Andreas Carollo's slideshow

1. Prison Reform in the U.S
Andreas Carollo

2. The Issue With the Current Prison System
-Mass incarcerations
-U.S prison populations peaked 2.2 million in 2016, holds 22% of all inmates
worldwide
-Over 60% of prison populations are made up of drug offenses
-Results in over-populated prisons and high prices to pay for inmates (food, water,
shelter, etc.)
-More economically sound to treat this issue as a treatment instead of a
punishment

3. The Problem With Implementing Reform
-Cost $74 billion each year to fund all prisons with taxpayers money
-Big companies who invest in private prisons generate revenue off the amount of
money brought in, such as Corrections Corp. of America
-Varies from $14,000-$60,000 to incarcerate/keep a prisoner behind bars
-Can save up to $30 billion to rehabilitate all drug offenses in U.S prisons, would
cost private investors, politicians, and lobbyists much profit

4. Questions About Prison Reform
-How can a citizen push to reform how prisons systems are currently run?
-What roles do large companies play in funding prisons and making profits?
-Is this an issue on a global scale?
-Is this an issue of morality of economics?
-What kind of political skullduggery keeps the prison systems this way?

5. Available Research on Prison Reform
-Many reliable news sources cover this issue through blog posts and articles.
-Various economists study the issue and publish journals and articles of their
findings and research
-Records from all private and public prison systems in the U.S
-Information from databases such as ABI and ebsco (located on Rowan’s library
website)

6. Specific Sources
-Godard, Thierry. "The Economics of the American Prison System." The Economics of the American Prison System. N.p., 19 Nov.
2015. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
-"Drug Rehab Instead of Prison Could Save Billions, Says Report." Rehab International. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
-Downs, Ray. "Who's Getting Rich off the Prison-Industrial Complex? | VICE | United States." VICE. N.p., 17 May 2013. Web. 16 Feb.
2016.

7. Potential Challenges
-Taking the benefactors (big investors) out of the equation so that there is no
bribery/persuasion while trying to reform the system
-Reform to rehabilitation can lead to a surplus of patients at rehabilitation centers
-Transition from prison to “free world” can be tough to acclimate to

8. Why Is It Relevant?
-U.S prison population is at an all-time high
-Everybody keeps ignoring the issue although it needs to be addressed
-Every day more people are incarcerated for issues that would be better solved
through means of rehabilitation rather than prison.