Joseph Pak

Professor Suzanne Richard McCarthy

ENGW 1111
11:45a.m. Tues., Thurs., Fri.

American Exceptionalism

As an order that is supposed to protect society, the American prison system fails as it

breeds more criminals. In the past several decades, the law has gone through many drastic

changes on how non-violent criminals are treated and dealt with. More specifically, those

charged with non-violent offenses must deal with the repercussions of “punishment” both inside

and outside the prison. This punishment can many times be worse than the level of crime

committed and could potentially ruin offenders’ lives in different aspects. Meanwhile, the

Scandinavian countries have earned the idea of “Scandinavian exceptionalism” that represents

the resistance of increasing of punitiveness, emphasizing their low imprisonment rates and

humane prison conditions. The American prison system is systematically flawed due to its nature

to incarcerate to “punish” for those of non-violent crimes such as drug-related offenses, and

therefore it should adopt the structures of the Nordic prisons that follow the idea of

“rehabilitation.”

The American prison system has not always been so hostile towards non-violent

offenders, however with the rise of certain movements and reasonings, policies have been put in

place to hold non-violent prisoners to a lower standard. However, many of these policies and

ideas are faulty and have been refuted. American prisons used to be a place intended to house the

dangerous but now they have become “massive warehouses” for those that commit non-violent

crimes such as property, traffic, and public order offenses.

 Even so, drug-related offenses represent the majority of the non-violent incarcerations

and depict the basis of the argument for non-violent crimes. Although there have been many

explanations towards the exponential increase in the incarceration rate due to the shifts in the

public opinion, changes in the American political culture, or even politicians exploiting the

law-and-order issue, one of the simplest reasons for mass incarceration for drug-related offenses

was the war on drugs. Until the 1970s, rehabilitation was a key part of U.S. prison policy as

“prisoners were encouraged to develop occupational skills and to resolve psychological problems

such as substance abuse or aggression” that might interfere with their reintegration into society

(Benson). But, with the rise of the War on Drugs, the “get tough” feelings of Americans caused

pushed away from the idea of rehabilitation and moved forward towards mandatory sentencing

policies for non-violent drug offenders. For example, one of the harsher laws that resembled

these feelings was New York's Rockefeller Drug Laws,’ adopted in 1973 calls for a 15-year

prison sentence for anyone convicted of possessing 4 ounces of narcotics, regardless of the

offender’s criminal history (Maeur). Soon, incarceration rates started to rise as the emphasis was

placed on “punishment” not only causing the prison population to increase 6 percent annually

making the U.S into the world leader in incarceration rates but also increasing of a factor of 10 in

the incarceration of drug offenders (Blumstein). Now, there are over 2.2 million people in the

nation’s prisons which is a 500 percent increase over the last 40 years (Criminal Justice Facts)

with 75 percent of those people are detained for non-violent offenses and 45 percent for

drug-related offenses.

The Scandinavian mindset that prisoners are just as equal as that outside of prison creates

a community that allows for a structure for rehabilitation. In their debates over penal policy, the
Scandanavia believes that convicted criminals and prisoners should not be considered lower

status persons. Especially those with drug-related offenses, in the eyes of the government, those

who use drugs are just like everybody else. To input this into reality, in Norway, prisoners are

included in yearly meetings where prison policy is discussed and determined (Pratt). Like a

sickness, with enough treatment and rehabilitation, crime could be eliminated and “healed”

(Myrdal). Because of this, there is a wide-view idea that the prison and the whole community

should be enlisted to give offenders “a real chance to become a free citizen again” (Gottschalk).

This means that social services, health centers, and employment authorities have a duty to help

and serve prisoners from relapsing and committing crimes (Langelid). These drastically

contrasted morals from the American penal views is why the Scandinavian countries heavily

emphasize the use of rehabilitation and not punishment.

