The American Penal System and the Rehabilitation Concept

The current penal system used in the United States is flawed greatly in terms of its ethical and practical foundations. The philosophy requires that the legal framework should contribute to correcting the behavioral patterns of criminals as opposed to merely punishing them consistently for the entire period of their service (Muffitt par. 4). However, the implication of the above concept leaves much to be desired and does not allow for the rehabilitation of the prisoners. For the American penal system to work efficiently, the basic principles of social justice and the concept of rehabilitation should be incorporated into its design, therefore, allowing prisoners to integrate back into the society successfully upon serving their time.

As the recent statistical data says, the cases in which rehabilitation techniques are adopted feature fewer instances of (. par. 6). It should be borne in mind, though, that a significant amount of the U.S. population has a very strong stance on the subject matter. According to a , 2/3 of the U.S. citizens believe that the criminal system should be geared toward providing a punishment of the appropriate magnitude to the prisoners (Lim par. 3). The people surveyed, however, are not concerned with the further evolution of the criminals and the possible threat of them returning to their illegal activities.

One must mention, though, that roughly 67% of the that the current system of justice needs to be focused on providing criminals with an opportunity to become a functional part of the society (Lim par. 3). Therefore, there are certain chances for the redesign of the current justice system. Using the support of the specified members of the population, one is likely to improve the current legal system significantly. Particularly, the premises for creating a sustainable system that will help promote essential moral and ethical values to criminals can be designed.