The United States is facing a huge problem concerning the nation's penitentiaries. Prison guards and politicians are concerned about the problems in jails; however the saddest thing is that our citizens are aware of the situation but don't do anything about it. The populace seems to accept the problem; assuming that prisoners lose their rights once they are incarcerated. What is the problem in our prisons? The answer seems to be the violation of human rights and the crimes that are occurring in penitentiaries without being reported or resolved. In our penitentiaries, problems like rape, racism, gangs, robbery, assault, extortion, drug abuse and murder within the walls of the prisons are cries so serious that they are deteriorating the American correctional system.
Of all the crimes mentioned, the most serious one in prisons is male rape. In the United States, this offense is ignored, because most people take it for granted that it is going to happen. An evidence of this is when movies have scenes parodying this grave crisis (Hell Behind Bars 24). According to Cindy Stuckman-Johnson, who reported in the Journal of Sex Research, 22 percent of male inmates in Nebraska prisons experienced unwanted sexual contact, and, in most of the cases it will occurred more than once (Hell Behind Bars 24). The rape problem is leading to a graver problem: AIDS. How is all this happening? Simple. Upon arrival an inmate is challenged to a fight where his abilities to defend himself are tested. And those who struggle or have poor skills to fight are labeled as punks and, therefore, sex slaves. The punks are usually nonviolent prisoners who are going to be under a "man's" wing for protection from the rest of the population (Hell Behind Bars 24). Rape crime inevitably leads to another problem: GANGS. .
In order to survive and not be abused by other convicts, the new inmates affiliate with a gang; this is considered a strategic move.