Criminal Justice Reform: Rehabilitation and Sociological Impact

The Prison-Industrial Complex and the Case for Rehabilitation

One of the major problems of the criminal justice system is a significant conflict of interest at the heart of the penal institution. For-profit prisons dominate the incarceration industry, and activists like Angela Davis have been vocal in describing it as the prison-industrial complex (Gordon, 1999). Instead of rehabilitating those convicted of a crime, offenders are incarcerated and made to work for pennies on the dollar for corporations that exploit prison laborers (Weiss, 2001). The prison-industrial complex is a "complex configuration comprised of the US prison system, multi-national corporations, small private businesses and the inmate population in the social and political economy of the 21st century United States" (Smith & Hattery, 2006, p. 1).

Those who enter the system find it difficult to break free, even after they are released. The cycle of recidivism remains high because there are few opportunities for ex-convicts to return to any kind of normalized life. They are not given the support structures, skills, or understanding needed to cultivate social bonds and alter their life-course trajectory. Inevitably, they fall back into crime, back into the system, and the likelihood of ever breaking out of the cycle diminishes over time. Davis (2012) argues that the system is deliberately structured this way.

Restorative Justice as an Alternative to Punitive Incarceration

Rehabilitation would put an end to that cycle. One way to pursue rehabilitation is to move away from punitive justice concepts and implement restorative justice concepts. Restorative justice programs have been shown to reduce the rate of recidivism by a significant percentage — 26% in some cases — in a relatively short period of time (Johnson et al., 2015). If these programs were implemented on a larger scale, even greater reductions in recidivism would likely follow. Restorative justice focuses on strengthening or developing the social bond between the person convicted of a crime and the community in which that person lives. The individual develops a sense of his or her own life-course trajectory and sees hope for changing character and orienting toward a better life. Because restorative justice centers on rehabilitation rather than punishment, it actually helps reduce the overall amount of crime.

Rehabilitation has long been used in other criminal justice systems — particularly those abroad — to good effect. As restorative justice programs in the US have demonstrated, rehabilitative processes help those convicted of crime to regain control of their own character and develop the mental, social, physical, spiritual, and emotional capacities that enable people to form social bonds, understand the importance of contributing to society, care for themselves and others, and find a reason to live a law-abiding life.

Racial Disparities and Due Process in the Criminal Justice System

As Crutchfield, Skinner, Haggerty, McGlynn, and Catalano (2009) report, racial disparities exist in early criminal involvement, including minor infractions such as marijuana possession. This is what drives the disproportionate imprisonment of Black Americans relative to other racial groups. There is no equality in criminal law in the West (Whitman, 2009). The resulting resentment among the Black community — given voice by activists like Angela Davis — draws attention to systematic racism. When the issue goes unaddressed, it smolders beneath the surface of society until it ignites into the public consciousness in destructive ways, as witnessed during the summer of 2020 with Black Lives Matter protests and civil unrest in cities across the United States.

Criminal justice reform would address this issue and root out systematic racism in the system. It would enable a fairer, more equitable distribution of justice — one based not on race, ethnicity, or class, but on impartiality before the law. By reforming the system so that individuals of color are not prejudiced against, communities gain more opportunities to recover from mistakes, rather than being pressured into plea deals and spending time behind bars for minor indiscretions. What is treated as a minor slip for some should be treated the same way for all, yet race has distorted justice in the eyes of the system and prevented equitable outcomes.

The issue is particularly evident in the way plea bargains are pushed on minority populations, raising the question of whether due process rights are being violated. Prosecutors argue that courts are too overburdened to hear every case, so plea bargaining is used to secure guilty verdicts in exchange for lighter sentences. Defendants are warned that refusing the deal and forcing a trial risks a stiffer penalty if convicted, along with all the stress of the trial process. It is a form of unjust pressure that prevents individuals from fully understanding their constitutional right to a trial and to mount a defense. Because of poverty and lack of education, minorities are especially likely to fear the worst and accept the plea deal. The system must be reformed to address this coercive dynamic as well.

