Dear Future President,

As a teenager in this very advanced society, I have an extremely broad view of what goes on in our great country, thanks to social media. One thing I have noticed from this gracious invention, is the rising rates of imprisonment and the growing population of correctional facilities in our own states. The Washington Post even stated that the United States locks people up at a higher rate than any other country (Lee) and this must be talked about. Many criminals walk our streets free of charge while others are imprisoned for numerous years over a misdemeanor or an non-violent crime.

It has been brought to my attention that there are a widespread of correctional facilities in this country and they are said to be beneficial to society, however, it is what is done in these facilities that brings question to the big business. I would like to know what is being done in order to make the inmates want to reevaluate their life for the better. Removing individuals from a fast paced society and inserting them into confinement is not easy to deal with, nor should it be taken advantage of. Essentially, inmates should not be treated like royalty but more so like patients in a system created to better an individual’s actions for the people around them.

If imprisonment rates for nonviolent crimes are going to rise, there should be a way that the individuals benefit from it for their own good. Even with prison’s being a very big moneymaking business in America, there should be enforced motivation to make things better for society, instead of worse. If you don’t mind, it would be great if there was more focus on the extreme crimes and persecuting true criminals rather than the nonviolent. It would also be of great appreciation to target the reformation of criminals mentalities, in order to prepare their reinsertion into society.

Sincerely,

Brianna.