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103 Prison Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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Prison Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Prisons are an integral part of the criminal justice system, serving as a means of punishment, rehabilitation, and deterrence for individuals who have committed crimes. Writing an essay on prison-related topics can be a thought-provoking and challenging task. To help you get started, here are 103 prison essay topic ideas and examples:

  • The effectiveness of prison as a form of punishment
  • The impact of incarceration on mental health
  • The role of prisons in reducing recidivism rates
  • The overcrowding crisis in prisons
  • The ethics of for-profit prisons
  • The impact of prison privatization on inmate rights
  • The experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals in prison
  • The racial disparities in the criminal justice system
  • The challenges faced by elderly inmates
  • The impact of the war on drugs on mass incarceration
  • The rehabilitation programs offered in prisons
  • The use of solitary confinement as a punishment
  • The mental health treatment available to inmates
  • The impact of prison labor on inmate rights
  • The role of education in prisoner rehabilitation
  • The impact of family visitation policies on inmates
  • The experiences of women in prison
  • The impact of the death penalty on prison populations
  • The debate over juvenile sentencing and incarceration
  • The impact of COVID-19 on prison populations
  • The role of faith-based programs in prisoner rehabilitation
  • The impact of parole policies on recidivism rates
  • The experiences of individuals with disabilities in prison
  • The impact of immigration detention on inmates
  • The role of mental health courts in diverting individuals from prison
  • The impact of mandatory minimum sentencing laws on prison populations
  • The experiences of transgender individuals in prison
  • The role of restorative justice programs in prisoner rehabilitation
  • The impact of drug addiction on incarceration rates
  • The use of technology in prison management
  • The experiences of individuals with mental illnesses in prison
  • The impact of mass incarceration on communities of color
  • The role of reentry programs in reducing recidivism rates
  • The impact of the school-to-prison pipeline on youth incarceration rates
  • The experiences of individuals serving life sentences
  • The impact of pretrial detention on inmates
  • The role of mental health diversion programs in reducing incarceration rates
  • The impact of retribution on prison policies
  • The experiences of individuals serving long-term sentences
  • The impact of the criminalization of poverty on incarceration rates
  • The role of prison industries in inmate rehabilitation
  • The impact of solitary confinement on mental health
  • The experiences of individuals serving death row sentences
  • The impact of mandatory drug sentencing laws on prison populations
  • The role of restorative justice in reducing recidivism rates
  • The impact of the cash bail system on pretrial detention rates
  • The experiences of individuals who have been wrongfully convicted
  • The impact of the school-to-prison pipeline on youth of color
  • The role of community-based alternatives to incarceration
  • The impact of the war on drugs on incarceration rates
  • The experiences of individuals serving life without parole sentences
  • The role of for-profit prisons in the criminal justice system
  • The impact of solitary confinement on inmate mental health
  • The role of rehabilitation programs in reducing recidivism rates
  • The impact of overcrowding in prisons
  • The ethics of capital punishment
  • The impact of racial disparities in the criminal justice system
  • The impact of the privatization of prisons
  • The role of mental health treatment in inmate rehabilitation
  • The experiences of juvenile inmates
  • The impact of restorative justice programs on recidivism rates
  • The role of parole boards in determining release dates
  • The impact of mandatory sentencing laws on prison populations
  • The impact of immigration policies on inmate populations
  • The impact of reentry programs on reducing recidivism rates
  • The role of technology in prison management

These essay topic ideas cover a wide range of issues related to prisons and incarceration. Whether you are interested in the ethics of for-profit prisons, the impact of mental health treatment on inmate rehabilitation, or the experiences of transgender individuals in prison, there is a topic here for you. Use these ideas as a starting point for your research and writing, and delve deeper into the complex and challenging world of prisons and the criminal justice system.

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152 Prison Essay Topics & Corrections Topics for Research Papers

Welcome to our list of prison research topics! Here, you will find a vast collection of corrections topics, research papers ideas, and issues for group discussion. In addition, we’ve included research questions about prisons related to mass incarceration and other controversial problems.

🏆 Best Essay Topics on Prison

✍️ prison essay topics for college, 👍 good prison research topics & essay examples, 🎓 controversial corrections research topics, 💡 hot corrections topics for research papers, ❓ prison research questions.

  • Prisons Are Ineffective in Rehabilitating Prisoners
  • Prison System Issues: Mistreatment and Abuse
  • Overcrowding in Prisons and Its Impact on Health
  • Prison Reform in the US Criminal Justice System
  • How ”Prison Life” Affects Inmates Lifes
  • The Comfort and Luxury of Prison Life
  • Rehabilitation Programs Offered in Prisons
  • How Education in Prisons Help Inmates Rehabilitate Criminal justice presupposes punishments for committing offenses, which include the isolation of recidivists from society.
  • Security Threat Groups: The Important Elements in Prison Riots Security Threat Groups appear to be an a priori element of prison culture, inspired and cultivated by its fundamental principles of power.
  • Norway Versus US Prison and How They Differ The paper states that the discrepancies between the US and Norwegian prison systems can be influenced or determined by various factors.
  • Prison System in the United States Depending on what laws are violated – federal or state – the individuals are usually placed in either a federal or state prison.
  • Prison Life in Nineteenth-Century Massachusetts In the article Larry Goldsmith has attempted to provide a detailed history of prison life and prison system during the 19th century.
  • The Issue of Overcrowding in the Prison System Similar to terrorist attacks and the financial recession, jail overcrowding is an international issue that concerns all countries, regardless of their status.
  • Women Serving Time With Their Children: The Challenge of Prison Mothers The law in America requires that mothers stay with their children as a priority. Prisons have therefore opened nurseries for children of mothers who are serving short terms.
  • Early Prison Release to Reduce a Prison’s Budget The primary goal of releasing nonviolent offenders before their sentences are finished is cutting down on expenses.
  • Prison Culture: Term Definition There has been contention in the area of literature whether prison culture results from the environment within the prison or is as a result of the culture that inmates bring into prison.
  • Alcatraz Prison and Its History With Criminals Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary famously referred to as “The Rock”, served as a maximum prison from 1934-1963. It was located on Alcatraz Island.
  • Prisons and the Different Security Levels Prisons are differentiated with regard to the extent of security, including supermax, maximum, medium, and minimum levels. This paper discusses prison security levels.
  • Prison Makes Criminals Worse This paper discusses if prisons are effective in making criminals better for society or do they make them worse.
  • Prison Reform: Rethinking and Improving The topic of prison reform has been highly debated as the American Criminal Justice System has failed to address the practical and social challenges.
  • Prison Population by Ethnic Group and Sex Labeling theory, which says that women being in “inferior” positions will get harsher sentences, and the “evil women hypothesis” are not justified.
  • Mental Health Institutions in Prisons Mental institutions in prisons are essential and might be helpful to inmates, and prevention, detection, and proper mental health issues treatment should be a priority in prisons.
  • Researching of the Reasons Prisons Exist While prisons are the most common way of punishing those who have committed a crime, the efficiency of prisons is still being questioned.
  • Drugs and Prison Overcrowding There are a number of significant sign of the impact that the “war on drugs” has had on the communities in the United States.
  • “Picking Battles: Correctional Officers, Rules, and Discretion in Prison”: Research Question The “Picking Battles: Correctional Officers, Rules, and Discretion in Prison” aims to define the extent to which correctional officers use discretion in their work.
  • State Prison System v. Federal Prison System The essay sums that the main distinction between these two prison systems is based on the type of criminals it handles, which means a difference in the level of security employed.
  • The Role of Culture in the School-to-Prison Pipeline The school-to-prison pipeline is based on many social factors and cannot be recognized as only an outcome of harsh disciplinary policies.
  • School-to-Prison Pipeline: Roots of the Problem The term “school-to-prison pipeline” refers to the tendency of children and young adults to be put in prison because of harsh disciplinary policies within schools.
  • Administrative Segregation in California Prisons In California prisons, administrative segregation is applied to control safety as well as prisoners who are disruptive within the jurisdiction.
  • Women in Prison in the United States: Article and Book Summary A personal account of a woman prisoner known as Julie demonstrates that sexual predation/abuse is a common occurrence in most U.S. prisons.
  • The Stanford Prison Experiment The Stanford prison experiment is an example of how outside social situations influence changes in thought and behavior among humans.
  • The Stanford Prison Experiment Analysis Abuse between guards and prisoners is an imminent factor attributed to the differential margin on duties and responsibilities.
  • The Stanford Prison Experiment’s Historical Record The Stanford Prison Experiment is a seminal investigation into the dynamics of peer pressure in human psychology.
  • The Lucifer Effect: Stanford County Prison In 1971, a group of psychologists led by Philip Zimbardo invited mentally healthy students from the USA and Canada, selected from 70 volunteers, to take part in the experiment.
  • The Prison Effect Based on Philip Zimbardo’s Book This paper explores the lessons that can be learned from Philip Zimbardo’s book “The Lucifer Effect” and highlights the experiment’s findings and their implications.
  • Ethical Decision-Making for Public Administrators at Abu Ghraib Prison The subject of prisoner mistreatment at Abu Ghraib Prison has garnered global attention and a prominent role in arguments over the Iraq War.
  • Bruce Western’s Book Homeward: Life in the Year After Prison The book by Bruce Western Homeward: Life in the Year after Prison provides different perspectives on the struggles that ex-prisoners face once released from jail.
  • Psychology: Zimbardo Prison Experiment Despite all the horrors that contradict ethics, Zimbardo’s research contributed to the formation of social psychology. It was unethical to conduct this experiment.
  • Economic Differences in the US Prison System The main research question is, “What is the significant difference in the attitude toward prisoners based on their financial situation?”
  • Transgender People in Prisons: Rights Violations There are many instances of how transgender rights are violated in jails: from misgendering from the staff and other prisoners to isolation and refusal to provide healthcare.
  • The Prison-Based Community and Intervention Efforts The prison-based community is a population that should be supported in diverse spheres such as healthcare, psychological health, social interactions, and work.
  • The Canadian Prison System: Problems and Proposed Solutions The state of Canadian prisons has been an issue of concern for more than a century now. Additionally, prisons are run in a manner that does not promote rehabilitation.
  • American Prisons as Social Institutions The prison system of the U.S. gained features that distance it from the theoretical conception of a redemptive control mechanism.
  • Prisons as a Response to Crimes Prisons are not adequate measures for limiting long-term crime rates or rehabilitating inmates, yet other alternatives are either undeveloped or too costly to ensure public safety.
  • The State of Prisons in the United Kingdom and Wales Since 1993, there has been a steady increase in the prison population in the UK, hitting a record highest of 87,000 inmates in 2012.
  • Drug Abuse Demographics in Prisons Drug abuse, including alcohol, is a big problem for the people contained in prisons, both in the United States and worldwide.
  • My Prison System: Incarceration, Deterrence, Rehabilitation, and Retribution The prison system described in the paper belongs to medium-security prisons which will apply to most types of criminals.
  • The Criminal Justice System: The Prison Industrial Complex The criminal justice system is the institution which is present in every advanced country, and it is responsible for punishing individuals for their wrongdoings.
  • Penal Labor in the American Prison System The 13th Amendment allows for the abuse of the American prison system. This is because it permits the forced labor of convicted persons.
  • Private and Public Prisons’ Functioning The purpose of this paper is to discuss the functioning of modern private and public prisons. There is a significant need to change the approach for private prisons.
  • Recidivism in the Criminal Justice: Prison System of America One of the main issues encountered by the criminal justice system remains recidivism which continues to stay topical.
  • The Electronic Monitoring of Offenders Released From Jail or Prison The paper analyzes the issue of electronic monitoring for offenders who have been released from prison or jail.
  • “Episode 66: Yard of Dreams — Ear Hustle’’: Sports in Prison “Episode 66: Yard of dreams — Ear hustle’’ establishes that prison sports are an important aspect of transforming the lives of prisoners in the correctional system.
  • The Concept of PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) Rape remains among the dominant crimes in the USA; almost every minute an American becomes a victim of it. The problem is especially acute in penitentiaries.
  • Recidivism in the Criminal Justice: Prison System of America The position of people continuously returning to prisons in the United States is alarming due to their high rates.
  • Prisonization and Secure Housing Units in Prisons The main issue of SHUs is that the absence of community forces a person to experience a significant mental crisis because humans are social creatures.
  • Prison’s Impact on People’s Health The paper explains experts believe that the prison situation contributes to the negative effects on the health of the convicted person.
  • Mass Incarceration in American Prisons This research paper describes the definition of incarceration and focuses on the reasons for imprisonment in the United States of America.
  • Contribution of Prisons to US Racial Disparities The USA showcases persistent racial disparities, especially in the healthcare system. The discriminatory regime has lasted from systemic inequality within essential systems.
  • Prisons in the United States In the present day, prisons may be regarded as the critical components of the federal criminal justice system.
  • Understanding the U.S. Prison System This study will look at the various issues surrounding the punishment and rehabilitative aspects of U.S. prisons and determine what must be done to improve the system.
  • American Criminal Justice System: Prison Reform Public safety and prison reform go hand-in-hand. Rethinking the way in which security is established within society is the first step toward the reform.
  • Private Prisons: Review In the following paper, the issues that are rife in connection with contracting out private prisons will be examined along with the pros and cons of private prisons’ functioning.
  • Crimes and the Federal Prison Comparison Boesky and Milken admitted to the charges and sought guilty plea favour while Martha was defensive of not having committed any crime.
  • Arkansas Prison Scandals Regarding Contaminated Blood A number of scandals occurred around the infamous Cummins State Prison Farm in Arkansas in 1967-1969 and 1982-1983.
  • Prisons in the United States Analysis The whole aspect of medical facilities in prisons is a very complex issue that needs to be evaluated and looked at critically for sustainability.
  • Sex Offenders and Their Prison Sentences Both authors do not fully support this sanction due to many reasons, including medical, social, ethical, and even legal biases, where the latter is fully ignored.
  • Criminal Punishment, Inmates on Death Row, and Prison Educational Programs This paper will review the characteristics of inmates, including those facing death penalties and the benefits of educational programs for prisoners.
  • Prison System for a Democratic Society This report is designed to transform the corrections department to form a system favorable for democracy, seek to address the needs of different groups of offenders.
  • Healthcare Among the Elderly Prison Population The purpose of this article is to address the ever-increasing cost of older prisoners in correctional facilities.
  • Prison Staffing and Correctional Officers’ Duties The rehabilitative philosophy in corrective facilities continually prompts new reinforced efforts to transform inmates.
  • Women’s Issues and Trends in the Prison System The government has to consider the specific needs of the female population in the prison system and work on preventing incarceration.
  • What Makes Family Learning in Prisons Effective? This paper aims to discuss the family learning issue and explain the benefits and challenges of family learning in prisons.
  • Overcrowding in Jails and Prisons In a case of a crime, the offender is either incarcerated, placed on probation or required to make restitution to the victim, usually in the form of monetary compensation.
  • Unethical and Ethical Issues in the Prison System of Honduras Honduras has some of the highest homicide rates in the world and prisons in Honduras are associated with high levels of violence.
  • Prison Reform in the US Up until this day, the detention facilities remain the restricting measure common for each State. The U.S. remains one of the most imprisoning countries.
  • The Stanford Prison Experiment Review The video presents an experiment held in 1971. In general, a viewer can observe that people are subjected to behavior and opinion change when affected by others.
  • Whether Socrates Should Have Disobeyed the Terms of His Conviction and Escaped Prison? Socrates wanted to change manners and customs, he denounced the evil, deception, undeserved privileges, and thereby he aroused hatred among contemporaries and must pay for it.
  • Psychological and Sociological Aspects of the School-to-Prison Pipeline The tendency of sending children to prisons is examined from the psychological and sociological point of view with the use of two articles regarding the topic.
  • US Prisons Review and Recidivism Prevention This research paper will focus on prison life in American prisons and the strategies to decrease recidivism once the inmates are released from prison.
  • Discrimination in Prison Problem The problem of discrimination requires a great work of social workers, especially in such establishments like prisons.
  • Meditation in American Prisons from 1981 to 2004 Staggering statistics reveal that the United States has the highest rate of imprisonment of any country in the world, with the cost of imprisonment of this many people is now at twenty-seven billion dollars.
  • Impact of the Stanford Prison Experiment Have on Psychology This essay will begin with a brief description of Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment then it will move to explore two main issues that arose from the said experiment.
  • Use of Contingent Employees at the Federal Bureau of Prisons Contingent employment is a staffing strategy that the Federal Bureau of Prisons can use to address its staffing needs as well as achieve its budgetary target.
  • Privatization of Prisons in the US, Australia and UK The phenomenon of modern prison privatization emerged in the United States in the mid-1980s and spread to Australia and the United Kingdom from there.
  • Death Penalty from a Prison Officer’s Perspective The death penalty can be considered as an ancient form of punishment in relation to the type of crime that had been committed.
  • Recidivism in American Prisons At present, recidivism is a severe problem for the United States. Many prisoners are released from jails but do not change their criminal behavior due to a few reasons.
  • The Grizzly Conditions Prisoners Endure in Private Prisons The present paper will explore the issue of these ‘grizzly’ conditions in public prisons, arguing that private prisons need to be strictly regulated in order to prevent harm to inmates.
  • Keeping Minors and Adult Inmates Separate to Address the Problem of Violence in Prisons Managing aggressive behaviors in prison and preventing the instances of violence is a critical issue that warrants a serious discussion.
  • Evaluation of the Stanford Prison Experiment’ Role The Stanford Prison Experiment is a study that was conducted on August 20, 1971 by a group of researchers headed by the psychology professor Philip Zimbardo.
  • American Prison Systems and Areas of Improvement The current operation of the prison system in America can no longer be deemed effective, in the correctional sense of this word.
  • Prison Crowding in the US Most prisons in the United States and other parts of the world are overcrowded. They hold more prisoners that the initial capacity they were designed to accommodate.
  • School-to-Prison Pipeline in Political Aspect This paper investigates the school-to-prison pipeline from the political point of view using the two articles concerning the topic.
  • School-to-Prison Pipeline in American Justice This paper studies the problem by reviewing two articles regarding the school-to-prison pipeline and its aspects related to justice systems.
  • Prison Population and Healthcare Models in the USA This paper focuses on the prison population with a view to apply the Vulnerable Population Conceptual Model, and summarizes US healthcare models.
  • Prisoners’ Rights and Prison System Reform Criminal justice laws are antiquated and no longer serve their purposes. Instead, they cause harms to society, Americans and cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
  • Contracting Out Private Prisons The issue of contracting the private prisons for accommodating the inmates has been challenged by various law suits over the quality of service that this companies offer to the inmates.
  • Prison Dog Training Program by Breakthrough Buddies
  • Prison Abuse and Its Effect On Society
  • The Truth About the Cruelty of Privatized Prison Health Care
  • Prison Incarceration and Its Effects On The United States
  • The United States Crime Problem and Our Prison System
  • Prison Overcrowding and Its Effects On Living Conditions
  • General Information about Prison and Capital Punishment Impact
  • Problems With The American Prison System
  • Prison and County Correctional Faculties Overcrowding
  • People Who Commit Murder Should Be A Prison For An Extended
  • African American Men and The United States Prison System
  • Prison Gangs and the Community Responsibility System
  • Prison Overcrowding and Its Effects On The United States
  • Prison Should Not Receive Free College Education
  • Pregnant Behind Bars and The United States Prison System
  • Prison Life and Strategies to Decrease Recidivism
  • Penitentiary Ideal and Models Of American Prison
  • The Various Rehabilitation and Treatment Programs in Prison
  • Prison and Mandatory Minimum Sentences
  • Prisoner Visit and Rape Issue In Thai Prison
  • Private Prisons Are Far Worse Than Any Maximum Security State Prison
  • Prison Gangs and Their Effect on Prison Populations
  • Overview of Prison Overcrowding and Staff Violence
  • Classification and Prison Security Levels
  • Prison and Positive Effects Rehabilitation Assignment
  • Can Prison Deter Crime?
  • What Are the Two Theories Regarding How Inmate Culture Becomes a Part of Prison Life?
  • What Prison Is Mentioned in the Movie “Red Notice”?
  • What’s the Worst Prison in Tennessee?
  • What Causes Students to Enter the School of Prison Pipeline?
  • How Can the Prison System Rehabilitate Prisoners So That They Will Enter the Society as Equals?
  • Should Prison and Jail Be the Primary Service Provider?
  • How Can Illegal Drugs Be Prevented From Entering Prison?
  • How Does the Prison System Treat Trans Inmates?
  • What Is the Deadliest Prison in America?
  • Should Prison and Death Be an Easy Decision for a Court?
  • Why Is It Called Black Dolphin Prison?
  • Does Prison Strain Lead to Prison Misbehavior?
  • Why Is the American Prison System Failing?
  • What Country Has the Best Prison System?
  • Does Prison Work for Offenders?
  • Should Prison for Juveniles Be a Crime?
  • What Is the Most Infamous Prison in America?
  • What Is the World’s Most Secure Prison?
  • What Do Russian Prison Tattoos Mean?
  • What Causes Convicted Felons to Commit Another Crime After Release From Prison?
  • What Are the Implications of Prison Overcrowding and Are More Prisons the Answer?
  • Can Private Prisons Save Tax Dollars?
  • Is Incarceration the Answer to Crime in Prison?
  • What Are Prison Conditions Like in the US?
  • Who Escaped From Brushy Mountain Prison?
  • Why Does the Public Love Television Show, Prison Break?
  • What Is the Scariest Prison in the World?
  • When Did Brushy Mountain Prison Close?
  • Which State Has the Most Overcrowded Prison?

