Instigator / Con
4
1417
rating
158
debates
32.59%
won
Topic
#2522

The US Should Abolish its Prison System

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
0
3
Better sources
2
2
Better legibility
1
1
Better conduct
1
0

After 1 vote and with 2 points ahead, the winner is...

Kbub530
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
4
Time for argument
Three days
Max argument characters
10,000
Voting period
One month
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Pro
6
1511
rating
1
debates
100.0%
won
Description

Burden of proof is shared.

Criterion
Con
Tie
Pro
Points
Better arguments
3 point(s)
Better sources
2 point(s)
Better legibility
1 point(s)
Better conduct
1 point(s)
Reason:

Good debate, and whilst I find Pro's position rather unappealing personally, I felt as though She made the more persuasive arguments. But, I thought Con argued excellently himself.

Conduct for Knub's forfeiture.

Both sides agree that there are problems with prisons. Sel believes the problems can be fixed while Pro thinks the system should be dismantled.

Also, keep in mind that when say something is better or more useful, I may just be referencing one debaters point of view.

Recidivism.

It seems as though reform can solve a lot of the problems prisoners face, but Pro contends that prisons have been proven to reduce recidivism, although her source does openly call for the abolition of prisons. Pro also cited the fact that prisons were never intended to recidivise, but were rather there
to punish.

In other words, we can take steps to fix the system, but in the end your merely reducing the harms of a net negative. (My takeaway)

Slavery.

It seems as though this may be a problem, but prisons do not necessitate slavery as Con points out.

Anarchy/Chaos

Con is never really able to back this up, Pro time and time again utilized scholarly articles that demonstrated the detrimental impact of prisons, yet Cons just seems to be relying on the ever fallible human intuition.

Jobs.

Whilst prison abolition may require mass layoffs, Pro proves mathematically that prison workers could be compensated with billions being left to spend on more useful projects.

Crime.

Pro did prove that generally prisons did not decrease crime, but Con did prove that when done correctly, prisons can decrease crime. And although these methods of reducing crime might be possible outside of prisons, prisons may be the only place a lot of people can ever attain the knowledge needed to become a useful member of society.

It seems as though there are few benefits to prisons, and actions that seek to improve prisons seem to call for prisons to be less prison like. The evidence offered by Con only serves to prove that prisons can be made better,not that a prisonless society would be worse than a society with prisons.

P.S. My apologies for the unorganized and sloppy vote, I really hope I didn't miss anything important in it. If Con or Pro have any problems, feel free to contact a moderator. I have also only skimmed through this to detect any grammatical errors, I hope it is still legible.