There is little to no reason why these punishments should be placed for non-violent

offenses, more specifically for those with drug-related offenses. Even with the huge change in

numbers of those incarcerated, there has only been a modest effect on crime rates. An estimated

90 percent of the change in crime rate is attributed to city policing (Gottschalk) meaning that

only a mere 10 percent can maybe be attributed to any change in crime rates. Therefore, instead

of mindlessly sending those with non-violent crimes to prison, there must be a more effective

measure especially to decrease the crime rate. Moreover, with every 1 in 2 federal prisoners

incarcerated for drug-related offenses and 8 in 10 of those arrested are for possession, not a

sale(Incarceration), prison should not be the first step of action. An analysis found that there is

no relationship between state drug imprisonment rates and the indicators of state drug problems:

self-reported drug use, drug overdose deaths, and drug arrests (Pew’s analysis). The changes on
how drug-related convicts are ineffective calling for a change in how the government treats those

released criminals

For drug-related offenses, America should provide its prisoners with substance abuse

programs similar to the Scandinavian countries to effectively attack the root of the problem.

Inside the prison, where almost 85 percent of those incarcerated have some sort of substance

abuse, only 13 percent ever receive treatment (Pearl). Moreover, incarcerating for drug-related

offenses has been shown to have little-to-no impact on substance misuse rates (Vera). Individuals

are about 13 times more likely to die than the general population in the first two weeks from

prison with the leading cause being overdose (Pearl). This continued ineffectiveness of the

American prison system is the cause of a cycle for drug-related crimes that will continue as long

as nothing is done to help. Meanwhile, a key aspect of the Scandinavian prison system is that

substance abuse and mental health counseling is available for all individuals inside or outside

prison. An American program that tried to replicate this was idea rehabilitation instead found

that on average the participants spent 39 fewer days in jail and were 87 percent less likely to be

incarcerated in prison than comparison groups (Ingrid). Therefore, the American penal system

should look to adopt substance abuse programs instead give them the chance to redeem

themselves.

The time spent away separated from society is not the only punishment American

criminals receive as the worst punishment comes after being released from prison. Some

punishments, but not including all are the levels of overcrowding, disease control, suicide rates,

human rights violations, severing family relationships, loss of public benefits, and emotional

consequences (Van Gundy). Unfortunately, the American penal practices have become so
extreme and unreasonable to the extent that released convicts may not be hairdressers. However,

the most severe punishment is the obstacle of not returning to prison with what resources and

restrictions society leaves them with. For example, many lose the right to earn specific

certifications such as nursing or housing or to gain housing assistance. This is essential as

employment is one of the main primary factors in successful reintegration (Van Gundy). Without

the effort to even give those convicted a chance, the prison system leaves those convicted with

“civil death,” or the loss of all civil rights due to a conviction.

The Scandinavian penal system and rehabilitation methods have been proven successful,

which the American prison system should look to follow. The role model figure of Scandinavian

exceptionalism is not centered around one aspect of prison, but multiple parts that allow these

countries to have some of the lowest recidivism, crime, and incarceration rates in the world such

as Norway’s incarceration rate at 72 per every 100,000 people (Encartele). Looking inside the

prisons, because of the idea of equality and “sameness” that the Scandinavian people hold, they

create barriers against excessive punishment and reductions in pain delivery especially for

non-violent offenders (Christie). Instead, open prisons were introduced to create a self-regulating

system that tried to replicate society. For example, the Danish penal system has created a

program that effectively allows offenders to locate and secure jobs within the public sector after

their release. Also, in Finland, inmates are sent to“labor camps” where they are compensated

normal wage just like the rest of the society (Admin). Compared the U.S. with one of the highest

recidivism rates at about “44% of prisoners released were arrested at least once during their first

year of release” and an estimated 68%, 79%, and 83% of released prisoners were arrested within

3, 6, and 9 years respectively (Alper, Durose, & Markman, 2018), the methods of Scandinavia
have allowed them to reach recidivism rates as low as 20 percent (Encartele) These

rehabilitation methods have allowed offenders to be productive and again contribute to society

helping them back into a life of normalcy instead of crime.

Despite the differences in viewpoints in their perspective societies, America must adopt

aspects of the Scandinavian penal system with pro-rehabilitation systems to stop the cycle of

continuing recidivism and increasing incarceration rates. Although there were changed feelings

towards drugs with the rise of certain historical events, the evidence provided by Scandinavia has

shown that punishment is not the answer. By aiding drug-related offenders through methods such

as drug-rehabilitation programs and occupational help during and after their sentences, it is

possible to put them back into a life without crime. Loved ones, family, and friends could all

commit simple mistakes that put them into a life without liberty. But with a few changes, it

would give them another chance.

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