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StudyCorgi. (2021, December 21). 152 Prison Essay Topics & Corrections Topics for Research Papers. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/prison-essay-topics/

"152 Prison Essay Topics & Corrections Topics for Research Papers." StudyCorgi , 21 Dec. 2021, studycorgi.com/ideas/prison-essay-topics/.

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1. StudyCorgi . "152 Prison Essay Topics & Corrections Topics for Research Papers." December 21, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/prison-essay-topics/.

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StudyCorgi . "152 Prison Essay Topics & Corrections Topics for Research Papers." December 21, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/prison-essay-topics/.

StudyCorgi . 2021. "152 Prison Essay Topics & Corrections Topics for Research Papers." December 21, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/prison-essay-topics/.

These essay examples and topics on Prison were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on January 9, 2024 .

304 Criminal Justice Essay Topics & Examples

🏆 best criminal justice topics & essay examples, 👍 good criminal justice topics for essays, 📑 interesting criminal law essay topics, 🔍 social justice topics to write about, 💡 criminal justice persuasive essay topics, ⭐ simple & easy criminology essay topics, ❓ criminal justice research topics for college students.

  • Ethical Dilemmas in Criminal Justice If one is to discuss the issue with the senior management of the organization in which the crime occurred, there is a high chance that the issue will not be taken as seriously due to […]
  • Importance of Math in the Field of Criminal Justice The work of police officers and other personnel in criminal justice requires proof and accuracy in determining the cause and effects of a crime. We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
  • Application of Probability and Statistics in Criminal Justice In criminal justice system, the assessment of the evidence adduced by witnesses determines the innocence or the guilt of the accused.
  • Criminal Justice Ethics Definition Criminal justice ethics involves all the codes as well as standards that apply to all the concerned parties in the criminal justice system for example attorneys, prosecutors, and the other entire professionals in the criminal […]
  • The Instrumental Theory in Criminal Justice In criminal justice, the instrumental theory is based on the idea that criminal justice and criminology is one of the main tools which help to control the poor.
  • Crime Scene Investigation in Criminal Justice In the process of controlling the crowd and maintaining order with the aid of the police officers, I took some photographs of the surrounding and then approached the main spot of event. I managed to […]
  • Ethics and Professional Behavior in Criminal Justice One of the most important components of the criminal justice system is a code of ethics, which governs the behavior and conduct of professionals working within the system.
  • Psychologists’ Role in Criminal Justice In addition to research, the accumulation, and application of knowledge, psychologists can also participate in assessing the effectiveness of legislation. In this setting, basic scientists conduct theoretical research on the effectiveness of police and court […]
  • Criminal Justice System Representation in Media In the television shows and films examined in this paper, the creators attempt to display various aspects of the criminal justice system realistically and positively.
  • Effective Communication in Criminal Justice Settings The officer should also package information in a way that it is easy to decode and understand. Such communication enables police officers in charge of the inmates to access important information from them.
  • Cybercrime Impact on Global Criminal Justice System Reports show that the crime is on the rise because more people have access to computers and the internet than ever before.
  • The Discipline of Criminal Justice: The Use of Mathematics The knowledge applied here is purely scientific and therefore the police can hire the services of such experts to assist in the investigation of crime.
  • “Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice” by Pollock If hunting is the primary means of survival of a particular society, the euthanasia of the elderly and the sick can be deemed acceptable.
  • Changes Introduced to the Inquisitorial Criminal Justice in Italy The inquisitorial system was pioneered by the Roman Catholic Church in the medieval era, where the church used this system in its religious courts for prosecution of offenders and to reform the former system which […]
  • Forensic Science in the Criminal Justice System This essay is intended to explain the meaning of forensic science in the criminal justice system and to explore the evolution of methods introduced by such figures as Sir Francis Galton and Dr.
  • Comparative Criminal Justice System Advantages The central values of the US criminal justice system are to protect the rights of citizens and ensure the safety of a society in which everyone is equal before the law.
  • Indian Criminal Justice System Reforms In as much as some human rights activists often complain of the violation of the rights by the justice system, India’s criminal system has faced significant changes since colonial times to the present.
  • Stress Among Criminal Justice Workers The criminal justice system is aware of the seriousness of the current problem and is trying to adapt to the emerging trend.
  • Domestic Violence Ethical Dilemmas in Criminal Justice Various ethical issues such as the code of silence, the mental status of the offender, and limited evidence play a vital role in challenging the discretion of police officers in arresting the DV perpetrators.
  • Pretrial Procedures in Criminal Justice Therefore, studying the processes that take place before the trial is important for understanding the overall delivery of criminal justice. Before the trial begins, the defense attorney and the prosecutor must prepare for it.
  • Criminal Justice & Security: Measuring Crime Statistics NIBRS is a part of UCR; it has been in place since 1989, and its aim is to ensure the collection of detailed crime reports from law enforcement agencies.
  • Positive and Negative of Evidence-Based Criminal Justice Policymaking Evidence-based practice in the criminal justice sector has concentrated on policies that deal with the administration of these sectors based on the correctional process of the incarcerated persons.
  • Technical Communication Methods and Practices of Criminal Justice It also examines the use of technology in the communication process and further looks at the potential technological advancement that will be used in the communication process in the future.
  • Leadership and Management as Applied to Criminal Justice Organizations The differences between them are significant and crucial to understanding for executives to be able to reach the goals of a company.
  • Criminal Justice: Punishment and Sentencing The representatives of the general public got used to the fact that one party is to be punished, and another one is to provide punishment.
  • Logical Fallacies in Criminal Justice The misrepresentation of the original argument is not taken into account, and the key objective of this fallacy is to confuse the opponent and form one’s opinion on the wrong argument.
  • Financial Management in Criminal Justice Systems Criminal justice departments are touted to be one of the most inefficient and morally impaired sectors of the government. Therefore, discipline in law enforcement officers and other members of the criminal justice system is essential […]
  • Criminal Justice Internship Report The primary goals of the course are to expose students to new contexts and environments, broaden and deepen knowledge of key concepts and theories relevant to the field, and improve an overall learning experience.
  • Criminal Justice Research: Homicide It also gains capacity with the regulations and reaction of crime from the society and the government. In homicide research, the characteristics and methods of qualitative research are evident.
  • Ethics in Criminal Justice The morality of punishing people for their actions will always be a topic that is worth discussion because, in the majority of the cases, no one has the ability to view the issue from a […]
  • Stereotyping Individuals in the Criminal Justice System Cultural Deviance theory is based upon two other theories, which are: Social Disorganization Theory Strain Theory Social disorganization theory focuses on the environment and places it as the main reason for crime.
  • Psychologist’s Roles in Criminal Justice System The purpose of this article is to outline the function of a psychologist in the criminal justice system. For example, the expert can act in a consultative or counselor capacity in the court of law.
  • Stanford Prison Experiment and Criminal Justice The researchers used cameras and microphones to assess the behavior of the correctional staffs and inmates. The capability of managing the correctional facility depends on effective communication between the inmates and the prison guards.
  • Pros and Cons of Using Discretion in System of Criminal Justice The initial stage in which discretion is applied in the system of criminal justice is where police officers make a decision on whether a suspect should be arrested for a particular offense or not., argues […]
  • Criminal Justice Systems: Saudi Arabia, Germany and the US The primary religion of the nation is Islam, which guides the cultural development of the country. The primary factor is the development of the US because the common law system was established in England.
  • Criminal Justice: Investigating Problems Dependent variables: Number of racial hate crimes committed in a locality per year, the number of fatalities associated with racial hate crimes, the total population of the locality, racial disparity within the locality.
  • Cosa Nostra and Transnational Criminal Justice As a result of the criminal allure it exudes, the Cosa Nostra maintains connections with all of the major criminal groups, both in Italy and across the world.
  • Ethical Behavior in Criminal Justice In the CJS, judges are the determinants of the sentencing and verdict of a criminal. Wilson that considers the health of the defendant and the safety of the community.
  • Professional vs. Personal Life Dilemma in Criminal Justice As a member of a police force, Badpenny belongs to the soldier class in Plato’s classification, making courage her virtue. Overall, Badpenny’s decision to hide her boyfriend’s identity can only be morally justified from the […]
  • Virtue and Stoic Ethics in Criminal Justice The lack of ethical grounds for the behavior of criminal justice officials makes the application of the law unreliable. As an employee of a juvenile correctional colony, I will be guided by the principles of […]
  • Police Culture: Criminal Justice Ethics The set of values and standards in police culture shapes the perceptions of law enforcement officers about policing and the delivery of services. Therefore, police culture is similar to other customs and habits that guides […]
  • The Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program The policy reflects social control, ensuring that members of society are compliant and follow the rules to ensure community safety and sustainability.
  • Technology and Learning in Criminal Justice It is a two-way avenue that includes both the student and the educator and leads to knowledge and capacity growth. A third and somewhat uncommon motivating method is the inclusion of a genuine chance for […]
  • Domestic Violence: Criminal Justice In addition, the usage of illegal substances such as bhang, cocaine, and other drugs contributes to the increasing DV in society.
  • Ethical Dilemma Analysis: Criminal Justice Case The publicity of the case added another layer of complexity to the decision, as either verdict would alienate a part of the population.
  • Solving Problems of Criminal Justice For example, the theory can be applied to better understand the problem of social inequality problem described in the cited documentary.
  • The Criminal Justice System Practitioner The practitioner relied on the presented professional values, worldview, and philosophy to identify, handle, and support the rights of the identified clients.
  • The Criminal Justice System: Gender Diversity Among these recommendations are, for the most part, the expansion of strategies to attract more candidates and increase their interest in law enforcement recruiting.
  • Contemporary Criminal Justice Issues When it comes to the dependent variable, it means the effect, and that means the reduction of infectious diseases will be the effect that the independent variable will determine.
  • Negligence in the Criminal Justice System The last category of negligence is the most dangerous, and essentially stems to injury or death caused by the actions or lack thereof by the employees of the criminal justice system.
  • The Youth Criminal Justice Act in Teresa Robinson’s Case 1 of the YCJA is relevant to the article since the offender’s name is still unreported despite the evidence of his involvement in the homicide.
  • Ethical Obligations in Criminal Justice These criteria also include those that promote the values of honesty and compassion and the rights to life, bodily integrity, and privacy, all of which are defined as ethical standards. Empathy for others is the […]
  • Advantages of Educated Criminal Justice Workforce Criminal justice agencies are an organization that administers justice, undertake prosecution, supervise the community, and conducts pretrial services. Having educated criminal justice agencies encourage a culture of learning in organizations.
  • Research in Criminal Justice: Crime Solvability Factors In the sphere of criminal justice, inquiry can doubtlessly assist in the formulation of improved and more progressive laws and institutions.
  • Criminal Justice in Relation to the Number of Criminals The main goal of my work is to build evidence that the number of criminals is not proportional to the severity of the crime and that despite a large number of crimes, not all of […]
  • “The Role of Virtual Reality in Criminal Justice Pedagogy” by Smith The journal is titled “The role of virtual reality in criminal justice pedagogy: An examination of mental illness occurring in corrections”.
  • Crime Problems and Criminal Justice Notably, except for the last one, all listed procedures can be applied to crime issues discussed above and seem practical in preventing law violations.
  • COVID-19 and Juvenile, Criminal Justice Legislation The measures may help to reduce overcrowding in prisons, prevent the spread of the disease, and decrease federal and state expenses on COVID-19 preventive measures and protective equipment in correctional facilities.
  • Discretion in Decision Making in Criminal Justice The role of discretion is to provide the capacity to make official judgments based on logic and judgment in the criminal justice system.
  • Criminal Justice Intervention in Case of Elderly However, the government has not been able to respond effectively to the abuse of older adults, with little information and statistics available to show the vulnerability of the elderly to abuse.
  • Police-Minority Relations: Criminal Justice Occasionally, charges of police misbehavior, such as the tragic killings of Black individuals at the hands of police in Baltimore, Maryland, and Ferguson, Missouri, spark public unrest.
  • Alexander & Ferzan’s Arguments on Criminal Justice The penal code has evolved in such a way that it only allows the system to blame offenders based on the nature of the eventual result or outcome.
