1. Incapacitation, Rehabilitation, Restitution, Retribution, Deterrence
PRISON
Incapacitation,
Rehabilitation,
Restitution,
Retribution,
Deterrence

2. Minimum: inmates allowed to roam
Levels of security
Maximum: large institutions account for 40% of all prisoners in the U.S. Tight security
Medium: smaller versions of maximum house 40% of all prisoners. Greater degree of freedom
Minimum: inmates allowed to roam

4. Super max

6. What is the most serious threat affecting the American Prison system
What is the most serious threat affecting the American Prison system? Explain. How could the U.S potentially solve this problem?

7. Problems facing the American Prison System
Healthcare
Overcrowding
Mental Illness
Gangs
Assault
Racism
Privatization

8. Idleness is the most serious problem in virtually every penal institution.

9. 95% of all inmates will be released from prison and expected to reintegrate into society

10. Recidivism: The committing of further crimes by those that have been previously convicted

11. Recidivism: A person's relapse into criminal behavior, often after the person receives sanctions or undergoes intervention for a previous crime.
FACT Two-thirds of prisoners reoffend within three years of leaving prison, often with a more serious and violent offense.

12. Overcrowding 2.3 million prisoners in the United States.
Why are the prisons overcrowded?
War on Drugs
Tough on Crime laws such as:
Three strike rule
Mandatory sentencing

14. Unsanitary conditions lead to unrest, protests, potential riots
Arkansas Example

15. Prison Conditions The following prison conditions were described in the 1978 Supreme Court decision of Hutto v. Finney
The Ordinary Arkansas convict had to endure…”a dark and evil world completely alien to a free world …” Confinement in punitive isolation was for an indeterminate period of time. An average of four and sometimes as many as 10 or 11, prisoners were crowding into windowless 8’x10’cells containing no furniture other than a source of water and a toilet that could only be flushed from outside the cell… At night the prisoners were given mattresses to spread on the floor. Although some prisoners suffered from infectious diseases, such as hepatitis and venereal disease, mattresses were removed and jumbled together each morning, then returned to the cells at random in the evening. Prisoners in isolation received fewer than 1,000 calories a day; their meals consisted primarily of four inch squares of “grue” a substance created by mashing meat, potatoes, oleo, syrup, vegetables, eggs and seasoning into a paste and baking the mixture in a pan.

16. Does the sentence need to be proportionate to the crime?

17. Harsh conditions are the price of crime and the Constitution does not require comfortable prisons. Justice O’Connor

18. Steps taken to reduce overcrowding
Early release.
Halt prison admissions
Build new prisons
Privatization
Home confinement
Ankle bracelet

19. Privatization of the American Prison System

20. Privatizing Prisons Pros Cons Lowered cost Only thinks about profit
Improved quality of care
Less red tape
Only thinks about profit
Not in the prisoners best interest
dependency

21. Number of prisoners increasing due to low level offenses and mandatory sentencing
2.3 million prisoners in the United States
Increase due to War on Drugs , which began in 1976, under Nixon.
Juvenile and female offenders growing

22. Women and Children With more than one million women behind bars or under the control of the criminal justice system, women are the fastest growing segment of the incarcerated population increasing at nearly double the rate of men since 1985.

23. Women and Kids
Upon release 2/3 of the female prisoners must assume the responsibility of caring for themselves and their children.

24. Juvenile Crimes (delinquent acts)
Two million juveniles brought into the system every year.
83% brought in by police and public officials
17% brought in by parents
Which crimes are being committed?
25% violent crimes
30+% property crimes
25% public order offenses;
obstruction of justice,
disorderly conduct, intoxication…
10+% drug offenses

25. What can be done to help prisoners?
Job training
Counseling
Education
Life skills
Parent skills
Anger Management
Home assistance
Healthcare

26. Getting a college degree while in prison is the only program that has ever been shown to be 100 percent effective for years or decades at a time in preventing recidivism.

27. DOES SOCIETY HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF REHABILITATING CRIMINALS
DOES SOCIETY HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF REHABILITATING CRIMINALS? Make a Law!!

28. Kimber Reynolds
The law states that a criminal's jail sentence must double upon conviction of a second serious or violent offense; and a third such conviction must result in a minimum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

29. Polly Klaas

30. Davis had a long criminal record beginning at age 12, when he was arrested for stealing from mailboxes.
He had shown a violent streak as a child, setting fire to cats and using dogs as targets for knife-throwing practice. His early offenses were mainly property crimes, including burglaries. His first prison commitment was for a property crime, but weeks after his release he kidnapped a woman and sexually assaulted her. In the years that followed, Davis was convicted of burglary, assault, robbery, and kidnapping. Within two years of his parole he kidnapped and assaulted another victim. Davis was then sentenced to 16 years in prison, but he earned good time credits and was released on parole after serving about half of his sentence.
Less than three months later, he abducted and killed Polly Klaas.

