Overcrowding in America's Prisons: Can Repeat Offenders Be Rehabilitated Thesis Statement and Hypothesis: Prisons in America are overcrowded, understaffed and I believe put very little emphasis on rehabilitation. Introduction: The American prison system was set up to rehabilitate prisoners so they can meld back into society as productive citizens. Instead, factors as high crime rate and of course, mandatory sentences have caused an increased over-crowding of our jails. This has also caused and increased budget …showed first 75 words of 5429 total…

…showed last 75 words of 5429 total…e/1996/dom/960115/cover.html) McShane, Marilyn. D. ed., Williams III, Frank P. ed. Encyclopedia of American Prisons. New York and London, Garland Publishing,Inc., 1996 Menninger, Karl. The Crime of Punishment. New York, Viking Press, 1968 Oliver, Marilyn Tower. Prisons, Today's Debate. New Jersey, Enslow Publishing, 1997 United States. Federal Bureau of Prisons. Inmate Programs and Services. (http://www,bop.gov) United States. Prison Statistics. Bureau of Justice Statistics Prison Statistics (http://www/ojp.usdoj-gov/bjs/prison.htm)