a short history of prisons and prison reform · a short history of prisons and prison reform •to...

IncarceratedAmericaAShortHistoryofPrisons

andPrisonReform

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Whatisthepurposeofprison?

• Takeaminutetoconsiderandwritedownyourthoughtstothequestionabove.

• Bepreparedtoshareyourthoughtswiththeclass.

Whatisthepurposeofprison?

• Throughoutmostofhistoryprisonshaveservedtwopurposes:

– Aplacetoholdpeopleawaitingtrialorexecution

– Aplacetopunishcriminals

Whatisthepurposeofprison?

• Astimemovedonprisonsbegantoserveasaformofdeterrence – scaringpeopleintonotcommittingcrimes.

• Today,manyintheUSseeprisonsasaformofretributivejustice,simply,thepunishmentofprisonfitsthecrime.

Whenyouareconvictedofacrimewhataresomepossiblepunishments?• Misdemeanors:

– CommunityService:• performaserviceforacertainamountoftime.• Usuallyrelatedtocrimecommitted.Forexample,cleaninguptrashinaparkas

apunishmentforlittering.– Probation:

• Statemonitorsconvictedpersonthroughaprobationofficer.• Conditionsareattachedtoprobation(employment,regularvisitswithprobation

officer,etc.)andifconditionsareviolated,personcangotojailorprison.– HouseArrest:

• confinedtohomeandtravelisrestrictedorseverelylimited.– BootCamps:

• Usedprimarilyforjuvenileoffenders.• Courtorderedmilitarystyletrainingforasetamountoftime.

– Jail:• Runbylocalgovernments.• Holdpeopleawaitingtrialand/orpeopleconvictedofminorcrimes.

Whenyouareconvictedofacrimewhataresomepossiblepunishments?• Felonies:– MentalInstitutions:

• Peoplewhocommitseriouscrimes,butarejudgedmentallyunsoundforprisonaresenthere.

– Prison:• Wherepeoplewhocommitseriouscrimesareincarcerated .• Runbystateorfederalgovernment.• Thisiswhereconvictsservelongterm(morethanayear)sentences.

– DeathPenalty:• Reservedforcapitalcrimes:murder,treason,espionage.• Personisputtodeath.• Methods:Predominantlylethalinjection,butsomestatesallowelectrocution,hanging,firingsquad,orthegaschamber.

AfterLeavingJailorPrison

• Parole– paroleisservingtheremainderofasentenceoutsideofprison

– Goodconductwhileincarcerateddoesnotguaranteethataninmatewillbeparoled.Otherfactorsthatcandecideaninmate’sparole:• Mostcommonlytheestablishmentofapermanentresidence• immediate,gainfulemploymentorsomeotherclearlyvisiblemeansofself-supportuponrelease

PrisonReform

• PrisonshavechangedovertimeandtheUnitedStateshasintroducedmanymajorprisonreformsthroughoutitshistory.

• Manyofthesereformsarestillseeninprisonstoday.

• Whenyouheartheword“prison”whatcomestomind?

WalnutStreetJail1790• Philadelphia,PA• 1st Americanpenitentiary – beliefthatpenitenceandselfexaminationleadstosalvation.

• Reforms:– Cellblockswithacentralcorridor– Useofsolitaryconfinementforpunishment– Useprisontoreformpeoplethroughthoughtandprayer

– Segregateprisonersaccordingtoage,sex,andtypeofoffensesagainstthem

• Closedin1835becauseofpoorconditions.

AuburnPrison1821• Auburn,NY• Reformscalledthe“Auburn

System”:– Removecriminalfromall

contactwithcorruptionthroughcompletesilence

– Severediscipline– Convictsworkedlonghoursto

helpsupportprisonandtoremovecorruptinginfluences

– Stripedprisonuniform– Lockstepasameansof

transportingprisoners• Stillanactiveprisontoday

Lockstep

EasternStatePenitentiary1829• CherryHill,Pennsylvania• Reformscalledthe

“PennsylvaniaSystem”:– Emphasizedsolitary

confinementasawaytoreform

– PrisonershadNOcontactwitheachother

– Wheeldesigninfluencedprisonarchitecture

• Closedin1971becauseitbecametooexpensivetomaintain

ElmiraReformatory1876

• Elmira,NY• Reforms:– Classifyandsegregateprisonerstoprovideindividualizedtreatment

– Vocationaltraining– teachprisonersajobskill– Rewardsforgoodbehavior– Parolesystem– Indeterminateorflexiblesentences

• Stillanactiveprisontoday

LeavenworthPrison1895• Leavenworth,Kansas• Reforms:

– 1st FederalPrison– BuiltafterFederalGovernment

outlawedconvictleasing forfederalprisoners– usingprisonerstomakegoodsforcompaniesinexchangeforafee.

– Statesrefusedtohousefederalprisonersiftheycouldn’tmakemoneyoffofthem,sotheFederalGovernmentwasforcedtobuildaprison.

– Eventually,statesoutlawedconvictleasing.

• Stillanactiveprisontoday

Alcatraz1933

• SanFrancisco,CA• Reforms:– Builtasavisualdeterrenttocriminals

– “EscapeProof”– Workawardedwithsentencereductions

• Closedin1963duetohighoperatingcosts

“ToughonCrimeMovement”• Thismovementbeganintheearly1970’sasaresponsetorisingcrimerates.• Bytheendofthe1990s,thenumberofprisonersintheUSapproachedtwo

million,reflectingthegreatestuseofincarcerationofanynationintheworld.Theenormouspubliccostsofbuildingandmaintainingthismultibillion-dollarprisoncomplexalreadywasexceedingthatofpublicsupportforhighereducationinsomestates.

• Toreduceitsprisoncostswhilestillresortingtohighlevelsofincarceration,somestatesinthe1980sand1990sbegantoturntoprivate,for-profitcompaniestobuildandoperatetheircorrectionalinstitutions.Despitemanyoftheproblemsassociatedwithprivateprisons—someofthemprevalentthroughimprisonment'spainfulpast—suchapproachesappearedtobeundergoingrenewedpopularityattheendofthetwentiethcentury.

• Theget-toughmovementcontinuedtoescalate.Harshermandatoryprisonsentences,increaseduseofcapitalpunishmentandlifewithoutparole,rollbacksofprisoneducationprogramsandotherrehabilitationefforts,aswellastheincreaseddevelopmentofmaximumprisonsandcontrolunits,allwereontheincrease.

• Allthisoccurreddespitethelackofpublicfaithinprisoneffectiveness.Readmore:Prisons:History- The"getTough"Movement http://law.jrank.org/pages/1784/Prisons-History-get-tough-movement.html#ixzz0leNJmSwA

Sources• PrisonReformsinAmericanHistory

http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/soc/prison.html• MerriamWebster’sDictionary:

– Http://www.m-w.com• LawLibrary- AmericanLawandLegalInformation

– <ahref="http://law.jrank.org/pages/1784/Prisons-History-get-tough-movement.html">Prisons:History- The"getTough"Movement</a>