Reference no: EM13181577

4-6 pages Details: You are a staffer working in the office of a state senator. The senator has recently been focusing on the state correctional system that seems to be a constant target of criticism for an increasingly vocal number of civil libertarian groups. In addition, some recent charges of abuse at a local jail have also caught the attention of the senator. She is speaking before the state bar association next week and intends to address the ways in which the correctional system may be improved. She has asked you to prepare a detailed outline on correctional theory in general and then make a series of suggestions on ways to implement some of the nontraditional theories of corrections. Mass incarceration is a generally understood and accepted correctional approach. However, there is often criticism of the simple warehousing of human beings convicted of crimes. In the case of violent criminals, there is the need to safeguard society from the likely future criminal acts of a person convicted of the most heinous offenses. However, even among those individuals, there are schools of thought within the correctional system as to ways in which even violent felons may be rehabilitated and/or treated. There is even more latitude when it comes to addressing the punitive options for those convicted of nonviolent or even "victimless" crimes.