  • Criminal Justice: Burglary, Theft, and Criminal Trespass According to Section 2C:15-1, robbery is a first-degree crime if, in the course of committing the theft, the actor attempts to kill anyone or purposefully attempts to inflict serious bodily injury.
  • Code of Criminal Justice: False Imprisonment However, the New Jersey Code interprets it specifically as an unlawful restraint with the risk of serious bodily injury or a goal of holding a victim in involuntary servitude.
  • Leadership in the Criminal Justice System For example, the criminal justice system uses goals to task the police, correctional agencies, and the court with the strategy to execute, including deterrence, rehabilitation, retribution, restoration, and incapacitation.
  • The Criminal Justice Core Competency Nowadays, the situation is different, and more women and minorities are encouraged to join law enforcement professions to reduce the impact of bureaucracy and other biases.
  • Criminology and Its Significance in Criminal Justice Fields Criminologists’ activities include collecting and analyzing data of committed crimes to study the nature of crimes and criminals and identify factors that influence criminals’ motives.
  • Criminal Justice System Development The sweeping changes impacted all elements of civil litigation and gave criminal justice professionals a stimulus to be more assertive in their cases.
  • California’s Criminal Justice Realignment The existing experience of reducing the number of prisons in California is of some interest to researchers. The articles attempt to study a number of humanitarian problems of the detention of citizens of California.
  • Criminal Justice System Deterring Illicit Drug Use The authors describe the history of the appearance of synthetic drugs in the illegal market and mention the difficulties that forensic chemists have faced in identifying the compounds of illicit substances. M, Stogner, J.
  • The Influence of Wealth and History of the Criminal Justice System The history of the U.S.criminal justice system spans approximately four hundred years, with early beginnings that prioritized the protection of citizens, punishment of criminals, and maintenance of social order. Perhaps the earliest form of criminal […]
  • Norwegian Versus Texan Criminal Justice Systems Despite accounting for a small population of the world, the US has the highest number of prisoners globally. As a result, the number of prisoners under solitary confinement is higher than in other states.
  • Hypothesis Testing in Criminal Justice and Criminology Two populations that are linked via a dependent variable must be assessed on the subject of dependency to determine a proper test to ensure the validity of the results.
  • The Modern Criminal Justice System: Discriminatory Practices It is stated that “the experiences of poor and minority defendants within the criminal justice system often differ substantially from that model due to several factors, each of which contributes to the overrepresentation of such […]
  • Statistics in Criminal Justice and Criminology The author’s primary argument refers to the importance of averages and data distribution types for criminology researchers and practitioners. To conclude, the information provided in the chapter is essential for understanding the measures of central […]
  • Statistics for Criminology and Criminal Justice The first part of the chapter introduces the three univariate data distribution displays that are frequently used in statistics, such as frequencies, proportions, and percentages.
  • Deterrence: Reflections on the Economics of Criminal Justice Therefore, deterrence is meant to ensure that punishments are so harsh that members of the public will fear committing a crime that will lead them to the same punishment.
  • Media and Gender Stereotypes Against Females in Professional Roles Within the Criminal Justice The first and a half of the second episode were chosen as the pilot episode often reflects the essence of the entire show.
  • Impacts of the Overlaps Between Communication and Criminal Justice for Police-Suspect Interactions The underlying concern raised by the interaction between Floyd and Chauvin as well as the other three police officers is that a breakdown of communication before and during the arrest led to the escalation.
  • Criminal Justice Inequality in Conflict Theory Other examples of inequality in terms of criminal justice are international corporations’ frauds and embezzlements on a grand scale by politicians that remain even unnoticeable while ordinary people are sentenced to imprisonment for less serious […]
  • Management of Criminal Justice Agencies Conflict of interests is bound to arise every time the needs of a healthy worker collide with the properties of a formal organization.
  • The Federal Grand Jury in the Criminal Justice System For instance, the President of the United States of America may not directly request for the formation of a grand jury but can do so by directing the Attorney General to constitute a grand jury.
  • Criminal Justice Agency Accountability and Liability The Act has set the “minimum pay for employees and the overtime pay has to be between 22 to 25% of the standard pay”.
  • US Criminal Justice System Analysis It might be assumed, therefore, that the prison had minimum security; however, the guards were heavily armored and conducted regular raids to control the contraband, which is a characteristic of a high-security prison.
  • Ethical Issues in Criminology and Criminal Justice Research Investigation officers be committed to obligation of ensuring that the bodily, social and mental health of a person participating in an investigation is not harmful distressed.
  • Criminal Justice: The Ban-the-Box Law This essay discusses the criminal justice laws of the United States on the hiring of ex-convicts and whether felons should exercise their civil rights of voting or not.
  • Criminal Justice Career An individual who wants to work in the criminal justice sphere should be ready to overcome different challenges and contribute to the increased efficiency of the legal system.
  • The Effects of the Criminal Justice System Wilson and Kelling say, “Social psychologists and police officers tend to agree that if a window in a building is broken and is left unrepaired, all the rest of the windows will soon be broken”.
  • Criminal Justice System: Child Abuse During the consideration of cases as part of a grand jury, citizens perform some functions of the preliminary investigation bodies.
  • Criminal Justice Standards for the Defense Function In court, defenders can find evidence through discovery, speak with witnesses of the crime, and file pretrial motions.
  • Criminal Justice & Criminology Research Methods In most cases, operationalizing study variables ensures that a sample representing the entire population is chosen and an appropriate unit of analysis is applied.
  • Building a Career in Criminal Justice The duty of a correctional officer is to oversee and keep watch of the arrested criminals during their terms in jail.
  • The Impact of Performance Appraisals on Job Satisfaction of Criminal Justice Personnel Of greater attention in the paper is the exploration of the levels of performance management in criminal justice departments and the impact on the levels of job satisfaction among employees working in these departments.
  • The Pitfalls of Criminal Justice Budget Cuts: An Administrator’s Perspective Today, in the United States, the diminishing crime rates have created an erroneous perception among state legislatures, key public policy figures, and mainstream commentators that crime and the administration of the criminal justice system are […]
  • Policing Duties: Criminal Justice Similarly, the police officers are required to evaluate the crime scene based on the evidence received from the witnesses, victims, and the offenders.
  • Communication Within the Criminal Justice System: Probation Organisation An important thing to note here is that the sender and the recipient must be sharing the meaning of the symbols used in communicating; otherwise the meaning of the message will be lost on the […]
  • Criminal Justice: Racial Prejudice and Racial Discrimination Souryal takes the reader through the racial prejudice and racial discrimination issues ranging from the temperament of racism, the fundamental premise of unfairness, the racial biasness and the causes of racial unfairness to ethical practices […]
  • Criminal Justice Ethics: Kant’s and Bentham’s Views The following is an essay on criminal justice based on the case of Lieutenant Lotem that has presented moral as well as ethical dilemma on the issue of administrative justice.
  • “Ethics in Criminal Justice: In Search of the Truth” by Souryal The principle of leading a simple life to achieve mental happiness is in line with the stoicism school of thought which stressed that pleasure and pain are not relevant in attaining the happiness of an […]
  • New Technology & Criminal Justice From an information perspective, it is clear that new technologies, such as the use of iris recognition solutions, can assist in the effective and efficient management of correctional systems since these facilities are predominantly information-centric […]
  • Significant Issues in Criminal Justice The society established ways of dealing with these groups of people through the implementation of the rule of law to ensure they account for all their actions.
  • Criminology: Modern Criminal Justice The criminal justice system is the institution or the criterion that is used to keep all people that are subject to the law in check.
  • Criminal Justice Professionals: What They Should Know Considering the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, it is possible to state the information about the adoption history of the documents the criminal justice professionals should know.
  • The Origins of the Criminal Justice System in America S, the evolution of the criminal justice system can be traced from the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice of 1967 with the famous “The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society” […]
  • Neuroscience and Criminal Justice The viewpoint of several neuroscientists is that expressive biology of behavior will be accessible in the future and is probably to integrate both neuroscientific and genetic understanding.
  • Criminal Justice: Prosecution & Judicial Proceedings To corroborate scientific, circumstantial and witness evidences, the prosecution needs to examine financial transactions of Roberts to prove that he was truly trafficking dangerous drugs according to the third count of charges.
  • Criminal Justice: Cases of Offenders in Trafficking Secondly, if in the opinion of the court, a defendant is seen to endanger the lives of others or will interfere with the evidence if granted bail, then the court will not grant bail.
  • Essentials of Criminal Justice It is imperative to mention that the prominence of wrongful convictions in a topic that is frequently discussed by scholars and has led to many disagreements.
  • Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals The fifth one includes the targeted issues while the sixth indicates the decisions and actions. It is also appropriate to be aware of the speech mode of the individual being interviewed.
  • Criminal Justice Ethics of Traffic Police Officers The police officer had the choice to take the children to a juvenile center home and arrange for a person to take care of the baby and then take the woman to jail as she […]
  • Ethical Observations of Criminal Justice System As the police officer pays for the picked items, the shopkeeper gives the officer a package of free items and a shopping voucher worth $100 as a present for his family and an appreciation note […]
  • Criminal Justice Ethics: Ethical Observations There are three parties involved in the situation: the victim, the offender, and the company. At the same time, the involvement of Police Officers to the case and the necessity to carry out their daily […]
  • Criminal Justice Policies and Theories Given the fact that PRPs and DPs are the variants of rehabilitation programs, their correlation is understandable, but their targets determine their differences.
  • Response Paper on Book “Criminal Justice Management” They believe that the negative implications of the criminal world, on the whole, are transmitted to the activity of criminal justice workers that creates an unfavorable association of the latter in the mind of the […]
  • Bribery as a Critical Criminal Justice Violation In the overviewed case, the abuse of criminal justice is evident since it is prohibited for the public officials, who are engaged in the investigation, to peer in the confidential affairs of the clients as […]
  • An Ethical System in Criminal Justice To my firm belief, utilitarian ethical system is more advantageous than the systems proposed by libertarianism and determinism since it accepts human nature and puts the general safety above the individual good.
  • Need for Policy Reform in the Criminal Justice System They also exposed the deficiencies and shortfalls of the criminal justice system, which has long been a source of disagreement between the Democrats and the Republicans, making any changes to the policy unlikely.
  • Criminal Law: Media and Its Influence on Criminal Justice Policy Seeing that the opinion of public affects the way, in which the criminal justice policy evolves, it can be assumed that media, which affect people’s viewpoints to a considerable degree, shaping it in accordance with […]
  • Public Opinion and Criminal Justice Policy Despite the fact that the criminal justice policy is shaped by the bills passed by the Congress, the significance of public opinion on the subject matter is very high.
  • Jury System in Different Criminal Justice Contexts The first argument to support the idea that the jury system should be spread widely in the world countries is that the jury system is the key to the unbiased and effective court decision-making that […]
  • An Application of the Criminal Justice System When police have reasonable grounds to believe that William Bloutt and Bertha Bloutt committed the robbery, they have the power, not the obligation, to put them under arrest.
  • Criminal Justice: Over Institutional Organization This is further worsened by the fact that the number of offenders to be monitored after being released is often higher than the number of officers tasked with the responsibility of following up on them.
  • Learning Theory Implications on Criminal Justice Practices This will be helpful to them because the civilians have different styles of learning and implementing the rule of law. Understanding the crime learning theories is very important and their impacts determine the destiny of […]
  • Criminal Justice Workplace Observation Leadership rests in the top management of the prisons who are the decision-makers and lead the prison to attain its objectives.
  • Deterrence in Criminal Justice Practices The concept of deterrence is the foundation of criminal justice systems in a majority of democratic nations. In my opinion, law enforcement is the second area where the implications of deterrence have more impacts.
  • Administration of Criminal Justice – Elements of Planned Change Administrators According to Merino, the effects of the implementation of change or change initiating in the criminal justice system extend far beyond the desired change.
  • Research Process and Terminology: Criminal Justice In addition, it is necessary to edit the research question/hypothesis after reviewing the literature and determining variables; select the research method; sampling methods and control of variables should be thoroughly explained as well; description of […]
