What are prisons for?

What are prisons for... At this point it's hard to determine. I have an extremely hard time distinguishing the reasons for prisons. Of course prisons are for those who have been sentenced as a sanction for violating the law to some degree. To my suprise, prisons are also for people who have mental disabilites rather than going to an institution that is specifically for that reason. I do think the common assumption is for prisons to address and sanction those who commit crimes with little to no sympathy for the reasons people have committed crimes. While I feel I am much more sympatetic toward women/men in prison for various, sometimes totally justifiable reasons, what about those who commit crimes that 100% deserve to be sentenced to prison? Sometimes bad people do bad things for the right or wrong reasons and sometimes good people do bad things for the right or wrong reasons. How is one to decipher which is which? Yes I know the judicial system is the one to choose but really, how often are people sentenced for something they shouldn't be, or how often are people sentenced for far too less than they should be? (Sorry for the run-ons, it's hard to explain my thoughts on this without rambling.)


Why are we going to ICIW?

I think we are going to ICIW to help those who are "in" learn and to help us who are "out" learn. I loved it and thought about when the gal who came into our class last Friday said we have an obligation as citizens to ensure those who are incarcerated are going to come out as better people, with better skills, and so on for OUR community that we, our family, and our friends live in. I think there are a lot of reasons we are going to the ICIW but I think the main concern is to give a "bigger picture" to both the women but us who are going to the prison as well.
How can this impact us and the women we encounter?

I think that this experience will impact me more than I realize. I know and expect this will have an impact on the way I think about prisons, the inmates, why the inmates are there, and what we can do about it. What we can contribute to better ourselves as people and to better the women "inside" for a brighter look to a new route in life. I am so excited but I have no idea on the degree of impact this will have on my life and the women we encounter, but I really anticipate it will have a larger impact than I anticipate.
What do we expect? Hope will happen? Fear? What questions do we have?
I have NO idea what to expect. My initial vision of what this would be like when I signed up for this last semester was much different than it will be, I'm sure. I have mixed feelings on what to expect. I know there are people "inside" that probably don't deserve to be incarcerated, while some do, but when Rachel said these women are protective of me and so on my expectations/anticipations changed (in a good way). I hope I really learn from this and take something from the experience. What I really hope is I can impact someone other than myself as well, regardless of who it is. I am horribly afraid the women or some will dislike me, not want to open up to me, or will be a bad experience (I know it won't be though!). Questions for now: I have none, yet.  I'm sure after tomorrow I will be loaded with questions that I will probably ask on the drive back and long after.
 
I am SO excited for this.