This week, we will discuss the prison system within the US. Anyone going into criminal law should have a rudimentary understanding of the US prison system. We can also get some valuable information by doing comparative research with prisons in other countries. Here is just a small sampling of articles and videos on this topic:

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/research/pretrial_detention/

Inside Russia's Black Dolphin Prison

China's Imprisonment of Muslims

The Attica Prison Uprising

Rikers Island - Incredible Nightmare!

Please research the prison system in Virginia and give a brief summary of it here. Then tell us what you think of the US prison system overall and how you would change it if you could. (Some questions to consider: why is our incarceration percentage so high? Should we be trying to change this? What are your thoughts on how prisoners in the US are treated?) Do you think that the purposes of criminal law align well with the purposes of punishment? If you could make changes, what would you do? Provide supporting case law.