  • Suicide in People With a Criminal Justice History The main questions raised in the study included suicide risk for the Danish population over the past three decades and possible relation of the results with the social and health problems of the suicides.
  • Criminal Justice System: “Lucky” by Alice Sebold The book “Lucky” by Alice Sebold unfolds the rape ordeal that the author went through at the age of 18 years as well as the aftermath of the heinous act on her personal life.
  • Key Elements of Criminal Justice System It is the combination of all the administrative, operational, and technical divisions that are part of the law enforcement agencies. This essay will describe the key elements of law enforcement agencies, the key elements of […]
  • Achieving Real Justice: Funding Criminal Justice Reform The article sums up the problems that have enhanced the tribulations of the state’s criminal justice department and point out strategies that have been adapted to solve these challenges. The citizens of California have not […]
  • The Criminal Justice System in the US The statutes of Texas require the criminal justice system to carry out an inquest into the causes of deaths that occur mysteriously to ascertain the cause of death.
  • Impact of Diversity on Criminal Justice Police on the other hand think the high crime rates of Blacks and Hispanics only reflects the differences in the crime rates and not the biased justice system.
  • Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice According to legal ethics, lawyer has ethical duty of ensuring that client’s information is confidential and thus should always advocate for the interests of the client.
  • A Criminal Justice Approach to Suppressing Terrorism The threat of terrorism substituted communism as the rationale which was used for justifying the state of emergency in America prior to 1990s.
  • Web Research in Criminal Justice For those desiring a career that upholds the current social system in preventing crime, ensuring that the rule of law prevails and provides a system of rehabilitation for those who have broken the law, the […]
  • Expected Changes in the Criminal Justice Field Over the Next 50 Years A comfortable conjecture towards development in the criminal justice field will be the use of these social networking sites as an interaction tool with the communities served, for sharing critical information and collecting tips.
  • Cultural and Racial Prejudices in the Criminal Justice System Simultaneously, whiteness continues to play one of the key roles in the development of cultural and racial prejudices in the criminal justice system.
  • Criminal Justice Leadership: Strategies and Practice They have to execute good leadership and management in order to provide reforms and change and to affect the kind of justice that the community needs.
  • Leadership Issue in the Criminal Justice Field The main concerns about the issue of violations are: whether they are common phenomena in the criminal justice field, the reason that propagates them, and the possibility of their prevention with consideration whether they might […]
  • Impact of Globalization and Neoliberalism on Crime and Criminal Justice Globalization entails the conception of principles, perpetuated by both governments and organizations that have altered the way nations perceive the obligation for a criminal justice system and the ability of the governments to control crime […]
  • Contemporary Criminology and Criminal Justice Theory The model of a political society in which law restrains and guides the implementation of power by rulers dates from the early stages of systematic thought in the Western world.
  • Criminal Justice and DNA: “Genetic Fingerprinting” DNA is one of the popular methods used by criminologists today, DNA technique is also known as “genetic fingerprinting”.the name given the procedure by Cellmark Diagnostics, a Maryland company that certified the technique used in […]
  • Racial Discrimination in the US Criminal Justice System This report argues that when one studies the proportion of blacks in the Cincinnati community and the number of times that they have been stopped for traffic violations, one finds that there is a large […]
  • Searches in the Criminal Justice System The reasoning behind this lies in the mobility of vehicles which can enable the owners of the vehicles to tamper with the probable evidence should a warrant be necessary to conduct a search of the […]
  • The Criminal Justice Funnel and Globalization There are several cases in the initial stages of the criminal process which are then eliminated as the process continues to the top.
  • The History and Transformation of Criminal Justice System The State Police seeks the help of the local police divisions for the search of the criminals and arrest of them to announce sentence according to the Code of |Criminal Procedure applied and observed by […]
  • How Is the Criminal Justice System Portrayed in the News? In the case it is underrepresented, it means that the news has not been depicted in full and in a truthful manner and in accordance with the wishes of the American people.
  • Criminal Justice Reform in the Black Community A progressive change of the United States’ drug policy is a fundamental step in the restoration of the criminal justice system.
  • Key Social Issues Affecting Criminal Justice Professionals The absence of a decline in this percentage suggests that the criminal justice system has not been effective in addressing this issue. The criminal justice system has failed to decrease crime rates due to the […]
  • California’s Criminal Justice System, Problems and Solutions The attention is focused on the fact that even though the system is designed to lower the recidivism rate and help inmates in the future, rehabilitate, it is still ineffective.
  • Communication Databases and Criminal Justice System It will also expound on the positive and negative contributions of the databases due to the advancement in technology. Advancement in technology also poses immense challenges to members of the society.
  • Budget Reduction in Criminal Justice Administrations The mission of the police is to maintain law and order among the citizens. The main positive effect of this training is the ability of some members to provide security to the rest of the […]
  • Criminal Justice System in the United States Evolution The emergence of English common law in the period of the reign of Henry II had the biggest impact on the development of the criminal justice system in the United States.
  • Integrity and Its Place in Criminal Justice System It is plausible to say that Integrity is truthfulness; the truthfulness of one’s character. The integrity of a professional is not something that is personally his.
  • Criminal Justice Centralization and Decentralization This assignment briefly examines the issue of centralization and decentralization, overviewing the negative consequences of the attorney’s office funded by the state, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the commission’s recommendations.
  • The Effects of Poverty Within Criminal Justice The approach used in this study is deductive since the reasoning in the study proceeds from the general principle regarding the fact that poverty has a role to play in the administering of fairness in […]
  • Ethics Theories in the Criminal Justice Field The gratuity that the public extend to officers and doormen within the criminal justice system has the capacity to spiral and develop a culture of exchange.
  • Criminal Justice System: Crime Scene Investigation A gas store employee, who was present in the time of the event, nodded to be the witness of the crime.
  • Math and Criminal Justice: The Effective Conduction of Investigation The use of mathematics in the form of statistical analysis and interpretation is profound in all the three parts of the criminal justice system- “law enforcement, adjudication and corrections “.
  • Issues in Comparative Criminal Justice
  • Criminal Justice Agency Records, Content & Secondary Data Analysis
  • Criminal Justice: Misconduct by Prison Wardens
  • Criminal Justice Experimentation: Threats to Validity
  • Criminal Justice System: Halloween Party Accident
  • Criminal Justice System in Australia
  • Management in Criminal Justice and Related Areas
  • The Criminal Justice Ethics Principles
  • Problem Analysis in the Criminal Justice System
  • Criminal Justice for Physically Injured Crime Victims
  • Criminal Justice: Term Definition
  • Criminal Justice: Recidivism and Corrections
  • Washington County Court Services
  • Effects of Technology in Criminal Justice Systems
  • Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Criminology
  • Criminal Justice Correction Professions and Careers
  • Criminal Justice: Race, Age, and Gender Factors
  • Criminal Justice Agency Organizational Behavior
  • Wrongful Capital Convictions in Criminal Justice
  • Contemporary Criminal Justice Leadership
  • Criminal Justice as an Open System
  • Determination of Professionalism in Criminal Justice Organizations
  • Racism Effects on Criminal Justice System
  • Applied Research in Criminal Justice Profession
  • Ethical Conduct in Criminal Justice
  • Criminal Justice Policy Development and Implementation
  • Americans With Disabilities in Criminal Justice Agencies
  • Diversity Training for Criminal Justice Employees
  • Criminal Justice Employees’ Rights and Laws
  • Administration of Criminal Justice Agencies
  • Policy and Criminal Justice
  • Criminal Justice Administration and Police Functions
  • Crime and Criminal Justice News
  • Women in Legal and Criminal Justice Occupations
  • Women Working in the Criminal Justice System
  • Criminal Justice System and Inequilty in America
  • Restorative Justice in the Criminal Justice Process
  • Gang Violence: Criminal Justice Research
  • Research Inquiry Methods in Criminal Justice Project
  • Criminal Justice: Balancing in Philosophy and Practice
  • Ethics in Criminal Justice and Fuller’s Principle
  • Women and Minorities Recruits in Criminal Justice
  • Criminal Justice Careers in the Modern Society
  • Criminal Justice Process in the US
  • Military Trials: The Criminal Justice Procedures Violations
  • Criminal Justice Administration Issues
  • Johnnie Cochran’s Leadership in the Criminal Justice
  • Criminal Justice System: Racial Policy Change
  • Leadership Issues in the Criminal Justice System
  • Criminal Justice System Enforcement Issues
  • Key Criminal Justice Issues
  • Criminal Justice System Reforms
  • Criminal Justice From the Historical Perspective
  • US Criminal Justice System, Theories and Methods
  • Criminal Justice in the Film “Gideon’s Trumpet”
  • Criminal Justice Policy in Action
  • Community Corrections and Criminal Justice
  • Ethics in Criminal Justice: Moral Aspects
  • Ethics, Media and Criminal Justice
  • Psychology in Criminal Justice
  • Domestic Violence in International Criminal Justice
  • Criminal Justice System: Supervision and Recidivism
  • Criminal Justice Systems in the US, the UK, Norway
  • Forensic Psychology in the Criminal Justice System
  • Media Influence on Criminal Justice and Community
  • Criminal Justice Process and Investigation Changes
  • Criminal Justice: Discipline, Liability and Labor Relations
  • Criminal Justice Policy Formulation Participants
  • Criminal Justice in Fisher vs. University of Texas
  • Bureaucracy and Criminal Justice Policies
  • Illicit Drugs Policy and Criminal Justice
  • International Criminal Justice and Atrocity
  • US Supreme Court’s Role in Criminal Justice System
  • The United States Constitution and Criminal Justice
  • Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Trends
  • Criminal Justice From a Global Perspective
  • Antiterrorism Response Unit in Criminal Justice
  • Criminal Justice Administration
  • Criminal Justice Employees’ Duties and Rights
  • US Criminal Justice Policy: History and Future
  • US Criminal Justice Information System
  • Globalization and Criminal Justice Policy
  • Technologies in Canadian Criminal Justice System
  • The Criminal Justice’ and the Drug Policy’ Relations
  • The Criminal Justice System Network
  • The Criminal Justice System Effective Communication
  • Criminal Justice in Canada
  • Criminal Justice System and Forensic Psychology
  • Criminal Justice Workplace Management
  • Organizational Behavior Concepts in the Criminal Justice
  • Historical Criminal Justice Theories
  • Criminal Justice Trends Evaluation
  • Mental Health Issues in the Criminal Justice System
  • Criminal Justice System. Deterrence and Incarceration
  • Forensic Psychology Guidelines for Criminal Justice
  • Death Penalty Role in the Criminal Justice System
  • Criminal Justice System Role in Curbing Crime Rates
  • People With Disabilities and Abuse of People With Disabilities and Criminal Justice
  • Politicization of Criminal Justice & its Influence on Penal Policy: A Critical Discussion
  • The Death Penalty in the US Criminal Justice System
  • Social and Criminal Justice Responses to Sex Work
  • Theories Required to be Successful in Supervisory Practices in the Criminal Justice Field
  • Foster Care in the Criminal Justice System
  • Death Penalty: Every For and Against
  • Racism in U.S. Criminal Justice System
  • The Criminal Justice System
  • The Many Faces of Criminal Justice: What Concerns Students Face Most Often
  • Techniques for Influencing Criminal Justice System Change
  • Criminal Justice Department
  • Young Offenders and the Criminal Justice System
  • Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement
  • A Short Guide to the Criminal Justice System
  • Delphi Survey Method in the Criminal Justice System
  • Criminal Justice
  • What Does the Future Hold for the Criminal Justice System?
  • How Does the Criminal Justice System Respond to White Collar and Corporate Crime?
  • What Makes the Criminal Justice System So Slow?
  • Does the Criminal Justice System Work?
  • How Are Computers Essential in Criminal Justice Field?
  • Are Individual Mental Health Issues Treated Fairly by the Criminal Justice System?
  • What Should the Criminal Justice System Do With Drug Abusers?
  • How Might Crime Data Be Used as either Predictor for Crime or Used by Criminal Justice Professionals?
  • Does the Criminal Justice System Depend on the Disparities of the People That It Serves?
  • How Does Criminal Justice System Work and How Does It Have Problems?
  • Are Males and Females Treated Differently in the Criminal Justice System?
  • How Did the Current Criminal Justice System in the US Evolve?
  • Does the Criminal Justice System Extend More Rights to Criminal Defendants?
  • How Does Society Shape the Experiences of the Criminal Justice?
  • Are Youth Offenders Responsive to Changing Sanctions?
  • How Does the Australian Criminal Justice System Respond to Domestic Violence?
  • Does the Criminal Justice System Have a Gendered Response Towards Filicide When It Comes to Punishing the Offender?
  • How Does the Criminal Justice System Respond to Illicit Drugs?
  • Should the Criminal Justice System Be the Primary Solution to Drug Problems in Australia?
  • How Does Our Criminal Justice System Reflect the U.S. Constitution?
  • Should the Death Penalty Be Used in the Criminal Justice System?
  • How Does Television Depict the Criminal Justice System?
  • Should the Texas Criminal Justice System Be Legal?
  • How Does the Criminal Justice System Deals With Sex Offenders?
  • What Are Effective Writing Principles for Criminal Justice Professionals in Their Respective Communications?
  • How Does the Criminal Justice System Respond to Organized Crime Within Our Society?
  • What Are the Major Components of the Criminal Justice System?
  • How Can the Past Assist the Modern Criminal Justice System?
  • What Are the Three Most Challenging Issues of Criminal Justice?
  • Why Are Confidentiality and Ethics Important in Investigating the Legal Concerns of the Criminal Justice and Criminology?
  • Chicago (A-D)
  • Chicago (N-B)

