re the role of a prison becomes complex.A prison stay is unlikely to reform any criminal if it only means that they are separated from the community and there is no drive to change. The first change that needs to be addressed is on the value system of an inmate. Without this, it is only superficial to urge an offender to conform to the role of a responsible citizen.. The offender must be made to realize that the act they committed was unacceptable. Further, they need to understand why it was not legal within society and comprehend why it was wrong. The authors of the C-Unit think that offenders need to learn what it means to hold a moral role within society. They say; Specifically we consider that a moral relationship is characterized by ascription of dignity to individuals, respect and concern for the rights and welfare of others in pursuing individual interests and reliance on positive social controls rather than on force or manipulation to regulate interaction. (Studt, Messinger and Thomas, p.5)Offenders have to acquire the ability to relate to others in the community. They need to have concern for more than their personal desires and must learn to act in a way that does not infringe on the lives of other individuals. Specifically, offenders must develop compassion and tolerance towards others in their community. McKibben would agree that in order to be a responsible member of society, an individual would have to consider the needs of the community. He states, by accepting the idea that we should never limit desire or choose from the options our material and spiritual liberations give us, we ignore similarly pressing facts about our larger community (McKibben, p. 721). Offenders need to learn that their actions have a direct impact on the community and that they cannot pursue their selfish wants inconsiderately. They need to live within the same set of limits as everyone else. If an offender is able to perceive these limi...