31. WORK WITH A PARTNER TO CREATE A LAW THAT HOLDS THE STATE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE REHABILITATION OF CRIMINAL OFFENDERS.
Which prisoners qualify?
What is the state required to do?
How does the state determine need?
How can success be measured?

32. Sentencing
Determinate sentencing: fixed sentence…five years, ten years, 3 months…
Indeterminate sentencing: judge has some flexibility… 5-10 years, 2-5 years, 3 months -24 months.
In indeterminate sentencing the inmate can be released based on whether or not he/she is rehabilitated. This is decided by the parole board.

33. Sentencing
A Judge will determine sentencing in all cases except a capital murder case, which is determined by a jury.

34. Both determinate and indeterminate sentences can utilize the suspended sentence option

35. Cons to indeterminate sentencing
allows for inconsistent sentencing
Let some inmates out too soon

36. Mandatory Sentencing
No alternative option

37. Recidivists: reoffenders
They’re little more than animals. They look like people, but they’re not. And the unfortunate thing is they’re preying on us. And we have to get them out so the rest of us can go on living our lives . - Mike Reynolds

38. Solem v Helm (1983)
In 1979, respondent was convicted in a South Dakota state court of uttering a "no account" check for $100. Ordinarily the maximum punishment for that crime would have been five years' imprisonment and a $5,000 fine.
Immediately after accepting Helm's guilty plea, the South Dakota Circuit Court sentenced Helm to life imprisonment under due to his six previous felony convictions, all of them non violent.

39. Ruling overturned in Solem v. Helm
The Eighth Amendment's proscription of cruel and unusual punishments prohibits not only barbaric punishments, but also sentences that are disproportionate to the crime committed.
The courts need to consider three things when sentencing defendant
1. Seriousness of the crime
2. The kinds of sentences other
criminals were given for the same
crime.
3. The kinds of sentences that were
given in other jurisdictions.

40. Third Strike Rule: Recidivist Rule
---The Reynolds bill did not require the third strike to be a serious or violent offense. Any offense defined as a felony under the California code could serve as a third strike and trigger a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life. ---Counts offenses committed as a juvenile.

41. What are the Three Strike Laws?
Three strikes laws, also known as habitual offender laws, are state laws that provide for a much harsher punishment, generally a life sentence, the third time a person commits a felony. Three strikes laws vary greatly from state to state and their application can turn on factors such as:
The length of time between felonies
The seriousness of the felonies
The order of the crimes committed
How much discretion the trial judge has in sentencing under the law

42. The Pros of Three Strikes Law
Harsh Punishment for Habitual Offenders - Career offenders that received a lighter verdict and reoffended the same nature of crime are now serving their punishment of lifetime imprisonment behind the bars of the cell.
Lesser Crime Rate - The crime rate in a particular state reduced upon adopting this law.
Preventive Measure for Career Felon - This is a big threat to habitual offenders giving them no other option but to have a new life.
Additional Peace of Mind for Citizens - People in a particular place which has this kind of law have a bit of a relief for their worries are a little bit lightened though.
Effective Crime Control - The authorities, the police officers can have a more focus on their duties as they will now deal with a lesser number of law offenders.

43. The Cons of Three Strikes Law
Additional Cost to Prison and Courts - Three strike law increased the operational cost of courts and prisons by up to 50%.
Over Population in Cells - it brings additional population to prison cells.
Decline in Number of Law Enforcer - because of the cost being compensated to offenders, the state will cut gross resulting to fewer law enforcement officer recruit.
Unfair Law - light crimes committed by an individual like shoplifting, writing bad checks and some of this kind are not exempted on this law. They too can spend the rest of their lives if they commit the same crime three times.

44. Which States Have Three Strikes Laws?
Currently there are 31 states which have heavier sentences for repeat offenders.  Massachusetts became the latest state to punish repeat offenders when it passed its own version of the law in The states which carry habitual offender laws are: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

45. Massachusetts: Melissa’s Law
Mandatory sentences for habitual offenders...three felonies.
expands the number of felonies punishable with life in prison without parole from one (first-degree murder) to 19.
abolishes judicial discretion and
revokes parole eligibility.

46. Federal sentencing Crack v. Cocaine
Anti-drug Abuse Acts of 1986 and 1988
Set harsh penalties for dealers of cocaine, minimum ten year sentence without parole for dealing 11 pounds; five year prison term for dealing 1.1 lb.
The same person dealing .2 ounces of crack faces the same ten year sentence.
WHY?