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 50 great argumentative essay topics for any assignment.

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General Education

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At some point, you’re going to be asked to write an argumentative essay. An argumentative essay is exactly what it sounds like—an essay in which you’ll be making an argument, using examples and research to back up your point.

But not all argumentative essay topics are created equal. Not only do you have to structure your essay right to have a good impact on the reader, but even your choice of subject can impact how readers feel about your work.

In this article, we’ll cover the basics of writing argumentative essays, including what argumentative essays are, how to write a good one, and how to pick a topic that works for you. Then check out a list of argumentative essay ideas to help you get started.

What Is an Argumentative Essay?

An argumentative essay is one that makes an argument through research. These essays take a position and support it through evidence, but, unlike many other kinds of essays, they are interested in expressing a specific argument supported by research and evidence.

A good argumentative essay will be based on established or new research rather than only on your thoughts and feelings. Imagine that you’re trying to get your parents to raise your allowance, and you can offer one of two arguments in your favor:

You should raise my allowance because I want you to.

You should raise my allowance because I’ve been taking on more chores without complaining.

The first argument is based entirely in feelings without any factual backup, whereas the second is based on evidence that can be proven. Your parents are more likely to respond positively to the second argument because it demonstrates that you have done something to earn the increased allowance. Similarly, a well-researched and reasoned argument will show readers that your point has a basis in fact, not just feelings.

The standard five-paragraph essay is common in writing argumentative essays, but it’s not the only way to write one. An argumentative essay is typically written in one of two formats, the Toulmin model or the Rogerian model.

The Toulmin model is the most common, comprised of an introduction with a claim (otherwise known as a thesis), with data to support it. This style of essay will also include rebuttals, helping to strengthen your argument by anticipating counterarguments.

The Rogerian model analyzes two sides of an argument and reaches a conclusion after weighing the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Both essay styles rely on well-reasoned logic and supporting evidence to prove a point, just in two different ways.

The important thing to note about argumentative essays as opposed to other kinds of essays is that they aim to argue a specific point rather than to explain something or to tell a story. While they may have some things in common with analytical essays, the primary difference is in their objective—an argumentative essay aims to convince someone of something, whereas an analytical essay contextualizes a topic with research.

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What Makes a Good Argumentative Essay?

To write an effective argumentative essay, you need to know what a good one looks like. In addition to a solid structure, you’ll need an argument, a strong thesis, and solid research.

An Argument

Unlike other forms of essays, you are trying to convince your reader of something. You’re not just teaching them a concept or demonstrating an idea—you’re constructing an argument to change the readers’ thinking.

You’ll need to develop a good argument, which encompasses not just your main point, but also all the pieces that make it up.

Think beyond what you are saying and include how you’re saying it. How will you take an idea and turn it into a complex and well thought out argument that is capable of changing somebody’s mind?

A Strong Thesis

The thesis is the core of your argument. What specific message are you trying to get across? State that message in one sentence, and that will be your thesis.

This is the foundation on which your essay is built, so it needs to be strong and well-reasoned. You need to be able to expand on it with facts and sources, not just feelings.

A good argumentative essay isn’t just based on your individual thoughts, but research. That can be citing sources and other arguments or it can mean direct research in the field, depending on what your argument is and the context in which you are arguing it.

Be prepared to back your thesis up with reporting from scientific journals, newspapers, or other forms of research. Having well-researched sources will help support your argument better than hearsay or assumptions. If you can’t find enough research to back up your point, it’s worth reconsidering your thesis or conducting original research, if possible.

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How to Come Up With an Argumentative Essay Topic

Sometimes you may find yourself arguing things you don’t necessarily believe. That’s totally fine—you don’t actually have to wholeheartedly believe in what you’re arguing in order to construct a compelling argument.

However, if you have free choice of topic, it’s a good idea to pick something you feel strongly about. There are two key components to a good argumentative essay: a strong stance, and an assortment of evidence. If you’re interested and feel passionate about the topic you choose, you'll have an easier time finding evidence to support it, but it's the evidence that's most important. 

So, to choose a topic, think about things you feel strongly about, whether positively or negatively. You can make a list of ideas and narrow those down to a handful of things, then expand on those ideas with a few potential points you want to hit on.

For example, say you’re trying to decide whether you should write about how your neighborhood should ban weed killer, that your school’s lunch should be free for all students, or that the school day should be cut by one hour. To decide between these ideas, you can make a list of three to five points for each that cover the different evidence you could use to support each point.

For the weed killer ban, you could say that weed killer has been proven to have adverse impacts on bees, that there are simple, natural alternatives, and that weeds aren’t actually bad to have around. For the free lunch idea, you could suggest that some students have to go hungry because they can’t afford lunch, that funds could be diverted from other places to support free lunch, and that other items, like chips or pizza, could be sold to help make up lost revenue. And for the school day length example, you could argue that teenagers generally don’t get enough sleep, that you have too much homework and not enough time to do it, and that teenagers don’t spend enough time with their families.

You might find as you make these lists that some of them are stronger than others. The more evidence you have and the stronger you feel that that evidence is, the better the topic.  Of course, if you feel that one topic may have more evidence but you’d rather not write about it, it’s okay to pick another topic instead. When you’re making arguments, it can be much easier to find strong points and evidence if you feel passionate about our topic than if you don't.

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50 Argumentative Essay Topic Ideas

If you’re struggling to come up with topics on your own, read through this list of argumentative essay topics to help get you started!

  • Should fracking be legal?
  • Should parents be able to modify their unborn children?
  • Do GMOs help or harm people?
  • Should vaccinations be required for students to attend public school?
  • Should world governments get involved in addressing climate change?
  • Should Facebook be allowed to collect data from its users?
  • Should self-driving cars be legal?
  • Is it ethical to replace human workers with automation?
  • Should there be laws against using cell phones while driving?
  • Has the internet positively or negatively impacted human society?

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  • Should college athletes be paid for being on sports teams?
  • Should coaches and players make the same amount of money?
  • Should sports be segregated by gender?
  • Should the concept of designated hitters in baseball be abolished?
  • Should US sports take soccer more seriously?
  • Should religious organizations have to pay taxes?
  • Should religious clubs be allowed in schools?
  • Should “one nation under God” be in the pledge of allegiance?
  • Should religion be taught in schools?
  • Should clergy be allowed to marry?
  • Should minors be able to purchase birth control without parental consent?
  • Should the US switch to single-payer healthcare?
  • Should assisted suicide be legal?
  • Should dietary supplements and weight loss items like teas be allowed to advertise through influencers?
  • Should doctors be allowed to promote medicines?

Government/Politics

  • Is the electoral college an effective system for modern America?
  • Should Puerto Rico become a state?
  • Should voter registration be automatic?
  • Should people in prison be allowed to vote?
  • Should Supreme Court justices be elected?
  • Should sex work be legalized?
  • Should Columbus Day be replaced with Indigenous Peoples’ Day?
  • Should the death penalty be legal?
  • Should animal testing be allowed?
  • Should drug possession be decriminalized?

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  • Should unpaid internships be legal?
  • Should minimum wage be increased?
  • Should monopolies be allowed?
  • Is universal basic income a good idea?
  • Should corporations have a higher or lower tax rate?
  • Are school uniforms a good idea?
  • Should PE affect a student’s grades?
  • Should college be free?
  • Should Greek life in colleges be abolished?
  • Should students be taught comprehensive sex ed?

Arts/Culture

  • Should graffiti be considered art or vandalism?
  • Should books with objectionable words be banned?
  • Should content on YouTube be better regulated?
  • Is art education important?
  • Should art and music sharing online be allowed?

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How to Argue Effectively

A strong argument isn’t just about having a good point. If you can’t support that point well, your argument falls apart.

One of the most important things you can do in writing a strong argumentative essay is organizing well. Your essay should have a distinct beginning, middle, and end, better known as the introduction, body and opposition, and conclusion.

This example follows the Toulmin model—if your essay follows the Rogerian model, the same basic premise is true, but your thesis will instead propose two conflicting viewpoints that will be resolved through evidence in the body, with your conclusion choosing the stronger of the two arguments.

Introduction

Your hook should draw the reader’s interest immediately. Questions are a common way of getting interest, as well as evocative language or a strong statistic

Don’t assume that your audience is already familiar with your topic. Give them some background information, such as a brief history of the issue or some additional context.

Your thesis is the crux of your argument. In an argumentative essay, your thesis should be clearly outlined so that readers know exactly what point you’ll be making. Don’t explain all your evidence in the opening, but do take a strong stance and make it clear what you’ll be discussing.

Your claims are the ideas you’ll use to support your thesis. For example, if you’re writing about how your neighborhood shouldn’t use weed killer, your claim might be that it’s bad for the environment. But you can’t just say that on its own—you need evidence to support it.

Evidence is the backbone of your argument. This can be things you glean from scientific studies, newspaper articles, or your own research. You might cite a study that says that weed killer has an adverse effect on bees, or a newspaper article that discusses how one town eliminated weed killer and saw an increase in water quality. These kinds of hard evidence support your point with demonstrable facts, strengthening your argument.

In your essay, you want to think about how the opposition would respond to your claims and respond to them. Don’t pick the weakest arguments, either— figure out what other people are saying and respond to those arguments with clearly reasoned arguments.

Demonstrating that you not only understand the opposition’s point, but that your argument is strong enough to withstand it, is one of the key pieces to a successful argumentative essay.

Conclusions are a place to clearly restate your original point, because doing so will remind readers exactly what you’re arguing and show them how well you’ve argued that point.

Summarize your main claims by restating them, though you don’t need to bring up the evidence again. This helps remind readers of everything you’ve said throughout the essay.

End by suggesting a picture of a world in which your argument and action are ignored. This increases the impact of your argument and leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

A strong argumentative essay is one with good structure and a strong argument , but there are a few other things you can keep in mind to further strengthen your point.

When you’re crafting an argument, it can be easy to get distracted by all the information and complications in your argument. It’s important to stay focused—be clear in your thesis and home in on claims that directly support that thesis.

Be Rational

It’s important that your claims and evidence be based in facts, not just opinion. That’s why it’s important to use reliable sources based in science and reporting—otherwise, it’s easy for people to debunk your arguments.

Don’t rely solely on your feelings about the topic. If you can’t back a claim up with real evidence, it leaves room for counterarguments you may not anticipate. Make sure that you can support everything you say with clear and concrete evidence, and your claims will be a lot stronger!

What’s Next?

No matter what kind of essay you're writing, a strong plan will help you have a bigger impact. This guide to writing a college essay is a great way to get started on your essay organizing journey!

Brushing up on your essay format knowledge to prep for the SAT? Check out this list of SAT essay prompts to help you kickstart your studying!

A bunch of great essay examples can help you aspire to greatness, but bad essays can also be a warning for what not to do. This guide to bad college essays will help you better understand common mistakes to avoid in essay writing!

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Melissa Brinks graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with a Bachelor's in English with a creative writing emphasis. She has spent several years tutoring K-12 students in many subjects, including in SAT prep, to help them prepare for their college education.

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  • Essay on Theory

Sample Argumentative Essay On The Rehabilitation Of Prisoners

Type of paper: Argumentative Essay

Topic: Theory , Punishment , Criminal Justice , Education , Prison , Society , Psychotherapy , Crime

Words: 1000

Published: 02/26/2020

ORDER PAPER LIKE THIS

The Rehabilitation of Prisoners is a widely discussed and argued topic. There are two different methods in which prisoners are rehabilitated. One is a punishment approach to rehabilitation by forcing inmates to tasks such as community service and parole, whereas the other method is by education and psychotherapy. Although there reasons for both of the methods as outlined in this paper, the better and cost effective approach is the second method that includes education and psychotherapy. In this paper I will argue that this is the much better method for the rehabilitation of prisoners. The rehabilitation of prisoners is a highly talked about debate. The question that arises is whether or not criminal activity is permanent or not. The rehabilitation of prisoners is the theory that prisoners are not criminally inclined by nature, but that they can be restored to a useful life (both to themselves and to society) through education and therapy. Rather than negative reinforcement for bad behavior (such as punishing the criminal while they are incarcerated) , some theorists believe that education and theory can prevent a criminal from repeating his past mistakes. They do this by providing the prisoners with access to education and therapists, so they can rehabilitate their lives and bring them back into being a useful member of society. There are two main theories of prisoner rehabilitation. The first theory, that of punishment, is that a prisoner can be rehabilitated by inflicting punishment as a means of reforming them and make re-integration into society better. These punishments that are used in this method are community service (Krajick 1982), and various types of guidance or probation. This theory relies heavily on the idea that in order to rehabilitate a prisoner, they prison must do hard earned time and work in the community (being punished) by working or being guided instead of working for wages (Krajick 1982). The other theory of rehabilitation relies onprisoners receiving education and sessions with a therapist. Until the mid-1970s, rehabilitation was a key part of U.S. prison policy. 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. Indeed, many inmates received court sentences that mandated treatment for such problems (Benson 2003). However, in more recent years that theory has been put on the backburner and prisons are now primary places of incarceration rather than places of rehabilitating criminally inclined individuals. It has been shown widely in psychology experiments and practices that punishment serves no purpose of guidance in rehabilitation of individuals or animals. Positive reinforcement is a far better method of rehabilitation and learning key societal ideals than negative reinforcement. It is better to reinforce good behavior versus punishing bad behavior. In order for prisoners to become rehabilitated and become productive members of society they must have access to the same resources as non-incarcerated people for education and therapeutic needs. Many inmates are incarcerated for substance abuse or drug related problems. Group sessions and court mandated treatments for these problems would greatly increase the chances of the prisoner being rehabilitated. They need help, and they should have access to it. Access to education and current technology is also important to help prisoners become productive members of society. While they are in prisons, they may not have access to educational resources such as classes, books, or Internet. It is important to have these resources available for inmates so that they may increase their knowledge and be able to get jobs once out of prison. If they had access to educational materials such as classes and books, they may become productive members of society. This may include vocational classes that teach specific skills that will help prisoners get skill worker jobs once released from prisons. Although the rehabilitation of prisoners is good on theory, there are certain problems that the rehabilitation process may encounter, and that is resistant individuals and cost. After the 1950’s and 1960’s when people were being swayed away from mental hospitals, crimes were committed and the prison took in the people (Benson 2003). In 2003, about 15-20 percent of people in prisons were mentally ill, according to U.S. Department of Justice estimates Benson 2003). This is a huge problem because the prisoners that are mentally ill are not getting the help that they need. Instead of getting help through mental health clinics and professionals, they spend their time in jail being incarcerated. They become resistant individuals and do not cope well with the strategies in place. Another problem with rehabilitation programs is the high cost of adding these programs to prison systems. To bring access of educational resources would cost the prison systems teachers, classroom activities, therapists, and books. This may be a high expense, as they would be almost bringing a school to a prison system. However in a study conducted by the Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison, DTAP, “the average cost of placing a participant in DTAP, including the costs of residential treatment, vocational training an support services was $32,974—half the average cost of $64,338 if the participant had been sent to serve the average term of imprisonment for participants, 25 months” (McVay et al 2004). This shows that it is actually cheaper to rehabilitate the prisoner rather than incarcerate them. Overall these programs will reduce costs at prisons and will reinforce the positive well being of the prisoners. When properly implemented, work programs, education and psychotherapy can ease prisoners' transitions to the free world (Benson 2003.) These programs will work, and access to educational resources and psychotherapy will help the prisoners re-enter and become productive members of society.

Benson, Etienne. (July 2003). American Psychology Association. Monitor Staff. Rehabilitate or Punish? Vol 34. No. 7. Pp 46. Krajick, K. (November 1982). Angolite. Community Service - The Work Ethic Approach to Punishment. Volume:7 Issue:6Pages:70-81. McVay, Doug; Schiraldi, Vincent; Ziedenber, Jason. (January 2004). Justice Policy Institute. Treatment or Incarceration? Pp 1-23.

