...Prison Overcrowding Les Heflin Bryant & Stratton College CRJU150: Corrections Mrs. Anderson November 22, 2011 Prison Overcrowding The United States is considered the most punitive country in the world, has the world’s highest incarceration rate holding more than 2.3 million people and overcrowding has become a major problem for the prison system (Parole Reform, 2010, ¶ 2). There are 748 people inmates per 100,000 population and rising (Parole Reform, 2010, ¶ 10). There are reasons such as the three strike law, the economy, and the war on drugs. We are going to glance at these reasons and the problems that raise concern for overcrowded prisons. The three strike law that many states have adopted affects the prison population, giving repetitive offenders mandatory minimum sentences of 25 years to life for the third conviction of a felony offense. The three strike law that holds this harsh penalty will continue to cause prison overcrowding in years to come. There are some states prisons are operating at almost twice their designed capacity rate. The belief behind the law was that getting career criminals off the streets was good public policy, but many in many cases we may argue that this is cruel and unusual punishment. The downward spiral of the economy also affects the prison population. There are limited jobs to people in society, especially to people that have been convicted with serious crimes. People that have been incarcerated for various offences...
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...Running Head: OVERCROWDING OF PRISONS 1 Overcrowding of Prisons Don Bailey SOC 305 Crime & Society Ekaterina Gorislavsky 25 May, 2015 - 1 - [no notes on this page] Running Head: OVERCROWDING OF PRISONS 2 Abstract The correctional institutions are established to correct the behaviors by law breakers. Society believes that once an individual comes out of the correctional facility, he is a reformed person. In addition, these facilities are always expected to warn the law abiding citizens to deter them from committing a crime for fear of being in the correctional cells. However, the population in the correction facilities especially prisons is contrary to this expectation. Over time, there is increased number of offenders. This comprises of the new offenders and the repeat offenders. This causes overcrowding in the correctional facilities which is a challenge to the society. The focus of this problem is the social effect of overcrowding to the judicial system and ways of addressing the challenge. Overcrowding in correctional institutions Crime is punishable for three reasons namely retribution, prevention and deterrence. The main purpose of incarcerating offenders is to stop them from repeating previous crimes they committed. Appraising the current American system using these standards, the deterrence category has failed miserably, insufficient in prevention and providing unsatisfactory retribution through detention. Attempts to deter released criminals...
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...THE BUDGET COST AND EFFECTS OF PRISONS IN THE UNITED STATES Christina Adonia Turner June 15, 2013 Introduction to Public Administration TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Table Of Contents…………………………………………………………2 2. Executive Summary………………………………………………………..3 3. Scope and Statement of the Problem………………………………………4 4. Literature Review………………………………………………………….5 5. Methodology………………………………………………………………7 6. Analytical Results………………………………………………………....8 7. Discussion………………………………………………………………...10 8. Bibliography………………………………………………………………16 9. Appendix………………………………………………………………....17 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In summary, the cost of housing an incarcerated inmate does affect the budget of the United States. Whether, the inmate is sentenced to life imprisonment or the death penalty. The facts in this research paper leans heavily in favor of life imprisonment as a cheaper form of punishment verses an inmate being sentenced to death row. The judicial system and politicians have formed several alternatives to assist our country with the ability to lower the cost of housing an inmate in our prison system. For example, the United States detaining systems are concentrating more on issuing a fair sentence to nonviolent offenders, such as, substance abusers and prostitutes. They realize that the majority of the inmates are in need of drug rehabilitation and have a mental illness. Also, the research shows that women offenders are the most affected with drug addiction...
