Prison is a scare tactic

The argument

On this argument prisons were created to do three things at once: to scare people into obeying the law, to punish offenders, and to keep them separated from the innocent. The three purposes reinforce one another, but the first is what makes the institution work before any crime has been committed. A penalty deters only to the extent that a prospective offender believes it will be unpleasant and believes it may fall on them. Prison supplies both halves of that calculation. It is a known consequence, publicly attached to the offence, and severe enough that the prospect of it enters the reckoning of someone weighing whether a crime is worth committing. That is why proponents hold that the conditions of incarceration matter. In the United States, incarceration only provides offenders with the bare necessities of life, and on this view that austerity is the point rather than an incidental harshness: a sentence that cost the offender little would subtract little from the expected gain of the crime, and the threat would stop deterring. It follows that if modern prison systems were abolished or transformed into rehabilitation centers, the act of committing a crime would be viewed as less risky. Whatever such a change offered the offender, it would weaken the signal the institution sends to everyone who has not yet offended, and the threat of serving prison time is what deters some people from committing a crime in the first place. The argument therefore asks that the prison system be judged by who it protects rather than by the experience of those held in it. Its objectives should be viewed in terms of who will be protected, not the prisoners themselves, with innocent citizens the top priority in deciding who should be incarcerated and for how long. Including prisons as a part of society preserves the threat that scares people into following the law.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Often, offenders do not go into a life of crime willingly, but because they are forced to due to financial or social situations. Many drug dealers and prostitutes begin selling to provide for their families because it is a better alternative to poverty or homelessness. To lower crime rates, prisons should help inmates prepare for their life after incarceration so they do not re-offend. Decreasing the number of people living in poverty will also lower crime.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] Some people commit a crime unwillingly. [Rejecting P4] Prisons should offer reform programs to help prisoners prepare for freedom.