Discussion #8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion #8 - Essay Example It was only after the civil war and the abolition of slavery that the prison system was developed. Before that time correction was limited to physical torture or to capital punishment. Therefore, the idea of prisons was originated as a substitute for slavery. In the beginning of the installment of prisons, prisoners had to endure the Chain Gang system under-which they were forced to work in inhuman conditions. The actual prison labor system is viewed by many as the extension to the above form of abuse as it's based on the exploitation of prisoners. Imprisoned workers are extremely underpaid and don't get the same rights as regular workers such as health insurance and retirement benefits. Add to that that they are obliged to work without their consent. All the previous facts prove that prisons weren't developed for just correctional purposes but mostly for economical ones. That is most proven by the actual tendencies to privatize prisons so that these will be run by various profit organizations instead of the government. For the reasons mentioned earlier, prisoners are considered to be a treasure for these organizations' runners. That provides a logical explanation for the explosion of the incarceration rates in the United States the last few years. Incarceration rates in the USA are considered to be the highest in the world indeed! It comes as a matter of fact that black workers are incarcerated at over eight times the white rate.