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Ryan Doan
Government P.2
Mr.Bradley
18 October 2016
Mock Congress Research Paper
The United States spends around $24 billion dollars each year incarcerating nonviolent
offenders (America Imprisons over a Million Nonviolent Offenders). The U.S. is wasting all this
money on incarcerating nonviolent offenders when they can be using it to fund projects that can
benefit society as a whole. This topic is a controversy because there are many other ways to deal
with nonviolent offenders than incarceration. As a country, we are in debt and changing the
consequences for nonviolent crime would help assist us out of debt. This research paper will be
talking about how we should make it law to provide alternative punishments than incarceration
for nonviolent offenders. We should provide alternative punishments than incarceration for
nonviolent offenders because it would reduce money spent on prisons each year, give the
offender a chance to be put in a program to be rehabilitated, and give the offender an option to
pay a fine.
As said in the introduction, the United States spends around $24 billion dollars each year
incarcerating nonviolent offenders. We as a country need to reduce this expense. This is an
excessive amount because we are keeping people in jail/prison for committing a crime that was
harmless. In 2011, the state of California spent $9.6 billion dollars on prisons (ThinkProgress).
To be more specific, the state spends $50,000 per inmate. This number is exceedingly high
because the state only spends around $9,000 per student. Non-violent offenders comprise over
60% of the prison and jail population in America (America Imprisons over a Million Nonviolent

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Offenders). This just shows how America will put you in jail for petty crime. Because of this
flaw in America, we are wasting billions and billions each year. Prison should be a place to keep
offenders who have committed harmful crimes such as murder, kidnapping, sexual assault on
another, and etc. A big problem that we have today with prisons is its overcrowding. The
population is increasing everyday. Much of the growth in prison populations can be traced to
higher incarceration rates of nonviolent offenders (Support Alternative Sentencing for NonViolent Criminals). Because of prison overcrowding, we should make the space that we have
useful. We shouldnt be putting in criminals who committed petty crimes but those who are a
threat to the community. The U.S. should be spending its money more wisely.
Another reason why we should provide alternative punishments for nonviolent offenders
is because they should be given an option to join a program to be rehabilitated for their problem.
Most nonviolent crimes involve drug offenses so I think this other option is crucial. According to
(bjs.gov), the number one nonviolent crime is drug trafficking. I believe that if your crime
involves drugs, you shouldnt be put in prison because being put in a cell will not help your
problem. Although you may have served your time in jail, you have a high chance of going back
to your old habits since you didnt get help while being incarcerated. The living conditions in
prison/jail are very poor and diseases spread fast due to close living conditions. This may result
to having the individual not function well if he/she has a drug problem (Oliver, Marilyn Tower).
Crimes involving the offender to be mental also should be rehabilitated in a mental facility.
Again, putting them in a prison cell will not help their disability but only to worsen it. Having a
rehabilitation system that actually rehabilitates by embracing alternative sentencing programs for
non-violent criminals would be a start to this process (Rehabilitation and Alternatives to
Incarceration). If this system were to follow through, the United States would be saving a lot of

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money. It is much cheaper to rehabilitate an individual than to keep one incarcerated. I also feel
that a rehabilitation center would help the person turn their life around to start doing good and to
not cause anymore trouble.
Lastly, I think that the offender should be given the option to pay a fine to not be
incarcerated. This would benefit the government greatly because all proceedings from the fines
are going straight to them. Fines are a common punishment for a variety of crimes, especially
less serious offenses committed by first-time offenders (Sentencing Alternatives). Fines, I think
are one of the best solutions because not only does it benefit the government, it should teach the
offender not to make the mistake of committing that crime again. Pertaining to the offender
paying the fine, they should also be forced to pay for court costs and supervision fees. An
example of a supervision fee would be having to pay for their parole or probation after being
released from prison. Being released from prison does not make you a good person when you
walk out of there so you need to be supervised at all times. The amount of the fine should depend
on the severity of the crime. Since the offender is allowed to pay a fine to not be incarcerated this
benefits taxpayers and the government who pay to keep them incarcerated (Use Alternative
Punishments to Treat Nonviolent Criminals). Taxes would be decreased since we are not paying
to keep the criminal in prison. Since prisons are overcrowded, paying fines is one solution to
help decrease the amount of inmates.
Two reasons why some people in America would not want to provide alternative
punishments for nonviolent offenders is because they believe the offender will immediately go
back to their old habits of committing crimes after being released from the alternative
punishment and that the people do not want these criminals walking the streets. In 2005, 43,000
federal offenders were placed on federal community supervision and about 43% of the offenders

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were arrested at least once within the five years on their placement (Percent of Released
Prisoners Returning to Incarceration). This data shows that it is very easy to get back into your
old habits no matter what you have gone through. Those who are arrested more often are those
who have committed a violent crime. And for the nonviolent offenders, the majorities that are
arrested again are for drug use. If I were a parent, I would not want any released inmates roaming
the streets. Recently, a lot of inmates have been released because the U.S. Sentencing has cut
down the term for an offender who has been incarcerated for drug trafficking (What You Should
Know About The Federal Inmate Release). These people are still dangerous because there are a
lot of gang violence that pertain to drugs. If these inmates were released, the community would
be at harm.
We should have a law to provide alternative punishments than incarceration for
nonviolent offenders because it would reduce money spent on prisons each year, give the
offender a chance to be put in a program to be rehabilitated, and give the offender an option to
pay a fine. If this law were to be passed, we would be able to reduce the amount of inmates
greatly in prison. If there were fewer inmates in prison, the government would be spending less
money on keeping them incarcerated. With this money, we could be spending it on educational
reforms or use it for military spending. I believe this law would benefit us all and should be
fought with any cost to be passed.

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Works Cited
"America Imprisons over a Million Nonviolent Offenders." America Imprisons over a Million
Nonviolent Offenders. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

By Signing, You Accept Our Terms and May Receive Updates on This and Related Causes.
"Support Alternative Sentencing for Non-Violent Criminals." ForceChange. N.p., n.d.
Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

Oliver, Marilyn Tower. "Prisons: Today's Debate." Alibris. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.

"Rehabilitation and Alternatives to Incarceration." Criminal Justice Degree Online. N.p., n.d. W
eb. 18 Oct. 2016.

"Sentencing Alternatives: Prison, Probation, Fines, and Community Service | Nolo.com."

Nolo.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

ThinkProgress. "California Spends Six Times More On Prison Inmates Than On College
Students." ThinkProgress. N.p., 05 Apr. 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

"Use Alternative Punishments to Treat Nonviolent Criminals." Tribunedigital-mcall. N.p., 01

June 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

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By the End of the Fifth Year after Release, More than Three-quarters (78 Percent) of Males
and Two-thirds (68 Percent) of Females Were Arrested, a 10 Percentage Point Difference
That Remained Relatively Stable during the Entire 5-year Follow-up Period. "Percent of
Released Prisoners Returning to Incarceration." Crime in AmericaNet. N.p., 25 July 2016.
Web. 19 Oct. 2016.

"What You Should Know About The Federal Inmate Release." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 19
Oct. 2016.