What is the purpose of prisons?

Is the point of prisons to restrict freedom as punishment for crimes committed? Should prisons be rehabilitative? Are prisoners supposed to emerge from the experience deterred from committing future crimes and morphed into law-abiding citizens?

Yes: the purpose of prison is punishment

Prison should be a punishing and unpleasant experience so that law-abiding citizens can feel safe

Prison should be a deterrent for crime

Nipping crime in the bud is the ultimate goal of the criminal justice system and deterrence is a key part of that.

Prison means justice for victims

There is something inside the human psyche that yearns for revenge when we have been wronged

No: the purpose of prison is rehabilitative

Prisoners deserve second chances - it's better for their communities and society overall

We must solve root causes of crime

Tackling crime must happen at its source - by helping the people who need to resort to crime to survive

Incarceration hurts minority communities most

Minorities are often disproportionately incarcerated and have high rates of recidivism.
Explore this question in a whole new way.
This page was last edited on Wednesday, 7 Oct 2020 at 07:26 UTC