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...CRJS300-1104B Criminal Justice System unit 5 DB February 5, 2012 In Venezuela there are no dual courts. All the courts are federal system since the 1945’s. The judiciary had not implemented as much impact as the executive or legislative branch. The courts in Venezuela does not have equal share with the executive. The Venezuelan brand of federalism does not provide for state courts. The law is perceived as the same, unitary, throughout the national territory (Country studies). The Venezuelan prison system, which consisted of twenty-five institutions (Data, 1990) that has suffered from both understaffing and overcrowding. Not only had that but the prison had graft and corruption. During the 1980’s crimes in Venezuela had increased and the prison had become more congested. There were a total of twenty five prisons throughout Venezuela which consist of 17 judicial detainment centers, 7 nation jails and penitentiaries, 1 national institute of female orientation (Data, 1990). The correction officers or civilian workers were personnel of Ministry of Justice. All the guards on the external of the prison were personnel of the nation guard. The rehabilitation that the convicted criminal would get before being released came to a halt due to the overcrowding of the prison. The prison overcrowding also lead to corruption, homosexuality and drug abuse in the Venezuelan prisons. Reference Michael, John. (1999). Demand Media. Pros & Cons of Private Prisons. Retrieved on February ...
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...disparity in sentencing and contributed greatly to the overcrowding epidemic now facing our prison system. In this paper, the author will explore some of the negative consequences incurred due to mandatory minimum sentencing. Furthermore, the author will examine the effect this has had on non-violent offenders and the burden it has put on both the taxpayers and our prison system. Finally, the author will discuss the overwhelming affect it has had on our judicial system. An Overview Mandatory minimum sentences require a judge to impose a statutorily fixed sentence on offenders convicted of certain crimes, regardless of other mitigating factors. Discussions on mandatory minimum sentencing indicate the purpose to be multifaceted. Using mandatory minimum sentencing reduces crime, especially drug use, controls judicial discretion over certain sentencing decisions, increases prison sentences for serious and violent offenders; and lets everyone know that action is being taken to fight criminal activity. However, it is widely acknowledged that mandatory minimum sentencing laws have not always achieved their objectives and have often resulted in unintended consequences such as sentencing inequities and unduly harsh penalties. Overcrowding One of the main unintended consequences of mandatory minimum sentencing has been that of overcrowding, which has had much like a domino effect. It is estimated that our federal prison system is overcrowded by nearly 40 %. Two noted criminal justice...
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...criminal justice system. Once an offender has been convicted, it becomes the responsibility of the judge to impose some form of punishment. The sentence may take a form of supervised probation in the community, a fine, a prison term, or some combination of these. The correction process begins once an offender has been sentenced. One of the main problems in the correctional system is prison or jail overcrowding. Even thou many new prisons have been built throughout the nation during the past 20 years to accommodate the growing number of inmates, prison overcrowding is still very much a reality in many jurisdictions. Overcrowding by itself is not cruel and unusual punishment, according to the U.S. Supreme Court in Rhodes vs. Chapman (1981), which considered the issue of double bunking along with other alleged forms of “deprivation” at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility... The court, reasoning that overcrowding is not necessarily dangerous if other prison services are adequate, held that prison housing conditions maybe “restrictive and even harsh”, for they are part of the penalty that offenders pay for their crimes. The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantee free citizens that right against unreasonable searches and seizures. Some states however had to scramble in an attempt to implement selective incarceration principles. In 2009, for example a federal judicial panel ordered the release of almost 60,000 California prison inmates due to overcrowding. The main...
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...in my opinion however defense is. Its important to understand the difference in the two. No judge is going to say “wow, he is poor, so lets sentence him to life as opposed to this rich guy who did the same thing”. But money can by a better defense, with a better defense, a sentence can be reduced through clever legal teams hard work to get their wealthier client a plea deal. I also do not believe that gender and age have anything to do with sentencing, if you commit a crime, justice is blind, it cannot see anything other than the crime committed with the exception in age when committed by a person younger than 18. However it is not just sentencing that is affected when the defendant is younger than 18, the entire arrest, housing and trial system is different. Here is where I agree with the question being asked In that victim Characteristics effect...
