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State and Federal Prison System

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State and Federal Prison Systems

CJS/230
May 21, 2012
Frank Merenda

The number of prisons in each state, today, range from “three in North Dakota to over 100 in Texas”.(Foster, 2006) Although there are many state prisons they were all basically based on the Auburn model, established in 1816. Federal prisons also began this way and in 1930 the Federal Bureau of Prisons was created and the federal prisons of today have not changed much since then. The Texas Department of Corrections (TDC), established in 1849, located in Huntsville Texas, is a good example of a state prison system. Today, the central unit in Huntsville is still the headquarters of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and it known as the “capital of capital punishment”. (Foster, 2006) It is said this facility carries out more executions than any other prison. Be that as it may and even with the state and federal prison systems separated the state prisons growth still continues. The “get-tough” legislation and the “War on Drugs” have tripled jail and prison populations. (Foster, 2006) Today a lot of the state prison growth comes from parole violators and increased confinement of violent criminals. The growth has slowed some from the past but it still continues. To help slow the growth in the state prison systems U.S. correction professionals could try spending more on treatment and rehabilitation to keep nonviolent offenders out of prison. The drug problems of today seem to be filling up the state prisons. So these nonviolent offenders could be put on rehabilitation programs instead of put in prison. The ones that do go to prison should have a mandatory rehabilitation program they must complete. Upon completion they should be released, instead of held for numerous years for having small amounts of drugs on them at the time of arrest. If a nonviolent, non-drug, crime is

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