by Jack Yee
As Francis T. Murphy explains, most crimes resulted in the death penalty prior to the 1800’s. (26) Prisons were then established to be a more humane, alternative punishment for lesser crimes. (26) Ever since, people have debated over prison topics including its function and how its expenses are to be met. Warren E. Burger, Francis T Murphy, and Angela Y. Davis, critics of the penal system, has their own opinions to make prisons efficient in terms of helping society.
Burger believes the Rehabilitation method will benefit both society and prisoners. Burger sees prisoners as people who have committed crimes due to their poor backgrounds and circumstances. (23) His solution is to eliminate those problems by placing criminals in programs such as work to gain values like self-esteem and work ethics. (23) This method would have two benefits. He claims that, with these added values, the prisoners will have a better chance to adjust to society and have a better life. (23) Both of which would mean freed criminals will not need to depend on a life of crime. Second, society is greatly benefited since these newly adjusted citizens means a lower crime rate caused by recidivists.
To Murphy, Burger’s method will only work with the combination of moral accountability. In his article, Murphy attributes the fall of the rehabilitation method towards the philosophical movement that claims the human intellect is not enough for the change of behavior. (26-27) The problem is Burger’s assumed prisoner identity. Murphy would dislike the idea that the criminals’ committed crimes are due to outside forces. Although Burger’s plan may give certain skills like self esteem, Murphy would argue that the ideal of moral accountability will be lost to the prisoners because the blame to their crimes is deferred away from themselves. They are no longer persuaded to believe that they have their own choice or willpower to do the right thing. This disbelief in their own selves may prevent freed criminals from committing crimes because they feel they have no control over their own actions. If the criminals cannot better themselves, society will also not be able to benefit from lower crime rates.
Davis disagrees with Burger’s rehabilitation solution because it does not apply towards the present inmate population. Davis admits that the inmates do have problems, but they range from homelessness and unemployment to mental illness and illiteracy. (46) Davis tells us the majority tends to believe these problems to be categorized under crime when they are simply unfortunate problems. (46) She would therefore accuse Burger to be under this general influence when he stated that prisoners that commit are those with contributing forces such as the lack of education. Not all people with these circumstances will commit crimes and not all criminals have problems. She argues the prisoners are placed in jails as a way of hiding these annoyances of society rather than solving them. (46) Davis feels these problems should be confronted instead of hidden away. So while it is a good idea to have rehabilitation, the people should not have to suffer through the imprisonment of jail cells to experience these programs. Instead Davis would feel better about Burger’s programs if they were present in a different setting, namely the local communities.
The Justice Model is Murphy’s choice as the needed correctional philosophy. He supports the system where the prisoner only gets punished to the degree of their crime. The prisoners will also receive rehabilitative help, but only after they ask for it. According to Murphy, the Justice Model has traits that the Utilitarian and Rehabilitative Model lack. It is popular among the public and it requires the prisoners to be morally accountable before they may be helped. (27) The benefits for society, less crimes and better lives for prisoners, are the same as the rehabilitative method except for one thing. Requiring moral accountability from the prisoners shows a demonstration to society that self will-power is still existent in society. (27) The prisons would therefore act as a model or inspiration that the public are not controlled by outside forces, but by themselves.
Burger agrees with Murphy’s correctional philosophy to a certain extent. As he admitted in his own article, “The destructive arrogance of the psychopath…may well be beyond the reach of any programs…Our programs must aim chiefly at the others-those that want to change…” (23) He agrees that the rehabilitation method simply does not apply to all inmates. And cooperation from the prisoner is definitely a huge help to further the change of the criminal. But Burger only thinks this applies to the most extreme of cases of prisoners. The critic does not believe that every single member of prison must admit their wrongs and ask for help in order to be helped. Burger would tell Murphy that prisons have thus far been inefficient by merely having prisoners stored away in warehouses. (22) Burger would say Murphy’s rehabilitation methods are too idle because they are voluntary. Burger belief in the lacking of abilities by prisoners would also have him argue that some prisoners may not have the courage or some other quality to ask for help that he/she feels is needed. Borrowing from Alleman’s article, Burger would say “some prisoners with identifiable problems may never be treated” since the rehabilitative programs in the justice model is given only those who ask. (17)
Davis would agree with Murphy’s choice of the Justice method. Davis’ chief concern over prisons is its tendency to incarcerate those that have not truly committed crimes, but due to racial stereotypes and those who hold problems disliked by society. (46) The ideal Justice method would mean that punishment will only be at the level fit for the crime. Because of this rule, the prison population would not be composed of people due to their race or problems such as illiteracy as they may in Burger’s rehabilitation model. Another concern of Davis is the inhumane living conditions caused by prisons making cuts to earn a profit. Corrections Corporation of America, for example, has made room for fifty-five thousand people in a mere 68 facilities. (47) The justice method implies the upholding of human rights in prison. If punishment extends only to the degree of the crime, the set up of the prisons would not be allowed to be below the standards of living. The concern Davis would have is the actual execution of the plan. Although she thinks it is plausible, the critic feels it will be a huge effort to make sure prisoner rights are not violated. (50)
Because of her distrust in the penal system, Davis would redirect the funds used for prisons to rehabilitative programs elsewhere. She finds the system to be too corrupted. Not only are there people in jail for reasons other than crime, as mentioned before, but prisoners have also been taken advantage of for business and profit by private industries. Often, industries have used the prisoners as a form of cheap labor in a place where employee benefits and unions do not exist in addition to cutting costs in areas such as construction to earn more money. (48) Davis thinks the solution is to contribute to the social wealth by giving the financial budget of prisons back to the local communities. (50) This process is meant to stop feeding corporate companies the tax dollars of the people. Instead, the money will go to the unfortunate who truly needs the help.
Burger and Murphy are both supporters of starting rehabilitation methods. Murphy, in particular, would agree that Davis is correct in moving those help programs outside the penal system. He has mention that the low living conditions in prisons is not the ideal setting for people to change. (27) The two critics may, however, not be as incline to have prisons give up most of its budget. Burger would argue that although factors such as homelessness and drug addictions are not crimes themselves, they may still be contributing forces, not for all, but some criminals. A drug addict, for example, may have stolen money to pay for his habits. So it is still necessary for prisons to have its source of money to support programs that help prisoners. Burger would assure Davis that there just has to be a series of checks to make sure this money is in productive use. The money is also a great resource to counteract the poor living conditions in jail cells that were mentioned by Murphy.
Although each critic has different opinions about the correct prison solution, every one has the goal of making the changes necessary to improve society. They do have some common ground. Each critic believes rehabilitative programs are a great asset for helping the community. They also agree that prisoners deserve attention and respect. Perhaps these common grounds will one day help them find a common solution that fits all their requirements.