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...Maranda Harris Chris Bishop English 1302 12 October 2014 Should Non Violent Drug Offenders Be Imprisoned? With so much overcrowding and financial problems, it is obvious that non-violent offenders should not be incarcerated but instead they should be offered alternatives to incarceration. This argument will discuss the benefits of offering another option to offenders who have not committed a violent offense. Rehabilitation has been proven to be an effective alternative when offered to non violent offenders who are usually addicts. By incarcerating people who are not a threat to others and have not committed a violent crime we are simply wasting space in prisons that could be better used to house violent offenders such as murderers and rapists. In addition to wasting space, every state that continues to jail non violent offenders is wasting money. They are wasting money not only for salaries of correctional facility employees but also on housing and feeding these inmates. The amount of money it takes to keep a person imprisoned for one year is unbelievable. The average cost to house an inmate in California over one year is $47,102. (Brown, 2009) In Wisconsin that number is $31,806, much closer to the national average. (National institute of corrections, 2008) Think of all the money that could be saved by referring non violent offenders to rehabilitation instead of putting them in jail. Even with all the spending done each year on inmates, they are just as likely to...
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...United States. In the first model, integrated community corrections programs combine sentencing guidelines and judicial discretion ("front-end") with a variety of alternative sanctions and parole and probation options. In the second model, some states have instituted programs in which correctional officials may direct already sentenced offenders into alternative sanction programs and parole and probation options ("back-end"). Both models are designed to help reduce prison overcrowding and are less expensive alternatives to prison. Widespread development of community correction programs in the United States began in the late 1970's as a way to offer offenders, especially those leaving jail or prison, residential services in halfway houses. The first state community correction programs began in Oregon, Colorado, and Minnesota as pilot projects with very little government-funded support. They diverted nonviolent offenders in selected pilot project areas from jails and state prisons into local alternative punishment programs. The programs were referred to as "front-end" sentencing because they allowed judges to sentence offenders to a community-based punishment rather than jail or prison. Rehabilitation programs were the preferred punishment option. In the late 1980's, prison systems across the country began experiencing serious overcrowding of facilities. The overcrowding served as a catalyst for lawmakers to develop new options for sentencing criminal offenders. Nineteen states...
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...Prison Reform YourFirstName YourLastName University title Michigan Prisons are Failing Inmates: An Argumentative Essay Introduction It has been reported by American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) that huge amount of fund has been utilized to make Michigan prisons better and more humane. However, at the same time it has also been reported by Ann Arbor News and later confirmed by Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) there are several instances of abuse, deprivation of water and food in many of the prisons in the state of Michigan. Alongside, there is a serious issue of overcrowding (Spence, 2014). It can be clearly stated that despite huge flow of public money, Michigan prisons are failing the inmates with overcrowding, deprivation of water and food and abuse. Food issues Food issues are vital in prison and there can be serious consequences. Denial of food and water to inmates, particularly those serving solitary confinement is extremely inhuman and such practice should be stopped. However, there several reports that confirm this practice (Morrison, 2013). There are reports of mentally ill patients being denied food and water for a prolonged period (ACLU, 2014). The prison meant for women in Michigan (Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility) is accused of brutality as the employees starve inmates in solitary confinement. They are also subjected to odd cruel punishments as reported by American Civil Liberties, Michigan. Many accounts from witnesses’...
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...Keturah Muhammad Prison Privatization Prior to the 1980s, private prisons did not exist in the US. In the 1980s, as a result of the War on Drugs by the Reagan Administration, the number of people incarcerated rose. This created a demand for more prison space. The result brought up the development of privative and the for-profit prison industry. [1] In recent years, there has been debate over the privatization of prisons. Both publicly provided and publicly financed prisons operate under the supervision of the various Departments of Corrections that exist at the state and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In a study that used three comparable Louisiana medium security prisons, two of which were privately run by different corporations and the third was publicly run. The data from this study suggests the privately run prisons operated more cost-effectively without sacrificing the safety of inmates and staff. The study concluded that the privately run prisons had a lower cost per inmate, fewer critical incidents, a safer environment for employees and inmates, and a higher proportional rate of inmates who complete basic education, literacy, and vocational training courses. However, the publicly run prison outperformed the privately run prisons in areas such as fewer escape attempts, controlling substance abuse through testing, offered a wider range of educational and vocational courses, and provided a broader range of treatment, recreation, social services, and rehabilitative services...
