Some may suggest replacing the United States’ prison system with Norway’s, yet this may be difficult because, for one, Norway is much smaller than the United States. The United States prison system does need reforming because crime rates are high and keep getting higher. An editorial called “Look to Norway for True Prison Reform,” written by the Detroit News, attempts to prove that the U.S. should look to Norway’s prison system and use it in the U.S. The editorials thesis states, “there are better ways to punish those who break society’s laws. There are better ways to correct those who stray from law-abiding lives.” I am rebutting this because it will not work in the United States, and if it would, we would have the same prison system as Norway by now.
This editorial contains some flaws. First, it does not provide proof to some of its claims as support, or its factual evidence stated. For one, the editorial stated, “twenty-eight percent of those released will return to prison within three years.” Which comes from The Michigan Radio (Samilton). The editorial also says that Norway’s prison system costs more than the U.S., but they do not prove how much. Norway’s prison system costs two to four times more than the United States (Bhuller). Norway’s system can help in the future and lead to lower recidivism rates, but it is challenging to start. Norway is wealthier than the U.S. They spend $93,000 per prisoner, whereas the U.S. spends $31,000. The U.S. has 2.2 million prisoners, and Norway has 3,800 (Sharma).
There is a logical fallacy, which is an unfair emotional appeal. It says in the editorial that “keeping someone locked up long after they are no longer a threat to their fellow citizen is cruel and expensive.” This sentence is used to make the audience feel bad for prisoners who are locked up for a long time, but there is no proof to prove whether they are or are not a threat to society.
The second logical fallacy is a hasty generalization. This editorial talks about applying Norwegian’s criminal justice system to the U.S. because of how successful it is towards the citizens and country of Norway. However, that does not mean it can work in the U.S. The population in the U.S. is over 327 million, Norway is a little over just 5 million, which is very small compared to the U.S. The United States is known as a melting pot because it is made up of many immigrants from many foreign countries. It is challenging to apply Norway’s criminal justice system towards one that’s filled with people from all around the world that come into the U.S. with their different views on punishment. This fallacy contributes to the editorial because it talks about how Norway’s criminal justice system will work in the U.S. just because it works well in Norway.
The prison system in the United States does need reformation, but Norway’s prison system will not work well in the U.S. Michigan is practicing Norway’s prison system. There is a mental health facility in their prisons, but it is small, housing 200 prisoners at a time (Boufford). It is not working well there, though, because Michigan is undergoing a lawsuit for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). There was evidence that the hearing-impaired in prison had no way of communicating to loved ones on the phone, no way to be notified of a prison emergency, and were even sometimes punished for not hearing. Also, they were to go to discipline hearings with no sign language interpreters or hearing aids (Egan).
Norway runs a social welfare system. It collects high taxes from mostly the rich and provides several social systems (Kåre). Whereas in America, there is a mix of capitalism, libertarianism, and little social welfare. There needs to be more social welfare to imitate Norway’s criminal justice system, but capitalism and libertarianism restrict that from happening in the U.S.
This opinion editorial gave facts and information without providing proof of these statements. It also covered two logical fallacies, unfair emotional appeal, and hasty generalization. It was an opinion editorial, so it should have included the right amount of supporting evidence and facts to support its claims. Norway’s prison system works good in Norway, but there is no proof that it will work in the U.S. because of how different the two countries are. From money, population, and social views, the prison system that works for 5 million Norwegian people will not work for 300 million American people.
Works cited
Bhuller, Manudeep, et al., “What the Rest of the World Can Learn from Norway’s Prison System.” World Economic Forum, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/03/incarceration-can-be-rehabilitative/.
Bouffard, Karen. “Michigan Prison Takes a Gentler Tack with Mentally Ill.” Detroit News, The Detroit News, 11 Oct. 2019, https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/special-reports/2019/10/11/michigan-prison-woodland-treats-mentally-ill-inmates/1743121001/
Egan, Paul. “Judge: Michigan Prisons Violating Americans with Disabilities Act.” Detroit Free Press, Detroit Free Press, 26 Feb. 2019, https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/02/26/michigan-prisoners-disabilities/2879948002/
Kåre, Aas R. “Social Welfare Services-A Good Investment.” Sons of Norway, 25 July 2019, https://www.sofn.com/blog/social-welfare-services-a-good-investment/.
Samilton, Tracy. “Criminal Offender Recidivism Rate down Sharply in Michigan.” Michigan Radio, February 14, 2018, https://www.michiganradio.org/post/criminal-offender-recidivism-rate-down-sharply-michigan.
Sharma, Rakesh. “3 Reasons This ‘Perfect’ Prison System Will Not Work in America.” Showbiz Cheat Sheet, 22 May 2015, https://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/3-reasons-why-norways-prison-system-should-not-be-replicated-in-america.html/.