The Prison System

Running Head : American Prison System

American Prison System

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American Prison System

The American prison system began in the early nineteenth century in New York . A concept of imprisonment was developed which was based on prisons being more than simple warehouse of convicted criminals . During the colonial history of the United States of America , imprisonment was not a common form of punishment . Execution was the punishment for many crimes The primary objective of nineteenth century American prisons was to confine the prisoner . There were

no ideas about criminal rehabilitation The early nineteenth century was also a time when two different concepts of imprisonment were developed in New York and Pennsylvania . These two systems would be engaged in a rivalry which is now known as the Great Penitentiary Rivalry (Carlie , 2003

The concepts resulted in the construction of institutions for detaining convicted criminals and reforming them into hard working and industrious citizens . The emphasis on reforming criminals was done with a belief that long sentences would allow the prison to have enough time to have its desired effect . The prison in Pennsylvania was called a penitentiary because the convicts were to do penance . The authorities reflected their Quaker beliefs that a man becomes a convict by evil and corrupt influences . The key to reform lay in separating all types of evil associations from the convict . The convict was to be kept inside an isolated room without any contact with humans . After a time period of isolation and inactivity , the convict was allowed to perform handiwork work and a Bible in his cell . The Bible and work would provide the convict the virtues of an honest and simple life . The convict was blindfolded as he was being led into his cell and he would remain in the cell for the duration of his sentence . The Pennsylvanian authorities believed that isolation would cure the evil and corruption of convicts

The New York prison system was based on the same premise to the cause of crime but with a different solution . They believed that isolating prisoners was inhuman and cruel . They thought that isolating criminals resulted in despair and insanity . Further isolating inmates inside their cells was expensive in which the state had to bear all the living expenses . The New York authorities believed that only by working together could convicts learn the advantages and satisfaction of hard work . They also introduced a system of incentives and growth for convicts who grew vegetables , butchered their own meat and made their own items . The opening of Auburn Prison provided the model for the maximum security prison . The New York authorities prevented prisoners from communicating with their families . However they did provide a common work and dining area for inmates . They were committed to a schedule of hard work , moderate meals and restful nights would cure the convicts of all vices . The Auburn cells were much smaller than the Pennsylvanian style cells . The reason was that they were designed for sleeping purposes and not intended to be the entire universe of the prisoner . The inmates woke up early and worked all day . They did not work on Sundays . A prisoner chaplain would address them and highlight the virtues of an honest and hard life (DiIulio , 2006

Most American prisons came to be modeled after the Auburn prison because of economic reasons . The model was a success because it transformed corrupt criminals into virtuous laborers which could benefit society Although the Auburn system was favored by most American prisons , the Pennsylvanian prison system of solitary confinement and radial floor plan was implemented in three hundred American prisons . The Auburn prison system of reforming prisoners continues to influence the American prison system

Prisons in the United States operate under federal and state governments under the American Constitution . There are facilities for inmates operated by the federal government , states , counties and individual cities . Most federal and state facilities for prisoners are overcrowded as the number of people incarcerated in the United States has risen to one million in 2006 . The operating costs of inmates in prisons and jails have grown to around seventeen billion dollars in 2006 . Other problems of the American federal prison system are the growing demand for prison space and funding of prisons . Public confidence in the quality of services provided by federal and state governments has also been decreasing (Roberts , 2006

Privatization of American prisons would be beneficial because they can reduce expenditures in markets in which public employee benefit rates are high in comparison to national rates . Private prisons also have encouraged public facilities to adopt cost saving strategies in staff deployment and procurement policies . Research has also shown that private organizations can construct new facilities faster and cheaper as compared with the public sector . There are a fifty eight private prisons operating in thirty states . The advantages of private prisons are that they can provide construction financing options that allow the government to pay only for the long term debt Private companies can operate state of the art correctional facilities based on engineering specifications . Privatization of prisons would also ensure that the government can reduce its liability by contracting with private correctional facilities . Private companies would also provide local employment in correctional facilities

References

Carlie , Michael and Kevin Minor . 2003 . Prisons around the World Dubuque , IO : William C . Brown

DiIulio , John (ed ) 2006 . Courts , Corrections , and the Constitution : The Impact of Judicial Intervention on Prisons and Jails . Oxford Univ Press

Roberts , John 2006 . Escaping Prison Myths : The History of Federal Corrections . Lanham , MD : University Press of America

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American Prison System ...