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160 Good Argumentative Essay Topics for Students in 2024

April 3, 2024

The skill of writing an excellent argumentative essay is a crucial one for every high school or college student to master. In sum, argumentative essays teach students how to organize their thoughts logically and present them in a convincing way. This skill is helpful not only for those pursuing degrees in law , international relations , or public policy , but for any student who wishes to develop their critical thinking faculties. In this article, we’ll cover what makes a good argument essay and offer several argumentative essay topics for high school and college students. Let’s begin!

What is an Argumentative Essay?

An argumentative essay is an essay that uses research to present a reasoned argument on a particular subject . As with the persuasive essay , the purpose of an argumentative essay is to sway the reader to the writer’s position. However, a strong persuasive essay makes its point through diligent research and emotion while a strong argumentative essay should be based solely on facts, not feelings.

Moreover, each fact should be supported by clear evidence from credible sources . Furthermore, a good argumentative essay will have an easy-to-follow structure. When organizing your argumentative essay, use this format as a guide:

  • Introduction
  • Supporting body paragraphs
  • Paragraph(s) addressing common counterarguments

Argumentative Essay Format

In the introduction , the writer presents their position and thesis statement —a sentence that summarizes the paper’s main points. The body paragraphs then draw upon supporting evidence to back up this initial statement, with each paragraph focusing on its own point. The length of your paper will determine the amount of examples you need. In general, you’ll likely need at least two to three. Additionally, your examples should be as detailed as possible, citing specific research, case studies, statistics, or anecdotes.

In the counterargument paragraph , the writer acknowledges and refutes opposing viewpoints. Finally, in the conclusion , the writer restates the main argument made in the thesis statement and summarizes the points of the essay. Additionally, the conclusion may offer a final proposal to persuade the reader of the essay’s position.

How to Write an Effective Argumentative Essay, Step by Step

  • Choose your topic. Use the list below to help you pick a topic. Ideally, a good argumentative essay topic will be meaningful to you—writing is always stronger when you are interested in the subject matter. In addition, the topic should be complex with plenty of “pro” and “con” arguments. Avoid choosing a topic that is either widely accepted as fact or too narrow. For example, “Is the earth round?” would not be a solid choice.
  • Research. Use the library, the web, and any other resources to gather information about your argumentative essay topic. Research widely but smartly. As you go, take organized notes, marking the source of every quote and where it may fit in the scheme of your larger essay. Moreover, remember to look for (and research) possible counterarguments.
  • Outline . Using the argument essay format above, create an outline for your essay. Then, brainstorm a thesis statement covering your argument’s main points, and begin to put your examples in order, focusing on logical flow. It’s often best to place your strongest example last.
  • Write . Draw on your research and outline to create a first draft. Remember, your first draft doesn’t need to be perfect. (As Voltaire says, “Perfect is the enemy of good.”) Accordingly, just focus on getting the words down on paper.
  • Does my thesis statement need to be adjusted?
  • Which examples feel strongest? Weakest?
  • Do the transitions flow smoothly?
  • Do I have a strong opening paragraph?
  • Does the conclusion reinforce my argument?

Tips for Revising an Argument Essay

Evaluating your own work can be difficult, so you might consider the following strategies:

  • Read your work aloud to yourself.
  • Record yourself reading your paper, and listen to the recording.
  • Reverse outline your paper. Firstly, next to each paragraph, write a short summary of that paragraph’s main points/idea. Then, read through your reverse outline. Does it have a logical flow? If not, where should you adjust?
  • Print out your paper and cut it into paragraphs. What happens when you rearrange the paragraphs?

Good Argumentative Essay Topics for Middle School, High School, and College Students

Family argumentative essay topics.

  • Should the government provide financial incentives for families to have children to address the declining birth rate?
  • Should we require parents to provide their children with a certain level of nutrition and physical activity to prevent childhood obesity?
  • Should parents implement limits on how much time their children spend playing video games?
  • Should cell phones be banned from family/holiday gatherings?
  • Should we hold parents legally responsible for their children’s actions?
  • Should children have the right to sue their parents for neglect?
  • Should parents have the right to choose their child’s religion?
  • Are spanking and other forms of physical punishment an effective method of discipline?
  • Should courts allow children to choose where they live in cases of divorce?
  • Should parents have the right to monitor teens’ activity on social media?
  • Should parents control their child’s medical treatment, even if it goes against the child’s wishes?
  • Should parents be allowed to post pictures of their children on social media without their consent?
  • Should fathers have a legal say in whether their partners do or do not receive an abortion?
  • Can television have positive developmental benefits on children?
  • Should the driving age be raised to prevent teen car accidents?
  • Should adult children be legally required to care for their aging parents?

Education Argument Essay Topics

  • Should schools ban the use of technology like ChatGPT?
  • Are zoos unethical, or necessary for conservation and education?
  • To what degree should we hold parents responsible in the event of a school shooting?
  • Should schools offer students a set number of mental health days?
  • Should school science curriculums offer a course on combating climate change?
  • Should public libraries be allowed to ban certain books? If so, what types?
  • What role, if any, should prayer play in public schools?
  • Should schools push to abolish homework?
  • Are gifted and talented programs in schools more harmful than beneficial due to their exclusionary nature?
  • Should universities do away with Greek life?
  • Should schools remove artwork, such as murals, that some perceive as offensive?
  • Should the government grant parents the right to choose alternative education options for their children and use taxpayer funds to support these options?
  • Is homeschooling better than traditional schooling for children’s academic and social development?
  • Should we require schools to teach sex education to reduce teen pregnancy rates?
  • Should we require schools to provide sex education that includes information about both homosexual and heterosexual relationships?
  • Should colleges use affirmative action and other race-conscious policies to address diversity on campus?
  • Should public schools remove the line “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance?
  • Should college admissions officers be allowed to look at students’ social media accounts?
  • Should schools abolish their dress codes, many of which unfairly target girls, LGBTQ students, and students of color?
  • Should schools be required to stock free period products in bathrooms?
  • Should legacy students receive preferential treatment during the college admissions process?
  • Are school “voluntourism” trips ethical?

Government Argumentative Essay Topics

  • Should the U.S. decriminalize prostitution?
  • Should the U.S. issue migration visas to all eligible applicants?
  • Should the federal government cancel all student loan debt?
  • Should we lower the minimum voting age? If so, to what?
  • Should the federal government abolish all laws penalizing drug production and use?
  • Should the U.S. use its military power to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan?
  • Should the U.S. supply Ukraine with further military intelligence and supplies?
  • Should the North and South of the U.S. split up into two regions?
  • Should Americans hold up nationalism as a critical value?
  • Should we permit Supreme Court justices to hold their positions indefinitely?
  • Should Supreme Court justices be democratically elected?
  • Is the Electoral College still a productive approach to electing the U.S. president?
  • Should the U.S. implement a national firearm registry?
  • Is it ethical for countries like China and Israel to mandate compulsory military service for all citizens?
  • Should the U.S. government implement a ranked-choice voting system?
  • Should institutions that benefited from slavery be required to provide reparations?
  • Based on the 1619 project, should history classes change how they teach about the founding of the U.S.?
  • Should term limits be imposed on Senators and Representatives? If so, how long?
  • Should women be allowed into special forces units?
  • Should the federal government implement stronger, universal firearm licensing laws?
  • Do public sex offender registries help prevent future sex crimes?
  • Should the government be allowed to regulate family size?
  • Should all adults legally be considered mandated reporters?
  • Should the government fund public universities to make higher education more accessible to low-income students?
  • Should the government fund universal preschool to improve children’s readiness for kindergarten?

Health/Bioethics Argumentative Essay Topics

  • Should the U.S. government offer its own healthcare plan?
  • In the case of highly infectious pandemics, should we focus on individual freedoms or public safety when implementing policies to control the spread?
  • Should we legally require parents to vaccinate their children to protect public health?
  • Is it ethical for parents to use genetic engineering to create “designer babies” with specific physical and intellectual traits?
  • Should the government fund research on embryonic stem cells for medical treatments?
  • Should the government legalize assisted suicide for terminally ill patients?
  • Should organ donation be mandatory?
  • Is cloning animals ethical?
  • Should cancer screenings start earlier? If so, what age?
  • Is surrogacy ethical?
  • Should birth control require a prescription?
  • Should minors have access to emergency contraception?
  • Should hospitals be for-profit or nonprofit institutions?

Good Argumentative Essay Topics — Continued

Social media argumentative essay topics.

  • Should the federal government increase its efforts to minimize the negative impact of social media?
  • Do social media and smartphones strengthen one’s relationships?
  • Should antitrust regulators take action to limit the size of big tech companies?
  • Should social media platforms ban political advertisements?
  • Should the federal government hold social media companies accountable for instances of hate speech discovered on their platforms?
  • Do apps such as TikTok and Instagram ultimately worsen the mental well-being of teenagers?
  • Should governments oversee how social media platforms manage their users’ data?
  • Should social media platforms like Facebook enforce a minimum age requirement for users?
  • Should social media companies be held responsible for cases of cyberbullying?
  • Should the United States ban TikTok?
  • Is social media harmful to children?
  • Should employers screen applicants’ social media accounts during the hiring process?

Religion Argument Essay Topics

  • Should religious institutions be tax-exempt?
  • Should religious symbols such as the hijab or crucifix be allowed in public spaces?
  • Should religious freedoms be protected, even when they conflict with secular laws?
  • Should the government regulate religious practices?
  • Should we allow churches to engage in political activities?
  • Religion: a force for good or evil in the world?
  • Should the government provide funding for religious schools?
  • Is it ethical for healthcare providers to deny abortions based on religious beliefs?
  • Should religious organizations be allowed to discriminate in their hiring practices?
  • Should we allow people to opt out of medical treatments based on their religious beliefs?
  • Should the U.S. government hold religious organizations accountable for cases of sexual abuse within their community?
  • Should religious beliefs be exempt from anti-discrimination laws?
  • Should religious individuals be allowed to refuse services to others based on their beliefs or lifestyles? (As in this famous case .)
  • Should the US ban religion-based federal holidays?
  • Should public schools be allowed to teach children about religious holidays?

Science Argument Essay Topics

  • Would the world be safer if we eliminated nuclear weapons?
  • Should scientists bring back extinct animals? If so, which ones?
  • Should we hold companies fiscally responsible for their carbon footprint?
  • Should we ban pesticides in favor of organic farming methods?
  • Should the federal government ban all fossil fuels, despite the potential economic impact on specific industries and communities?
  • What renewable energy source should the U.S. invest more money in?
  • Should the FDA outlaw GMOs?
  • Should we worry about artificial intelligence surpassing human intelligence?
  • Should the alternative medicine industry be more stringently regulated?
  • Is colonizing Mars a viable option?
  • Is the animal testing worth the potential to save human lives?

Sports Argument Essay Topics

  • Should colleges compensate student-athletes?
  • How should sports teams and leagues address the gender pay gap?
  • Should youth sports teams do away with scorekeeping?
  • Should we ban aggressive contact sports like boxing and MMA?
  • Should professional sports associations mandate that athletes stand during the national anthem?
  • Should high schools require their student-athletes to maintain a certain GPA?
  • Should transgender athletes compete in sports according to their gender identity?
  • Should schools ban football due to the inherent danger it poses to players?
  • Should performance-enhancing drugs be allowed in sports?
  • Do participation trophies foster entitlement and unrealistic expectations?
  • Should sports teams be divided by gender?
  • Should professional athletes be allowed to compete in the Olympics?
  • Should women be allowed on NFL teams?

Technology Argumentative Essay Topics

  • Should sites like DALL-E compensate the artists whose work it was trained on?
  • Should the federal government make human exploration of space a more significant priority?
  • Is it ethical for the government to use surveillance technology to monitor citizens?
  • Should websites require proof of age from their users? If so, what age?
  • Should we consider A.I.-generated images and text pieces of art?
  • Does the use of facial recognition technology violate individuals’ privacy?
  • Is online learning as effective as in-person learning?
  • Does computing harm the environment?
  • Should buying, sharing, and selling collected personal data be illegal?
  • Are electric cars really better for the environment?
  • Should car companies be held responsible for self-driving car accidents?
  • Should private jets be banned?
  • Do violent video games contribute to real-life violence?

Business Argument Essay Topics

  • Should the U.S. government phase out the use of paper money in favor of a fully digital currency system?
  • Should the federal government abolish its patent and copyright laws?
  • Should we replace the Federal Reserve with free-market institutions?
  • Is free-market ideology responsible for the U.S. economy’s poor performance over the past decade?
  • Will cryptocurrencies overtake natural resources like gold and silver?
  • Is capitalism the best economic system? What system would be better?
  • Should the U.S. government enact a universal basic income?
  • Should we require companies to provide paid parental leave to their employees?
  • Should the government raise the minimum wage? If so, to what?
  • Should antitrust regulators break up large companies to promote competition?
  • Is it ethical for companies to prioritize profits over social responsibility?
  • Should gig-economy workers like Uber and Lyft drivers be considered employees or independent contractors?
  • Should the federal government regulate the gig economy to ensure fair treatment of workers?
  • Should the government require companies to disclose the environmental impact of their products?
  • Should companies be allowed to fire employees based on political views or activities?
  • Should tipping practices be phased out?
  • Should employees who choose not to have children be given the same amount of paid leave as parents?
  • Should MLMs (multi-level marketing companies) be illegal?
  • Should employers be allowed to factor tattoos and personal appearance into hiring decisions?

In Conclusion – Argument Essay Topics

Using the tips above, you can effectively structure and pen a compelling argumentative essay that will wow your instructor and classmates. Remember to craft a thesis statement that offers readers a roadmap through your essay, draw on your sources wisely to back up any claims, and read through your paper several times before it’s due to catch any last-minute proofreading errors. With time, diligence, and patience, your essay will be the most outstanding assignment you’ve ever turned in…until the next one rolls around.

Looking for more fresh and engaging topics for use in the classroom? You might consider checking out the following:

  • 125 Good Debate Topics for High School Students
  • 150 Good Persuasive Speech Topics
  • 7 Best Places to Study
  • Guide to the IB Extended Essay
  • How to Write the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay
  • AP Lit Reading List
  • How to Write the AP Lang Synthesis Essay
  • 49 Most Interesting Biology Research Topics
  • High School Success

Lauren Green

With a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Columbia University and an MFA in Fiction from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin, Lauren has been a professional writer for over a decade. She is the author of the chapbook  A Great Dark House  (Poetry Society of America, 2023) and a forthcoming novel (Viking/Penguin).

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50 Argumentative Essay Topics

Illustration by Catherine Song. ThoughtCo. 

  • M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
  • B.A., History, Armstrong State University

An argumentative essay requires you to decide on a topic and take a position on it. You'll need to back up your viewpoint with well-researched facts and information as well. One of the hardest parts is deciding which topic to write about, but there are plenty of ideas available to get you started.

