May 15, 2001

Where are We Now? An estimated 5.1% of all persons in the U.S. will be confined in a State or Federal prison at some point during their lifetime. – Men have an overall 9.0% chance – Women a 1.1% chance – Blacks 16.2% chance – Hispanics 9.4% chance – Whites 2.5% chance

Prison Populations Current Prison Populations – 131,496 inmates in Federal Prisons – 1,179,214 in State Prisons – 621,149 in local jails The Nation’s inmate population is projected to reach 2 million by late 2001.

The Mutual Pledge System and the Common Law Feudalism takes hold at the beginning of the 8 th Century and then declines between 1150 and – Under Feudalism, disputes were handled informally usually through the exchange of monies. – When a dispute could not be handled economically or the offender did not have economic means to settle the dispute, corporal punishment and public shaming was used. – The assumption at this time was that violent criminals were possessed. Evidence as we know it today was not needed – the goal of the ordeal was to expunge the demons.

The Mutual Pledge System and the Common Law As England become more urbanized there becomes a need to manage disputes more formally. – Around 1100 the first book of English common law is published. – With the development of the common law came a need to identify guilty individuals using some form of evidence. – It was at this time that the jury developed (1200). The assumption of the time was that there was ‘fact’ and that a rational process could uncover those facts.

The Protestant Work Ethic During this time there was a significant dichotomy between types of punishment. – Corporal punishment was still widely used with serious, violent, and personal crimes. The purpose of punishment now becomes deterrence. – Work houses were used for those persons convicted of property crimes, and other nuisance crimes. The goal of the work houses was to reform individuals through work. Work houses were mainly reserved for the lower classes. Although corporal punishment continued, the private workhouse signaled a separation of society from its criminals.

The Enlightenment The enlightenment ‘the age of reason’ is a major political movement that argues that reason can be used to find the truth. – Out of this period developed what we know of today as ‘classical’ criminological theory. Scientific reasoning and objective thought Assumption that government should provide the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Cesare Beccaria 1764 ‘On Crimes and Punishments’ Assumption that people are rational and that they act out of free will. – Individuals balance the positives and negatives of criminal activity and make a rational choice. Cost Benefit analysis. – To deter crime we must make the costs outweigh the benefits. He argues that swift and certain punishment are the key to deterrence.

The Dawn of the Prison Bentham and the Panopticon – “a place where everything is seen” – This type of prison was never developed during his lifetime but influenced correctional design for centuries – Newgate Prison in Connecticut – This is one of the first prisons used to house people for a long period of time. – No longer are people just held for pre-trail punishment – incarceration represents retribution – sentences range from a few years to life.

Models of Punishment The Pennsylvania system: – Developed based on the Quaker model of repentance and reform – All inmates live is complete isolation and only religious teachings and visitors are allowed The Auburn system – This model emphasizes hard work which is deemed the true way to repent and to be rehabilitated – Unlike the Pennsylvania model, the auburn model allows people to work in groups – but all work must be done in complete silence – This prison system was also the first to develop inmate classification systems.

Institutions and Disorder Prisons become the primary form of punishment during this era. – Unfortunately, the penitentiary becomes so popular that institutions become overcrowded and riotous. – Most prisons are built based on the Auburn system, but the overcrowding becomes so intense that prisons become warehouses. The first non-public hanging is held in 1864

The Big House – The Federal Bureau of Prisons is developed. – 26,000 inmates were incarcerated in the Federal System. – 1933 – Alcatraz is developed into a Federal Prison. During this time there is a movement to develop ‘correctional institutions’. – The prisons are now developed on the medical model.

Riots and Rebellion The field of sociology gains substantial prominence during this period Sociologists begin to study subcultures within the prison – Sykes (1950), Clemmer (1940) & Irwin (1962) The work of sociologists brought to light the need for programming within the prison – Correction rehabilitation remains the norm until the 70’s 1954 – the American prison association becomes the American correctional association

The War on Drugs September 9, 1971 – Attica Riots – This riot is a symptom a the current correctional system – most prisons are old and crowded. In 1972, as a result of Furman v. Georgia, the Supreme Court rules the death unconstitutional for the first time. In 1976, the Supreme Court overturns its controversial 1972 ruling against capital punishment after hearing the case of Gregg v. Georgia “Nothing Works” – Fall of the rehabilitative era