The Humane Side of Criminals

We've talked extensively in class about the three groups of people in Miami: the mobiles, the locals, and the exiles. When discussing the last group, people usually focus on the homeless. But after spending a night in jail, I became acquainted with another group of exiles: the inmates of Dade County Jail. I came to find out that despite society's view of criminals, most of the people I met were not monsters. After enduring the abusive and unsanitary conditions at the jail, I wondered how people without the resources I had were able to recover from such trauma and how these conditions were allowed in the first place.

I plan on arguing that the inhumane conditions in jail, notably Dade County Jail, are not conducive to rehabilitation. I believe that the psychological trauma experienced by the inmates actually increases their chance of ending up back in jail. My philosophy is that if you treat a person like a human, they will see themselves as human and therefore treat other people as humans. If people develop a sense of respect for themselves then they will start to respect other people as well as the institutions created by other people. I also believe that the opposite is true and that by treating criminals like monsters, they will act that way and are destined to break the law again.