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...Within the prison system there are various key issues that surrounded the operations of the daily activities as well as the administration of the judicial system. Some of these key such as prison violence, prison rape and the drug policy issues are negative and does affect the prison. On the issue of prison violence, over the years, prison violence has been on the rise. This has causes major changes within the prions system, such as implementing strategies to control the prisoners and their criminal behaviors. Prison rape also has continues to rise. This issue has been will probably continue to exist. This is because the prison officials have yet to be able to control this kind of activity. Another issue that has been affects the prison system is the sentencing that are being handed out for drug charges. This has cause the prisons to be overcrowded. Prison Violence on the Rise Prison violence is on the rise, many prison conditions are a recipe for violence, by being overcrowded, understaffed, insufficient staff training, excessive solitary confinement, insecure facilities, mistreatment of mentally ill inmates, policies that weaken family ties, a culture of disrespect between staff and prisoners, and little accountability for wardens. These facilities are causing concern not only for inmates but, for those employed to supervise the convicted offenders. Inmate population continue to grow, staffing levels in most facilities either have stopped or decreased. Violence has increased...
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...Francisco Lara CJR 240 March 1, 2011 History of the Prison System Prison is an institution for the confinement of persons convicted of criminal offenses. Throughout history, most societies have built places in which to hold persons accused of criminal acts pending some form of trial. The idea of confining persons after a trial as punishment for their crimes is relatively new. During the 15th century in Europe, the penalties for crimes were some form of corporal punishment like whippings for less serious crimes and execution or enslavement for more serious offenses. In early 16th century England, vagrants and petty offenders were committed to correctional institutions known as workhouses. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the government transported convicted felons to the English colonies. The punishment was thought of as the hard labor to which the prisoners were consigned. It wasn't until the 17th century that the idea that persons convicted of crimes could be punished by confinement and released after a period of time. During the 17th century, England and other European countries like Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands began imprisoning debtors, delinquent juveniles, minor misdemeanant, and felons. Early jails were mostly dark, overcrowded, and filthy. Prisoners were herded together indiscriminately, with no separation of men and women, the ...
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...will evaluate the past, present and future trends pertaining to the development and operation of institutional and community based correction. As part of the evaluation I will identify and analyze current and future issues facing prisons and prison administrators today. I will also identify and analyze the role/issue of alternate correction systems as a developing trend. Trends within the criminal justice system continue to influence the development and operations of institutions and community-based corrections. As mandatory sentencing laws can cause an increase in prison population, prison administrators face a daunting task in addressing the issues that overpopulation causes. “Apart from the highest priority of addressing prison population growth, prison managers are often confronted with an array of issues relating to imprisonment practices and their consequences” (Greenfeld, Beck, & Gillard, 1996, p.9). Development and Operations of Institutions The development and operations of institutions appears to operate around two opposing philosophies if punishment versus rehabilitation. The evolution of the development of corrections past, present and future has seen many changes throughout the inception of prisons. In the past the trends for prisons were solitary confinement with little concern for the rehabilitation of inmates. The well-being of the inmate was not a major concern. After all they got what they deserved, right? Society wanted criminals to be punished for his...
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...of Corrections The earliest forms of the American Correctional Systems were similar in many ways with those practiced in England. Up until the 1780s, punishment by imprisonment was unknown in Europe or the European colonies. Punishments for criminal behavior tended to be public events which were designed to shame the person and deter others; these included the ducking stool, the pillory, whipping, branding, mutilations and the stocks (woodfin.org 2013). Corporal punishment was inflicted almost exclusively on the lower classes, since the rich were usually able to pay fines instead. At the time the sentence for many other offences was death. Colonialists never considered the possibility of rehabilitation; their aim was to frighten the offender into law abiding behavior. Unlike today where prisons are viewed as instruments of punishment, this has not always been the case. The common jail dates back hundreds of years, but was used solely as a means of detention, a temporary place for the prisoner until acquitted, fined, or subjected to corporal punishment (Schamalleger, F. 2010). Pennsylvania was determined to be different from other colonies. Founder William Penn brought his Quaker values to the new colony, relying on imprisonment with hard labor and fines as the treatment for most crimes, while death remained the penalty only for murder. In 1790 Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Jail became the first prison by the Pennsylvania Quakers. In the Penitentiary Era, which lasted...
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