Conclusion: Toward a Restorative and Equitable System

In order for true reform to happen, the current system must be fully deconstructed and a focus on restorative justice implemented (Johnson et al., 2015; Wexler, Lurigio & Rodriguez, 2011). It is only when the system recognizes that even individuals who commit crimes are part of the community — and should be made to feel that way — that it will begin to respect the role families play in sustaining that same community. Until then, families will continue to suffer under punitive justice, and community decline will continue unabated.

Annotated Bibliography

Gordon, A. F. (1999). Globalism and the prison industrial complex: An interview with Angela Davis. Race & Class, 40(2–3), 145–157.

In this interview, activist Angela Davis discusses systematic racism in the criminal justice system and how the prison-industrial complex came into being. She brings into the discussion the issue of globalism and how it relates to the disproportionate incarceration of Black Americans. Davis argues that the inherently racist system continues to view Black people as a source of exploitable labor for multinational corporations seeking the cheapest possible workforce.

Johnson, T., Quintana, E., Kelly, D. A., Graves, C., Schub, O., Newman, P., & Casas, C. (2015). Restorative justice hubs concept paper. Revista de Mediación, 8(2), 2340–9754.

This article explains how and why restorative justice programs work and their effect on recidivism rates. The authors show that when offenders are required to make amends to society, both victims and offenders feel more satisfied with the outcome than under conventional punitive approaches. Rather than simply locking a person away, restorative justice creates a sense that order has been restored and that the offender has acknowledged the harm caused. It also gives the offender the opportunity to rebuild character and develop a greater sense of responsibility.

Smith, E., & Hattery, A. (2006). The prison industrial complex. Sociation Today, 4(2), 1–28.

This article examines the conflict of interest at the heart of the criminal justice system — namely, the private, for-profit prison-industrial complex. Because the system profits from incarceration, the impartiality that justice requires is undermined. The complex actively works to funnel more inmates into the system rather than allowing rehabilitative or restorative justice programs to flourish, since punitive justice is what generates profit.

Weiss, R. P. (2001). "Repatriating" low-wage work: The political economy of prison labor reprivatization in the postindustrial United States. Criminology, 39(2), 253–292.

This article explains how inmates are used by corporations as sources of cheap labor. Their labor is exploited in the postindustrial United States, which has seen its manufacturing jobs move overseas. Companies make arrangements with the prison-industrial complex to access this labor supply — an unfair practice the author argues must be ended.

References

Crutchfield, R. D., Skinner, M. L., Haggerty, K. P., McGlynn, A., & Catalano, R. F. (2009). Racial disparities in early criminal involvement. Race and Social Problems, 1(4), 218–230.

Gordon, A. F. (1999). Globalism and the prison industrial complex: An interview with Angela Davis. Race & Class, 40(2–3), 145–157.

Johnson, T., Quintana, E., Kelly, D. A., Graves, C., Schub, O., Newman, P., & Casas, C. (2015). Restorative justice hubs concept paper. Revista de Mediación, 8(2), 2340–9754.

Polcin, D. L. (2018). Role of recovery residences in criminal justice reform. International Journal of Drug Policy, 53, 32–36.

Smith, E., & Hattery, A. (2006). The prison industrial complex. Sociation Today, 4(2), 1–28.

Weiss, R. P. (2001). "Repatriating" low-wage work: The political economy of prison labor reprivatization in the postindustrial United States. Criminology, 39(2), 253–292.

Wexler, H. K., Lurigio, A. J., & Rodriguez, P. F. (2011). Reforming the criminal justice system in the United States: Issues and recommendations. The Prison Journal, 91(3), 1S–11S.

Whitman, J. Q. (2009). Equality in criminal law: The two divergent Western roads. The Journal of Legal Analysis, 1(1), 119–165.