The author has raised several major issues facing prisons today. Define and comment on three of those major issues and how they affect prison life, society, and the inmates in the future
Analyze the issues you feel are the most pressing for corrections to face in the future.
AIDS – Some years ago, AIDS was the leading cause of death among prison inmates. Today, however, the number of inmates who die from AIDS (or, more precisely, from AIDS-related complications like pneumonia or Kaposi's sarcoma) is much lower. The introduction of drugs like protease inhibitors and useful combinations of antiretroviral therapies have significant-ly reduced inmate deaths from AIDS
Geriatric offenders – The "graying" of America's prison population has a number of causes: 1) the general aging of the American population, which is reflected inside prisons; 2) new sentenc-ing policies such as three strikes, truth in sentencing, and mandatory minimum laws that send more criminals to prison for longer stretches; 3) a massive prison-building boom that took place in the 1980s and 1990s, and which has provided space for more inmates, reducing the
need to release prisoners to alleviate overcrowding; and 4) significant changes in parole philoso-phies and practices, with state and federal authorities phasing out or canceling parole programs, thereby forcing jailers to hold inmates with life sentences until they die.
Inmates with mental illnesses and intellectual disabilities - Inmates with mental illness make up another group with special needs. Some of these inmates are neurotic or have personality prob-lems, which increases tensions in prison. Others have serious psychological disorders that may have escaped diagnosis at trial or that did not provide a legal basis for the reduction of criminal responsibility. Other offenders develop psychiatric symptoms while in prison.
Terrorism - Today's antiterrorism efforts have brought to light the important role that corrections personnel can play in preventing future attacks against America and in averting crises that could arise in correctional institutions as a result of terrorist action.
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