Choosing a Great Argumentative Essay Topic

Students often find that most of their work on these essays is done before they even start writing. This means that it's best if you have a general interest in your subject, otherwise you might get bored or frustrated while trying to gather information. (You don't need to know everything, though.) Part of what makes this experience rewarding is learning something new.

It's best if you have a general interest in your subject, but the argument you choose doesn't have to be one that you agree with.

The subject you choose may not necessarily be one that you are in full agreement with, either. You may even be asked to write a paper from the opposing point of view. Researching a different viewpoint helps students broaden their perspectives. 

Ideas for Argument Essays

Sometimes, the best ideas are sparked by looking at many different options. Explore this list of possible topics and see if a few pique your interest. Write those down as you come across them, then think about each for a few minutes.

Which would you enjoy researching? Do you have a firm position on a particular subject? Is there a point you would like to make sure to get across? Did the topic give you something new to think about? Can you see why someone else may feel differently?

50 Possible Topics

A number of these topics are rather controversial—that's the point. In an argumentative essay, opinions matter and controversy is based on opinions, which are, hopefully, backed up by facts.   If these topics are a little too controversial or you don't find the right one for you, try browsing through persuasive essay and speech topics  as well.

  • Is global climate change  caused by humans?
  • Is the death penalty effective?
  • Is our election process fair?
  • Is torture ever acceptable?
  • Should men get paternity leave from work?
  • Are school uniforms beneficial?
  • Do we have a fair tax system?
  • Do curfews keep teens out of trouble?
  • Is cheating out of control?
  • Are we too dependent on computers?
  • Should animals be used for research?
  • Should cigarette smoking be banned?
  • Are cell phones dangerous?
  • Are law enforcement cameras an invasion of privacy?
  • Do we have a throwaway society?
  • Is child behavior better or worse than it was years ago?
  • Should companies market to children?
  • Should the government have a say in our diets?
  • Does access to condoms prevent teen pregnancy?
  • Should members of Congress have term limits?
  • Are actors and professional athletes paid too much?
  • Are CEOs paid too much?
  • Should athletes be held to high moral standards?
  • Do violent video games cause behavior problems?
  • Should creationism be taught in public schools?
  • Are beauty pageants exploitative ?
  • Should English be the official language of the United States?
  • Should the racing industry be forced to use biofuels?
  • Should the alcohol drinking age be increased or decreased?
  • Should everyone be required to recycle?
  • Is it okay for prisoners to vote (as they are in some states)?
  • Is it good that same-sex couples are able to marry?
  • Are there benefits to attending a single-sex school ?
  • Does boredom lead to trouble?
  • Should schools be in session year-round ?
  • Does religion cause war?
  • Should the government provide health care?
  • Should abortion be illegal?
  • Are girls too mean to each other?
  • Is homework harmful or helpful?
  • Is the cost of college too high?
  • Is college admission too competitive?
  • Should euthanasia be illegal?
  • Should the federal government legalize marijuana use nationally ?
  • Should rich people be required to pay more taxes?
  • Should schools require foreign language or physical education?
  • Is affirmative action fair?
  • Is public prayer okay in schools?
  • Are schools and teachers responsible for low test scores?
  • Is greater gun control a good idea?
  • Preparing an Argument Essay: Exploring Both Sides of an Issue
  • Controversial Speech Topics
  • 100 Persuasive Essay Topics
  • Tips on How to Write an Argumentative Essay
  • Bad Essay Topics for College Admissions
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  • High School Debate Topics
  • 61 General Expository Essay Topic Ideas to Practice Academic Writing
  • 40 Writing Topics for Argumentative and Persuasive Essays
  • Expository Essay Genre With Suggested Prompts
  • 501 Topic Suggestions for Writing Essays and Speeches
  • Middle School Debate Topics

What Being Trans in Prison Is Really Like

Amid a wave of anti-trans legislation, and the violence that often follows, four people share their experiences in the criminal justice system..

prison argumentative essay topics

T he last few years have brought a wave of anti-trans legislation. Hundreds of bills have aimed to prevent trans teens from using certain bathrooms , teachers from using kids’ preferred names or pronouns , student-athletes from competing on the teams they feel comfortable on and medical providers from prescribing gender-affirming medical care . Some states have even tried to send parents, medical personnel, educators and others to jail or prison for providing gender-affirming health care to minors and adults.

prison argumentative essay topics

Lawmakers supporting these bills refer to transgender people’s lives as a “ woke social experiment ” or “ left-wing gender insanity .” Partly because of this rhetoric, trans and gender-expansive people are disproportionately targeted by violence, both inside and outside the criminal justice system. Transgender people are more than four times more likely than others to be the victims of violent crime, according to one study , and are more commonly targeted by sexual assaults in prisons and jails . Amid the noise of the latest culture war , we rarely hear the voices of trans people themselves, especially those who are incarcerated. So we gathered their voices from prisons around the country, conducting interviews over the phone, via video visitation and through Plexiglas in a prison visiting room.

We also commissioned artist Chris Cortez to draw portraits of each person as they would want to be seen if they had more agency over their appearance: what jewelry, makeup, clothing and hairstyle they would choose if they were not incarcerated.

A major takeaway: When prison systems refuse to let trans people live authentically and safely as themselves, that refusal becomes part of their punishment.

prison argumentative essay topics

Willow Eva Williams is a 58-year-old trans woman who has served 27 years in Texas men’s prisons. Williams is a poet and former small business owner.

I’m kind of like a loner. It’s not that I’m an introvert; I love people. But I avoid conflict by being by myself.

I never go to chow. I come out of my cell, shower, go to the commissary and go back into the cell. I pass the time playing video games and watching movies, and I’m writing a book of poems.

I would like to go to the dayroom and interact with people. But I can’t just walk up to somebody and [say], “Hey, how’s it going? My name is Willow. What’s your name?” They might take it the wrong way.

When I got to prison 25-plus years ago, I told them I was transgender immediately. The CO was like, “Please don’t tell nobody that. You tell the warden that, they’re going to put you in seg” — that’s solitary confinement 23 hours a day.

Back then, I didn’t know about the hormone pills, but I had always lived like I live now. I’d been on my own since I was 16, being me. Or trying to be me.

I started staying away from people because of the stuff that used to happen with my pops. When I was 6, he pulled a pistol on me. I was in the kitchen helping my stepmom cook, and I had my hand on my hip. My father grabbed me, slammed me up against the refrigerator and said, “Men don’t do that!”

I was traumatized and blocked this experience out until 1999, when I was gang raped at Coffield Unit men’s prison. Back then, nobody cared about whatever happened to prisoners. There was no [Prison Rape Elimination Act] back then.

The incident started when a guy came up behind me and grabbed me in the shower. I turned and pushed him and he fell. Everybody started laughing. He got irate.

After a few months passed, I was thinking, It’s nothing. Then my door rolled open one night. One inmate after another assaulted me. Fourteen different individuals. An officer stood there and watched the whole thing, chanting, “Yeah! Do it!” I couldn’t fight them. I was tired. So I just lay there. Let them finish.

I went to the infirmary. They basically said, “You’re alright. You’ll heal.” They gave me some triple antibiotic ointment, and that was it. No paperwork, no nothing. They just like covered it up, [like] Get him off the unit . That’s how I ended up here. I’ve been in nine or 10 prison units in the system, in 27 years.

About five years later, in 2014, I just woke up one morning and I didn’t care. Like something just washed over me. I was thinking, You want to put me in seg, put me in seg. So I filed all the necessary paperwork to get on hormone medications. It was a yearslong process. Finally, in 2018 I started. The treatment makes me feel better about myself.

Inmates, they vary just like anybody else — like any other human beings. Some will [say], “Man, I don’t care about that. Whatever your preference is, I ain’t got nothing to do with that. God gave you that body, you do what you want with it.” … And then you got other ones: “Man. Nah! Get your ass out of here. We don’t need no punks over here.” I’m like, “I’m not a punk. I’m transgender. There’s a difference.”

The officers still call me by the wrong name and pronouns all the time. They’ll say “sir,” or “Mr. Williams.” I always say, “Stop. Do not call me sir. If you need to refer to me, just refer to me as ‘Williams.’” If I say nothing, that’s giving the illusion that I’m OK with what you’re saying to me, and I’m not. Because it’s not me. I don’t want to hide who I am.

I’m balding, and there’s nothing I can do. They don’t let you get lace-front [wigs] here. They don’t let you get heels here. They don’t let you get blouses. The bra that they have, if you alter it to lift your breasts, they’ll say, “Hey, give me that. It’s altered. I’m going to write you a case because you altered state property.”

So I picture myself back home in my house, wearing the clothes I want to wear. I do that a lot. I know that I’m gonna be happy. I know that I’m gonna look the way that I want to look. And I’m going to live the rest of my life as who I am: Willow.

Williams is serving a life sentence for charges that include sexual assault of a child.

In response to questions about Williams’ prison intake, her gang rape by other incarcerated people, a lack of medical care after the assault and misgendering by staff, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s communications department wrote, “TDCJ is fully compliant with PREA standards.”

prison argumentative essay topics

Ronnie Fuller is a 45-year-old trans man serving time in a Georgia women’s prison. In 2023, he submitted an affidavit in support of a lawsuit challenging the state’s blanket ban on providing gender-affirming surgery to incarcerated people. Fuller is an ordained minister through the International Christian College and Seminary’s correspondence program.

I’ve identified as a male since I was a kid, but I didn’t understand why. I’d never even heard of the word “transgender” until a few years into my prison sentence, and that started in 2004. I can’t say that I needed to change my appearance at all, because I’d always looked masculine. But now I understand why I always felt different, and now I can live my truth.

Around 2016 I found out that the state had started giving testosterone shots to inmates . I went to my mental health counselor, and she put in for me. It took them over a year and a half for me to even go see the endocrinologist to start the shots. Every time I would have an appointment scheduled, it would be canceled. That was really stressful because I knew other people going out and seeing the endocrinologist. I just didn’t understand what was taking so long with me to get it.

In 2018, I finally saw an endocrinologist for exactly 10 minutes. I started my shots a week after that. That’s also when I started asking for top surgery to remove my breasts.

Once you start the transition process — when your voice changes and hair starts growing on your face — you’re left feeling like a bearded woman because you still have breasts. You feel like something from the circus.

Prison staff have said that the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) won’t pay for the surgery. Or they’ll say that they’re already giving me hormones, the treatment that’s within GDC standards.

A few years ago, after I wrote to the assistant commissioner in charge of health services, I really thought it was going somewhere. But it seems like they’re stalling. They’ve said my surgery is before the gender dysphoria committee. Now they’re saying a physician is reviewing it.

When you think the process is moving, you just get excited. And then it doesn’t happen. And the more you ask, it kind of makes you seem like you’re a troublemaker. And they treat you differently. The grievance process is a part of the policy, and it says you’re not supposed to be retaliated against. But you know, that’s just a piece of paper with some words. Because they will retaliate. And then when you do need help for something — it could be as simple as wanting to change your room or anything like that — it’s hard to get help.

I know three women who’ve had breast cancer. It was medically necessary to have their breasts removed. But then they were approved to get their breasts reconstructed. That’s really a cosmetic surgery. When prison officials talk about it, it’s like they want the woman to feel “whole and complete.” So my argument is, the removal of my breasts will make me feel whole and complete. And so this should be no different.

I’m a big believer in my relationship with God. I want to be the best person that God created me to be. But I’m also human too. And it’s really difficult when you’re surrounded by so many people who are hateful. This might sound crazy, but it seems like there’s a requirement for a lot of staff to come and work in an environment like this, that they have to be hateful. They kind of laugh [at me]. Or they’ll be like, “This is a women’s facility.”

Staff who treat you like a human being, they’re considered the outcasts or “inmate lovers.” Other staff members think that they’re doing something personal with you.

Sometimes even inmates still say “she.” So I’d rather just isolate myself. But then that gets lonely. Put aside the gender dysphoria diagnosis, being transgender — just being a human being in corrections is hard. I miss my family. I want to go home.

Fuller is serving a life sentence for murder.

The communications office of the Georgia Department of Corrections did not respond to a request for comment.

prison argumentative essay topics

Reiyn Keohane is a 30-year-old trans woman serving time in a Florida men’s prison. Keohane was the lead plaintiff in the 2016 lawsuit that led to Florida providing hormone therapy to transgender people in the state’s prisons.

When I was a teenager, my psychiatrist diagnosed me with gender identity disorder, as it was called in the early 2000s. At 14, I was starting this social transition of going by a female name and pronouns. One of the medical treatments available back then was hormone therapy at age 16 with parental permission. My mother refused, which caused a lot of fights. I tried to kill myself multiple times. I was extremely depressed and miserable.

So I moved out as soon as I was able to. I had some financial help from my grandfather, who was actually very supportive. He’s a career Marine, did four tours in Vietnam and was awarded the Silver Star. When I first came out as trans at 14, his reaction was, “Alright, that’s cool. What’s for dinner?” He never got a name or pronoun wrong.

Once I was living on my own, I started getting on hormones myself. I was on them only two months or so before I went to jail.

I was in county jail from 2013 to 2016. They said, “Give us your records, and we will give you the hormones.” I gave them the records and the prescription notices and everything. And then they just never did it.

I was told the prison system would do a better job of taking care of it, so [I would] get them in there for sure. So when I ended up in prison, I had all my medical records and prescriptions [ready].

But prison officials were like, “Because you were interrupted by being in [county jail], you weren’t taking them when you came to the Department of Corrections. So we’re not gonna give them to you.”

I’m pretty sure that they actually quoted the “freeze-frame” policy to me, which is like, “Hormones will only be prescribed to those who have documentation that they were taking them prior to incarceration.” Even though I did have that, they still denied me. They just make totally arbitrary decisions and absolutely refuse to change them. They may as well flip a coin to determine what they’ll actually do on any given day.

The day that me and the ACLU filed the lawsuit against the Department of Corrections, DOC took me to outpatient endocrinology and went and got the hormones. Because they knew they were wrong, even under their own policy, which was found unconstitutional.

Before I started hormones, it was hard to control my anger. There’s a lot of predators and nasty people in this place and my immediate reaction was to get very angry and fight them. I would have an adrenaline spike, then headaches and shakiness, and then I would crash. It felt really bad.

For whatever reason, taking hormones made it so that I get that kind of response to things…basically never. I still get angry, but it doesn’t feel like a thundercloud in my head where I can’t even think or see through it.

Even with hormones, it’s still so dehumanizing to be defined by a body part that I would absolutely get rid of if I could. I would pay for it myself, and they won’t even let me do that. Mental health and officers are like, “Well, that’s prison. That’s how it is. You’ve got to deal with that.” Like that’s part of the punishment.

Another punishment was getting my head forcibly shaved. They’d take me out of the cell, put me in the chair and then [hold] me there. I would just go limp. I wasn’t fighting or trying to get up or run away. It was passive resistance.

They made an even bigger deal of the haircuts when I was suing them for it. They would call in an extraction team and have them drag me out of the cell and use violence to forcibly cut my hair. They would shove me down into the wall or into the ground. Or they would bodyslam me into the wall.

