er rehabilitation programs for our corrections facilities. Inmates though out the country have stated, providing a long-term goal helps them stay sane and makes them less prone to violence. It also makes the prison easier and less expensive to manage. “You create Spartan conditions, you’re gonna get gladiators.”(Hubbell,Webb. 82)In a capitalist society, when most people think of crime, they do not think of the acts themselves so much as they do an imaginary "criminal class" that commits them. It's always these few "delinquents" that commit violent crimes and that have to be brought under control, so the story goes. The criminal in capitalism is defined not so much by their specific unlawful acts, but by the lifestyle s/he leads: gangsta, hoodlum, dope fiend, dealer, thug, whore. The criminal exists before the crime is even committed; a criminal's prison record is merely a badge that recognizes him or her for doing what is expected. This is one reason why rich white people rarely go to jail: the rich and the white are not defined as "criminals" in this society, therefore when they break the law it's easier to have sympathy for them for "making a mistake" and to give them a lesser punishment, or no punishment at all. Prisons are not just the storehouses of this criminal class--they produce criminality by concentrating otherwise decent people into a cramped, crowded, and oppressive environment. In prison, an individual is subject to isolation, confinement in a control unit, violence, torture, gang activity, guard brutality, organized white supremacy, a life of boredom and useless toil. When and if a prisoner is released, he is often condemned to a life of poverty and run-ins with the law. Prisoners have a difficult time getting a job because they are required to notify all potential employers of their felon status on job applications. College scholarship funds for former prisoners have been slashed or eliminated. By sti...
