The subject of incarceration of pregnant women has been a very controversial issue for years. In this debate, Ken Ayers argues YES. He is well qualified to take this stand because he has presented and published a number of works on this particular issue. He believes that pregnant women who are found guilty of committing crimes should be given special consideration. He explained the fact that there are inadequate medical facilities in prison to cater to the needs of pregnant women. He stresses that while he is not saying that pregnancy should be a major factor to be considered during pregnancy, it is a factor that should be put into consideration.

Pregnant women in jail have the dilemma of having to deal with the stress of being pregnant and the stress of being in jail at the same time. Statistics show that women inmates tend to be young, single, uneducated, and incarcerated for drug- alcohol offenses, and other non-violent crimes (pp91). He goes on to state that women who are in jail when they are pregnant are classic 'high-risk pregnancies' (pp91). The reason he gives for this is the fact that inmates usually have had a previous li

In the early nineteenth century, female and male criminals were held in the same prison. They were housed in different quarters but were in the same institution. By the end of the nineteenth century, the prisoners were separated and the females wee moved to prisons of their own. Today, the issue of coed prisons has been raised again. There are some modern coed prisons and the question now is whether to continue in this trend or do away with it completely.

The Three strikes legislature is a very emotional issue, the general public supports it and legislatures have responded according to the needs of the people. In this debate, Robert Jerin argues YES. He is involved in research concerning restorative justice and crime prevention. The Three Strikes legislature has been in place since November of 1993. This legislature has been very effective in keeping a lot of criminals off the street for good. Jerin starts off his arguments by giving different examples of cases whereby violent criminal have been paroled repeated times for the same crime and keep getting more and more violent. He gives as examples Richard Allen Davis and Leslie Allen Williams.

Margaret Vandiver argues NO. The first fact she states is that United States is the only developed country in the world that executes juveniles. She also says that there is scientific proof that adolescents are different from adults because they are going through a time of change and stress. She stresses that since adolescents don't have the same rights as adults regarding other issues such as alcohol and tobacco, they should also have different laws and punishments regarding criminal activities and murder.

She stresses that the personal histories of the juveniles who have been executed reveal that they have been severely damaged and abused. She sites examples of juvenile offenders like Terry Roach who had experienced severe abuse and trauma before he committed the murder that got him executed. She concludes by saying that the time and money wasted on executing juveniles could be spent on programs to help prevent violent crimes committed by and against juveniles. These efforts, she says "are far more likely to protect potential victims than is capital punishment" (pp276).

Jerin also informs us that the Three Strikes Legislature also acts as a deterrence tool. In Specific Deterrence, the individual who is sentenced is prevented from committing further criminal acts. Also, the Act allows for General Deterrence, when one person is sentenced by the three strikes act, once others find out, he is like an example to the rest of the population. Also, when a criminal knows that he only has two chances to misbehave before he is thrown in the 'slammer' for life, he tends to be more cautious and participates in less criminal activities.

I would take the NO position as well because coed prisons are seen by a lot of people (myself included) as "resorts". Male and female prisoners need different sorts of rehabilitation. The male prison system is a lot different from the female prison system a lot of ways. They are usually operated differently and each gender has specific things that would help to get them out in the world and become productive citizens.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Mary Clement, Michael Donahue, Regardless Smykla, California Crime, Ken Ayers, Jail Officers, Dr Vandiver, James Houston, Ms Moriarty's, Laura Moriarty, coed prisons, pregnant women, prison system, argues yes, female officers, incarceration pregnant women, strikes legislature, health care, incarceration pregnant, correctional officers, strikes law, pregnant women avoided, believes coed prisons, support coed prisons, adequate health care,
Approximate Word count = 3434
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page double spaced)