Group 3 (week 4)- Prison Reform

 Lock-Up: The Prisoners of Rikers Island Documentary

    The documentary, "Lock-Up: The Prisoner of Rikers Island", which we watched during class showcased different facilities that Rikers has to offer depending on the inmates housed there. As the movie shows inmates from the male, pregnant women, the mentally ill, and LGBTQ+ departments; we see how they live on a day-to-day basis and we see how some are mistreated. The prison system continues to fail us time and time again with its unjust treatments/punishments. For example in the movie, we learn about Jimmy Mirabel who unfortunately took heroin from his sister at 11 years old and also contracted AIDS due to unsterilized needle usage. He was forced to suffer on Rikers Island without any treatment for his AIDS and has been waiting for a trial to be released while trying to contact lawyers and judges 32 times. In the end, he died in prison due to no healthcare treatments for his AIDS and he never got to experience a regular life outside of Rikers Island. I feel really bad for how the prison never even considered getting him treatment while he waited for a trial for so long. Another thing that was really interesting to me was the pregnant woman facility where the inmates went through prison together pregnant and they got to bond closer together because they could all relate to their own personal problems

Prison Reform readings

    In the article "Rehabilitate or punish", I do notice that a lot of inmates suffer from some sort of mental illness. When you compare a prison to a rehabilitation center, you can see the similarities. The people in there are supposed to come out of there a better person and to change their bad habits. When we discussed this in class, we talked about how the police should be disbanded and that jail reform isn't necessary. I feel like since we have rehab for people with mental illness, for drug abuse, and for physical therapy; I think that's enough for people doing time. But people that deserve to serve time for like murder should stay in prison and shouldn't be given the option of a death sentence, I think the torture of living is enough.