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Prisons
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What is Prisons?

Prisons are a central institution in the study of government, criminal justice, and social policy. Students encounter this topic across courses in political science, criminology, sociology, and public administration, where it raises questions about state power, punishment, and the relationship between incarceration and society. The subject is academically compelling because it sits at the intersection of law, ethics, budgetary policy, and social theory. Concepts such as Merton's anomie and social strain theory appear as frameworks for understanding why individuals commit crimes and how correctional systems respond, while ideas like the prison as a "total institution" invite deeper analysis of how incarceration reshapes identity and behavior.

Student papers on this topic take a wide range of approaches. Historical essays trace the development of state and federal prison systems across the twentieth century and into the present, sometimes drawing comparisons with systems in other countries, such as modern Turkey. Comparative papers frequently distinguish between jails and prisons, examining their different populations, purposes, and administrative structures. Policy-focused work addresses pressing issues like prison overcrowding and its impact on the criminal justice system, early parole as a budget strategy, and the regulation of prison health care. Other papers explore social dimensions, including masculinity and criminal behavior, the social control of girls, and training practices within corrections.

A strong essay on prisons begins with a focused, arguable thesis rather than a broad survey of the entire correctional system. Evidence drawn from policy data, legal frameworks, and sociological theory tends to carry the most weight. Writers should connect their chosen angle — whether historical, comparative, or policy-driven — directly to concrete outcomes for inmates, offenders, or communities. The most common pitfall is treating incarceration as a single uniform system; acknowledging distinctions between institution types, populations, and jurisdictions significantly strengthens analytical credibility.

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Paper Undergraduate

Crime rates and trends in the United States since 1990

Based on the data in the table, it is clear that there are many crimes in the United States. The table shows five different crimes that people in the United States have committed since the year 1990.

Paper Undergraduate

Social media's role in high-profile crime cases and sentencing reform

It is true that the stories should not get exposure in the media because of their status in the public. Most of the public believe that such crimes are impossible. Exposing the story about harming women would make it…

Essay Doctorate

Evolution of American prisons from colonial era to 1860s

This is a historical paper that looks specifically at the development and evolution of the correction trends and facilities specifically within the USA but in relation to the wider world, Europe in particular and how these influences contributed to the current situation in the correction department in USA and also how the future can and should be

Paper Doctorate

Undercover internal investigations to combat correctional officer misconduct

The rehabilitative nature of incarceration depends to a great extent on the environment that an inmate experiences. If an incoming prisoner enters a world filled with corruption, drugs, and crime the potential for…

Paper Doctorate

Constitutional challenges to a prison postcard-only mail policy

Correctional institutions have tried to implement inmate postcard-only mail policies to reduce staffing needs and contraband trafficking. The U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts have tended to give correctional authorities the benefit of the doubt when prisons restrict the Constitutional rights of inmates, in order to ensure prison security and the safety of inmates and prison staff. However, the Court has established a reasonableness test under Turner v. Safley (1987) when it comes to prison policies infringing upon inmate speech. This essay examines the Constitutionality of prison postcard-only mail policies and offers recommendations based on established jurisprudence.

Thesis Undergraduate

Resocialization in Indian residential schools as total institutions

Resocialization is a process in which the identity and personality of the individual is radically changed by placing that individual in an environment or institution, which is controlled and monitored strictly. Total institutions are such institutions that utilize resocialization process in order to bring significant changes in the personality of individuals living there. The goal of these institutions is to eradicate personal identity of the individual and then, create a new identity through reward and punishment systemResocialization is a process in which the identity and personality of the individual is radically changed by placing that individual in an environment or institution, which is controlled and monitored strictly. Total institutions are such institutions that utilize resocialization process in order to bring significant changes in the personality of individuals living there. The goal of these institutions is to eradicate personal identity of the individual and then, create a new identity through reward and punishment system.

Essay Doctorate

Racial discrimination in the United States penal system

The system of penal practices can ensure to perform on just and fair basis by offering due representation to non-native legal personnel in the system. The system should not only comprise of natives because this will lead to the system that is strict towards non-locals and lenient towards locals. The representation in the penal system should be based on the population dynamics and no race should be over-represented in the penal system or the jury. Thus, the chances of injustice as well as violence against the prisoners will be minimized as much as possible.The system of penal practices can ensure to perform on just and fair basis by offering due representation to non-native legal personnel in the system. The system should not only comprise of natives because this will lead to the system that is strict towards non-locals and lenient towards locals. The representation in the penal system should be based on the population dynamics and no race should be over-represented in the penal system or the jury. Thus, the chances of injustice as well as violence against the prisoners will be minimized as much as possible.

Paper Doctorate

Prisoner rights and treatment in United States prisons

The purpose of this study is to explore the issue of prisoner's rights. The topic of prisoner's rights has been subject to a lot of attention due to the recent controversies which are discussed in the study. Prisoners are often treated unfairly in the United States of America despite the constitution specifically providing forbids that in the Eighth Amendment. There are a various means of unfair treatment which the prisoners are exposed to. The prisoners have been facing various problems and are exposed to poor living environment. They have been treated harshly by the prison guards and the conditions of the prisons are extremely poor. Prisons are overcrowded which adds to the poor living conditions that the prisoners have to cope up with. Many of the critics of the prisoners' rights demand that they should be given only the basic rights. However they should work in order to cover their own costs. In this manner they won't be a burden to the taxpayer while they are being punished. The prisoners should be paying the debt to the society as they had broken a law and hence have been in jail. It is the essential part of being punished that they have to give up some of their rights.

Early intervention and juvenile rehabilitation in Pennsylvania corrections

Preventing Crime Will Be More Effective Than Rehabilitation

Essay Doctorate

The ethics of non-lethal torture in terrorist interrogation

This paper provide a synopsis of the article written by Professor Alan Dershowitz (pages 189-214 in the Darmer text). The critical issues addressed in the article are also discussed including the evaluation fo the following concepts: the ticking time bomb hypothesis; Dershowitz's comments regarding Jeremy Bentham as well as his comments about Voltaire's views; and the three ways to deal with the use of torture in the ticking time bomb situation, as stated by the Israeli government-appointed commission of the late 1980s.

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