47. Comparison About $50,000 can be made off of 1.1 lbs of cocaine.
About $750 can be made from .2 ounces of crack
Comparison

48. Why do state and federal governments enact such harsh sentences for drug offenses?

49. WAR on Drugs

50. Drug Offenses
Drug offenders count for about 50% of the prison population.
Why does the U.S. prosecute the personal choice of drug use?
Should the U.S. punish people that eat fast food everyday? Why or why not?

51. Why the disparity between crack and cocaine?
pros
Cons
-Increased violence in the streets because it was sold openly, devastating the inner city.
-Crack more addictive than cocaine.
-Low cost makes it more likely to spread and a greater threat to society
-Violence comes from the drug trade, not specifically crack; i.e. Miami 1980.
-Crack is made from cocaine.
-Laws racist… whites commit the most drug crimes but blacks receive the most punishment.

53. Methamphetamines
150 kilos of cocaine is equal to 1 kilo of actual methamphetamine for the purposes of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines….100 to1

54. Meth sentences affect whites more than other minority groups.
"The press almost never mentions the federal methamphetamine-trafficking penalties, which are identical to those for crack: five grams of meth net you a mandatory minimum five-year sentence. In 2006, the 5,391 sentenced federal meth defendants (nearly as many as the [5,619] crack defendants) were 54 percent white, 39 percent Hispanic, and 2 percent black. But no one calls the federal meth laws anti-Hispanic or anti-white.“
Manhattan Institute Fellow Heather MacDonald

55. Are these sentences disproportionate?
Which Amendments could be argued?
14th amendment: equal protection
Fifth Amendment: due process
Eighth Amendment: cruel and unusual punishment, proportionate sentence.

56. USSC ACTION
USSC has refused to hear any challenges on the sentencing laws on cocaine v. crack v. methamphetamine

57. United States Supreme Court has stated
Congress has the right to protect the public against a cheap addictive drug.

58. Crack v. Cocaine federal sentencing laws
August 2010 the President signed the Fair Sentencing Act
eliminates the five-year mandatory-minimum prison sentence for possession of crack cocaine.
reduces the disparity (in terms of weight) between the respective amounts of powder cocaine and crack cocaine whose possession would trigger federal criminal penalties. The original powder-to-crack weight ratio was 100-to-1. The Fair Sentencing Act lowered the ratio to 18-to-1.

59. War on Drugs
1960s, protest rocked the nation and drug use was fashionable on college campuses and among professionals. When it also became apparent that heroin addiction was a problem for some US servicemen in Vietnam, a sense of urgency took hold.
Nixon dubbed the menace of illegal drug consumption public enemy # 1 and called for an all out war.

60. Government Action Budget increase from 80 million to 600 million
Treatment focuses on the rehabilitation of drug users, with the assumption that this is a medical or mental health issue rather than a criminal one.
The law enforcement model treats drug possession, as well as sales, as a criminal matter and punishes offenders through the justice system.
Eradication attempts to reduce production of the illegal substances in other countries.
Interdiction involves reducing the flow of illegal drugs into the United States by more vigilant patrolling of the nation's borders.

61. While watching the documentary, The United States’ War on Drugs, identify examples of how treatment, law enforcement, eradication, and interdiction have been used.

62. Drugs: A multi-billion dollar business
Despite a 30-year effort, the eradication of the illegal drug trade has proven to be nearly impossible. At the heart of the difficulty, according to observers, is the amount of money involved. It has evolved into a $300 to $400 billion multi-national business. Americans alone spend $58 billion a year on narcotics. Over two-thirds of that, or $40 billion, comes from the four to five million regular users. Ironically, the country spends about $42 billion to fight drugs.
With so much money involved, the new challenge for traffickers has become how to transform the dollars, located in America, into pesos in Colombia or Mexico. Investigators have recognized that fact and work increasingly with banks to monitor suspicious transactions. But that too has proven difficult given the sophistication of some of the operations.
Ultimately, much of the money makes its way into legitimate businesses. Some are even Fortune 500 corporations. Some of the money finds its way into the stock market and into small companies across the United States. It is clear that drug enforcement agencies will have to develop more sophisticated methods of detecting money-laundering, but the extent to which private and corporate interests are threatened may be a determining factor.

63. Special Courts in the U.S.
Drug Courts
Mental Health Courts
Veterans Courts
Juvenile
Courts

64. Pros and Cons of Special Courts
Reduced burdens on taxpayers
Keeps families united
Promotes public safety
1. Offers many violent defendants the opportunity to avoid punishment
2. Offers special treatment, violates the principal that all offenders should be treated equal under the law.