individuals are forever labeled and dehumanized. Consequently, throughout the readings it was stated that Canada has the worst prison system and that the state claims, â€Å"everyone is innocent until proven guilty†. However anyone who becomes criminalized the claim for him or her then become â€Å" everyone is guilty until proven†. Similarly, one of my friend’s was in a situation where she was arrested for DUI (she had previously been diagnosed with alcoholism), however during the time she was in the held in the remand center, she was having severe withdrawal problems. Neither the police officers nor the guards try to help her in any way, they simply told her â€Å" you’ll live†. This example goes to show that because she had broken the law no matter what her situation maybe she is simply seen as a criminal. Inequality and power are integral and central to the sufferings of individuals in prisons. The state, criminal law and criminal justice systems, operate to protect the social arrangements that benefit the few and marginalize many by race,