Rehabilitation

According to the Webster’s dictionary, prisons are institutions which form the Criminal Justice system of a country in which imprisonment is a legal penalty that may be practiced by the state for a crime. The two major purposes of the American Prison System are Rehabilitation and Punishment. Rehabilitation means to reestablish the good reputation of a person’s character or name. Punishment means severe handling or treatment. In reference to the book prison writings in 20th century by Bruce Franklin, the authors Malcolm X and Jack Henry Abbott told their story about their experience in jail.

Malcolm X and Jack Henry Abbott were put into punitive prisons from a very young age. They both experienced harsh treatment, inequality and unnecessary cruelty. They lived in unsanitary conditions and received inhumane treatment. Malcolm X was imprisoned at age 20 and Jack Henry Abbott was imprisoned at age 12. After serving 2 years in solitary prison Malcolm was eventually transferred from a punitive jail to a rehabilitative jail. Jack Henry Abbott never had anyone to help him so he basically lived in punitive prisons almost all his life.

In 1946, Malcolm X was sent to Charlestown State Prison. In this prison the cells had no running water, the prison was built in 1805, when he lay down he could actually touch both walls. The toilet was a covered pail. Eventually in 1948 Malcolm was transferred to Norfolk Prison Colony which was an experimental rehabilitation jail. This prison was like heaven. In all the cells had flushing toilets, the cells had only walls no bars and Malcolm could move about freely. Each inmate had their own room. They also had educational programs in which instructors from Harvard and Boston University came. The inmates were allowed visitors everyday for 2 hours per day. They best feature about this prison was its Library. Prisoners were allowed to go to the library and read whatever books they wanted to. This motivated Malcolm to read and so he learnt the entire dictionary. (Prison writings in 20th century)

Compared to Malcolm X, Jack Henry Abbott’s jail life was totally different. He was young and had no family. The only person he had was himself. At age twelve Jack was sent to a Juvenile Penal Institution. In this institution Jack’s cell had a barred window with a heavy mesh steel screen. His bed was made of thick plywood bolted with iron. The toilet bowl was in a corner adjacent to a sink with only cold