Copy this CollectionThe prison system in the United Staes has long been described as "broken" and the conditions inside facilities across the nation have been described as inhumane and dire. In 2018, one Ohio county jail had seven prisoners die in just 4 months due to the abysmal conditions and lack of staff. In January of 2019, a days-long power outage at a Brooklyn facility that left prisoners with no heat or light as temperatures dropped below freezing ignited protests. Rates of recidivism soar while support and opportunities for inmates to rehabilitate and improve remain few and far between. Particularly for minorities, access to services such as drug treatment, mental health care, job training, and education are sparse, feeding into a vicious cycle that lends to repeat offenders. Under the current administration's push for smaller government, institutions faced increased budget cuts and sparse resources.
This collection explores alternatives to the traditional prison structure and solutions for helping prisoners break the rates of recidivism by empowering them to successfully and sustainable reintegrate back into society.