One sergeant took the clippers himself because the inmate barber refused to have anything to do with this. He used the hair clippers to shave my head. And cut my scalp in the process of doing that.

In 2017, a year after I filed my lawsuit, the judge in my case ordered an injunction [to stop] this hair-shaving process. He said that it was totally unnecessary, didn’t have any kind of obvious penal justification and was just causing harm. So he ordered them not to do it until the decision in the case. But even when they were under a federal order that they could not cut my hair, officers still wrote me [disciplinary reports] for refusing haircuts. They also put me in confinement for refusing to get haircuts. Those punishments are on my record.

Nobody wants the government coming in and telling you that you have to wear these clothes, you can’t wear what you want to wear. I never wore boxers in my life until the government tried to make me. … How does the government have an interest in forcing people to wear a certain kind of underwear?

Keohane is serving a 15-year sentence for attempted murder.

The communications office of the Florida Department of Corrections did not respond to a request for comment.

prison argumentative essay topics

April Turner Cassadine is a 32-year-old trans woman who has been incarcerated in a Tennessee men’s prison since 2016. Prior to her incarceration, she won titles in plus-size trans beauty pageants.

I was identifying as transgender before I came into prison at age 23. I had always felt like a woman: I started dressing up at 13, and I knew then that I felt like I was in the right body in the right place.

The first time I first got arrested, I was placed in a women’s jail by accident, which made the news nationwide . When I was locked up again, I wanted to be housed in a women’s prison, but unfortunately, that couldn’t happen.

In November 2023, during 9 p.m. count time, an officer came into my cell and said he was conducting a random cell search. I was [already] asleep, so I told him I needed to put on a T-shirt and slippers so I could leave my cell while the search was conducted. That’s when he grabbed my arm, pulled his private part out and forced me to give him oral sex. I knew he was an authority. I knew he had power over me. So I knew I had to do what I had to do.

But then it kept happening. It took a lot for me to report him because I was afraid. He was calling me out of my name — he called me a “trifling Black bitch.” When he started threatening my family on the outside, that’s when I came forward and told another officer.

Officials didn’t really believe me at first, but I had [saved] his DNA in my mouth and spat it in a shirt. They fired him, but I still don’t feel safe. I’m still traumatized and I have nightmares.

That wasn’t the first time something like this had happened to me while incarcerated. I got stabbed before by one of my cellies because I wouldn’t engage in sexual activity with him. He stabbed me 13 times.

The [officer raping me] felt worse than being stabbed because I felt betrayed. He was supposed to keep me safe. And I’m constantly going through retaliation and harassment. Staff have been coming at me, telling me I’m a homewrecker and a whore, because I think he was married. Inmates ask me for sexual favors.

In late February. I was assaulted again, by an inmate. He was asking me for sexual favors, which I rejected. He pulled a knife on me and beat me with a broomstick. My arm was swollen real bad, and my wrist was busted open. They were supposedly charging both of us, but they put me in the hole and kept him in the general population.

Recently I’ve been signing up for mental health care, and they’ve been ignoring my requests. And they just abruptly stopped my hormones. I don’t know why. When you stop a transgender person’s hormones, you just fuck with them mentally, emotionally. I think they’re doing it to punish me.

Cassadine is serving a 25-year sentence for second-degree murder.

The communications office of the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDC) did not respond to The Marshall Project’s questions about the former corrections officer whom Cassadine reported for sexual violence; reprisals by remaining staff; or assaults by other incarcerated people.

The former corrections officer Cassadine reported for sexual assault did not respond to social media outreach, email or certified letters delivered to addresses found in a public records database. When reached by phone, he declined to speak with us. His employment records, obtained through a public records request, did not contain information about his separation from the TDC but did list four disciplinary infractions, including one for “insubordination/negligence/use of force.”

Marianna Bacallao of WPLN contributed reporting.

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prison argumentative essay topics

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Beth Schwartzapfel Twitter Email is a staff writer who often covers addiction and health, probation and parole, and LGBTQ+ issues. She is the reporter and host of Violation , a podcast examining an unthinkable crime, second chances, and who pulls the levers of power in the justice system.

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Judge in Sept. 11 Case Visits Former C.I.A. Black Site

Col. Matthew McCall toured the part of the prison at Guantánamo Bay where, in 2007, federal agents obtained now-disputed confessions from terrorism suspects.

A United States military official in uniform is seen through a gate opening a brown door with the words “Echo 15.” There are two detainees in the background.

By Carol Rosenberg

Reporting from Guantánamo Bay

In a first, a military judge at Guantánamo Bay on Friday crossed into the security zone containing the wartime prison and inspected a former C.I.A. “black site” facility at the center of a dispute over the taint of torture in the Sept. 11, 2001 , case.

It was a noteworthy moment in the arc of the two-decade history of the Guantánamo trials. No war court judge had before made the five-mile trip to look at the detention operations, where the military maintains the only known, still-intact remnant of the network of overseas prisons that the C.I.A. operated from 2002 to 2009.

But Col. Matthew N. McCall, the judge , is edging toward a decision on whether the accused mastermind of the attacks, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed , and three co-defendants voluntarily confessed to conspiring in the attacks in their fourth year of detention, under questioning by F.B.I. agents at Guantánamo prison.

And the prison site he visited, called Camp Echo, has played a central but covert role in the case. From 2003 to 2004, the C.I.A. kept five prized prisoners there, near the prison facilities but out of reach of the International Red Cross. It was part of its secret overseas network that hid about 120 “high-value detainees” in such far-flung sites as Afghanistan, Thailand and Poland.

In April 2004, the agency closed the black site at Guantánamo and moved those five prisoners to other secret sites, on the advice of the Justice Department, to avoid a looming U.S. Supreme Court decision later that year that granted detainees at U.S.-controlled Guantánamo Bay access to lawyers.

After President George W. Bush ordered Mr. Mohammed and 13 other C.I.A. prisoners be moved to Guantánamo in September 2006 to face trial, federal agents used the same portion of Camp Echo to obtain ostensibly lawful confessions by what the prosecutors called “clean teams.”

At issue now is whether statements the men made in 2007 are admissible at the eventual trial of Mr. Mohammed and the three men who are accused of being his accomplices in helping the 19 hijackers who took part in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Prosecutors consider those interrogations the most critical evidence in the capital case that has been mired in preliminary hearings since 2012. They argue that the statements were voluntary, and so would be admissible.

Defense lawyers argue that, by 2007, Mr. Mohammed and the others were conditioned through years of torture, solitary confinement and constant C.I.A. debriefings that they were helpless but to answer questions on demand.

Military judges have generally stayed away from the detainee operation, which currently holds 30 prisoners . Judges have summoned commanders to court to answer questions and lawyers have provided photographs of prison conditions as court evidence.

Lawyers for one of the defendants, Ammar al Baluchi , proposed the field trip to the judge, who spent less than 20 minutes inspecting the compound of wooden huts containing steel cells that are split in two.

One half has a metal pallet for a sleeping mat, shower, sink and toilet, also made of metal, Alka Pradhan , Mr. Baluchi’s lawyer, said in court Friday to orient the judge before his visit. The other half was set up as an interrogation room and has linoleum and a bolt in the floor, where a detainee’s ankle is shackled during legal meetings still held there.

“On information and belief,” she said, there also was “a shackle point on the ceiling” for a time. But she did not say when.

In one portion of Camp Echo, where reporters have visited, the wooden huts have windows. But huts in the portion where the C.I.A. prisoners were held and interrogated have no natural light — unless the outer door is left open.

Ms. Pradhan said the tour was meant to support the defense team’s argument that Mr. Baluchi considered the interrogation in 2007 to be another stop in his odyssey of torture through the black sites. Interrogators testified that they shared meals from McDonald’s and chatted with him.

But Ms. Pradhan said that merely being there, in a site similar to earlier black sites where he was beaten, shackled nude and deprived of sleep, “triggered an intense fear in him” that left him no choice but to tell his interrogators what they wanted to hear.

Colonel McCall left his black robe at the courthouse and drove himself and an aide to the checkpoint that controls access to the prison complex, a 15-minute ride past an Irish pub, McDonald’s and a bowling alley that serves the base of about 5,000 residents — most of whom have never been allowed inside the prison zone.

In 2019, the U.S. government declassified the fact that a portion of Camp Echo had been a black site at Guantánamo, but defense lawyers had been aware of that national security secret for years. Three defendants in the capital cases told their counsel that they had been there before.

One of them, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri , is accused of orchestrating Al Qaeda’s suicide bombing of the U.S.S. Cole destroyer off Yemen on Oct. 12, 2000, in the longest-running death-penalty case at Guantánamo Bay.

Last year, the military judge in that case, Col. Lanny J. Acosta Jr., threw out the statements Mr. Nashiri made to federal interrogations at Echo in 2007, as derived from his years of torture by the C.I.A.

“The F.B.I. interview in 2007 actually occurred in the same complex — and perhaps even the same cell,” he wrote.

Carol Rosenberg reports on the wartime prison and court at Guantánamo Bay. She has been covering the topic since the first detainees were brought to the U.S. base in 2002. More about Carol Rosenberg

The debate about Sonia Sotomayor is not about sexism. It’s more dire.

Some want the supreme court justice to retire so that president biden can name a replacement before... before what happens, exactly.

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For the past few months there has been a stealth political campaign going on, the subject of which feels so unseemly that nearly every person publicly participating in the debate insists they would rather not be participating in it, and would, in fact, prefer the debate not be happening at all.

The question: Should Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor voluntarily retire before the next presidential election?

And, if your answer is yes, are you sexist?

And, if your answer is no, and you support liberal jurisprudence, are you a fool?

If you haven’t been following, the arguments — which have been laid forth by Josh Barro in the Atlantic , Nate Silver , Mehdi Hassan in the Guardian , Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) , and others — amount to this:

1) Sotomayor, at 69, is already several years older than the median American retirement age;

2) The justice’s Type 1 diabetes might indicate a more complicated health map than that of a typical septuagenarian;

3) In the not-unlikely event that Donald Trump wins the presidential election, and Sotomayor has to leave the court during his next term, we can presume that his replacement nominee will turn the Supreme Court into a 7-2 conservative supermajority with repercussions for decades to come.

In other words, Democrats might feel great about Sotomayor’s health and stamina now. But how much are they willing to bet that they’ll feel great about it in four or more years? (For what it’s worth, Barro et al. also make the case that a Democrat in the White House doesn’t ensure the safe passage of Sotomayor’s replacement to the high court, either: a flip of the Senate could result in a Merrick Garland redux, wherein a Republican majority refuses to confirm a Joe Biden nominee).

The counterarguments: That Sotomayor is far from the oldest judge on the court; Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito are six and five years older. That she is below the average retirement age — which is north of 75 — of Supreme Court justices over the past century. That the diabetes argument is ableist and ill-informed. That justices are freed from term limits for a reason: They are supposed to be immune to political pressure and decide for themselves when to retire.

And finally: Would we be having this discussion if Sotomayor were a man?

“Virtually every person ... pushing is male,” observed Slate writer Dahlia Lithwick on a recent podcast, “and the people defending her are female.”

This is the third draft I have tried to write of a column tackling this subject. The first time, I got bogged down in actuarial tables before accepting that I am not medically trained and I have no idea how long Sonia Sotomayor is going to live. The second time, I went deep on sociology, trying to unpack the gender-based and racial overtones (Sotomayor is the first Latina justice) that make this discussion so fraught, before accepting that I’m writing a column, not a dissertation.

The third time, I realized that I’d been examining the wrong questions. When you ask the right one — and there is only one — then answering it for yourself becomes easy:

Do you think the republic holds?

That is the only question that you need to answer for yourself when figuring out whether, if you are a liberal, you think Sonia Sotomayor should retire.

It’s a loaded question, though, so maybe the best way to answer it is to envision what you see as the most plausible shape American politics will take one or five years from now.

Would another Trump defeat cause his party to become more obstinate and conspiracy-minded, or less? Would his acolytes in Congress become more accepting of a Democratic president’s authority to issue orders and make appointments, or less? If Trump wins, what would “democratic norms” look like?

Do you picture a normal-feeling presidential inauguration in 2025, in which a mass-market pop star sings the national anthem? Or do you picture the Capitol police donning riot gear in preparation for a possible attack on the White House? Do you think the odds of an attack on the White House are actually better than zero?

The functioning of American government is based on a series of codes and agreements. The agreement that the transfer of power will be peaceful. The agreement that presidents should be allowed to appoint qualified justices to fill any Supreme Court vacancy that occurs during their presidency (i.e. the argument that Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell made when Donald Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett) rather than Supreme Court vacancies being held open until the Senate likes the commander in chief (i.e. the argument that McConnell essentially made when Barack Obama nominated Garland).

The Style section

If you believe we are living in a reality in which the codes and agreements that support American governance will, though taxed, continue to support American governance, then you are fine with Sonia Sotomayor staying on the bench. You can trust that, actuarily speaking, she’ll likely feel great for another decade, and her eventual replacement will be chosen in a manner that is orderly and fair.

If you are a liberal who believes that the next election might fundamentally cripple American democracy, then you don’t want to rely on actuarial tables. You want a spry 49-year-old, right now, who will dedicate the next quarter century to protecting marriage equality and reinstating Roe.

Do you believe the republic holds?

It’s the question that already underpins this debate about Sotomayor. It is the grand, psychic fear that is running subconsciously through everyone’s mind as they get lost in oddly specific discussions about whether — and this was a real debate — the “medic” that Sotomayor has traveled with, according to U.S. Marshals Service records, referred to a human medical professional or merely to medical equipment.

What I appreciate about this question is that it is unsentimental and unsparing. Answering it for yourself does not require you to unpack all of your feelings about Sotomayor as an individual. It also does not require you to solve sexism, although I frankly think Would you be asking this if she were a man? is not the gotcha question people present it as. I don’t think people would be asking this question if Sotomayor were a man; I think people would be demanding it. I think it would be the “Retire, Breyer” movement we saw back in 2022, but dialed up to 11.

Do you think the republic holds does not require you to get philosophical about what the founders intended, or what is just, or what is optimal. It requires you to get practical about what is . Not: Is it fair that some people are laying the entire broken burden of American jurisprudence on the shoulders of one woman? But rather: Where is the Band-Aid? Does someone have a Band-Aid?

If you feel optimistic about the future of the country and are liberal-minded about the law, then I encourage you to feel confident and reassured by Sotomayor’s presence on the Supreme Court. If you end up thinking that she should retire, then you can, and should, insist that her replacement be another brilliant and eminently qualified woman, and you should make sure Joe Manchin III is ready and willing to vote for that replacement.

But this isn’t about Sotomayor. This is about what people think America will look like when Sotomayor eventually does shuffle off this mortal coil. Which I sincerely hope happens when she is in the middle of writing another delightful children’s book, or going dancing, or cycling leisurely around Washington at the age of 112.

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  26. Should Sonia Sotomayor retire? Is it sexist to say that she should

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