...Evolution of Life in Prison November 11, 2013 Evolution of Life in Prison The purpose of this essay is to do an analysis on the evolution and perspective of prison life. This essay will explain how the evolution influenced the classification of male and female prisoners over time. Last, this essay will explain how the prison populations in jails compare to the population of prison at the state and federal levels. A person could describe prison life as living with thousands of other men and women, who also have criminal convictions by the judicial system. Prisoners will need to realize that his or her prison sentence is not a vacation; however, it is a punishment for his or her criminal mischief. Some people will not understand the true meaning of life in prison because they will not experience it themselves to pass judgment. As Stanley “Tookie” Williams did say in his Life in Prison book is no life in prison is hard for any individual who has to serve life in prison. Inmates will spend his or her time trying to figure out how he or she can win his or her freedom again (Becnel, 2008). The Evolution and Perspective of Prison Life A convicted felon prison life will change as the nature of the institution itself will change. The 1700s life in confinement is life in jail awaiting trial, sentencing, or punishment. Each prisoner will remain in the same jail together. Those prisoners will sleep in dirty and unhealthy jails. The prisons and jails have epidemics and malnutrition...
Words: 1287 - Pages: 6
...Racial Disparities in the U.S. Judicial System Melinda Sims English Composition II Instructor Brandon Bond March 16th, 2014 Racial Disparities in the U.S. Judicial System The United States has the largest documented incarceration rate in the world. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics at yearend 2012, approximately 6,937,600 offenders were under the supervision of adult correctional systems (2013). Of this number, more than 60% of the inmates in prison are minorities however; they make up only 37% of the United States population. Considering the trends in which minorities commit crimes, such broad statistics conceal that racial disparities pervade each stage of the U.S. judicial system, from arrest to trial and sentencing. The first stage of the judicial system is the arrest made by an officer. Police are given an incredible amount of discretion to use that leads to bias and racial profiling. According to Paul Bou-Habib in his article “Racial Profiling and Background Injustice”, he states, “The main reason in favor of using racial profiling in the context of criminal investigation is that I can increase the chance of catching criminals” (para. 2). A key factor in the imbalance of the arrests on minorities in comparison to whites is that they commit more crimes at higher rates. In the article, “The Correlates of Law Enforcement Officers’ Automatic and Controlled-Race Based Responses to Criminal Suspects” by B. Michelle Peruche & E. Ashby Plant (2006) suggests...
Words: 2887 - Pages: 12
...03-Banks.qxd 1/30/04 4:52 PM Page 57 3 Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System ETHICAL BACKGROUND It is generally agreed that discrimination based on ethnic origin is morally wrong and a violation of the principle of equality. The equality principle requires that those who are equal be treated equally based on similarities, and that race is not a relevant consideration in that assessment (May and Sharratt 1994: 317). In other words, it is only possible to justify treating people differently if there exists some factual difference between them that justifies such difference in treatment (Rachels 1999: 94). Equality is a nonspecific term that means nothing until applied to a particular context. Thus, in a political context, equality means equal access to public office and equal treatment under the law, and equal treatment extends to equality in terms of job hiring, promotion, and pay. Race refers to groups of persons who are relatively alike in their biological inheritance and are distinct from other groups (American Anthropological Association 1997: 2). Ethnicity is a cultural phenomenon referring to a person’s identification with a particular cultural group (Hinman 1998: 403). Race is socially constructed, and the notion that persons “belong” to a particular race was developed in the last century based on the belief that there was a biological basis for categorizing groups of people. Biologically, however, the term race has no meaning, yet society...
Words: 10761 - Pages: 44
...Mentally Ill in Prison PSCH/610 Mentally Ill in Prison Abstract The increase in incarcerated individuals with mental illness in the preceding decades has made the prison system a prevalent mental health provider even though they are not prepared or equipped for such task. Prison life is tough on an individual’s mental health; overcapacity, lack of privacy, violent behavior, lack of activity, inadequate health services, seclusion from family and friends, and the insecurity of what life holds after prison contribute to the inmate’s mental health. Inmates whose judgment is altered or impaired by depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other severe mental illnesses are impacted more severely by the tribulations of prison life. Inadequate mental health services is also something mentally ill inmates face, this absconds them undertreated or mistreated. Numerous prisoners do not receive proper psychotropic medication due to the lack of mental health services and care, further impairing their capability to function. The security mission of prisons tends to overlook mental health considerations. Prison rules and codes of demeanor teach staff about security, safety, supremacy, and power. Coordinating the needs of the mentally ill with prison regulations and goals is almost impractical. Factors of the sources and effects of the concern between prison and mental illness will be observed in this research proposal. Reforms will be provided to improve mental health...
Words: 4562 - Pages: 19
...Year 12 Legal Studies Notes Focus Study: Crime Key Legal Concepts and Features of the Legal System Crime - a violation of a law in which there is injury to the public or a member of the public and a term in jail or prison, and/or a fine as possible penalties Types of Crimes Offences against the person Offences against the person are defined as acts that intend to cause harm or injury to the victim Homicide Definition: is the unlawful killing of one person by another * Murder is the killing of one person by another “with malice aforethought”(mental component) * Manslaughter is the killing of someone in circumstances less culpable than murder. (generally given a lighter sentence than for murder) Degrees of awareness | Murder | Voluntary Manslaughter | Involuntary manslaughter | Non-criminal Killing | Intention to killReckless indifference of life Constructive murderDeath during intention to commit grievous bodily harm | Where the intention to kill or cause the act is mitigated by other factors, such as provocation or diminished responsibility | Non-reckless indifference to life or manslaughter by criminal negligenceReckless indifference to grievous bodily harmManslaughter by an unlawful and dangerous act | Death by non-criminal negligenceDeath by an unlawful act that is not dangerousAccidental deathSelf-defence | Stats: Murder: * In 2001 of the 340 homicides in Australia, 306 were murder * Maximum penalty is life imprisonment ...
Words: 19267 - Pages: 78
...It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back: The War on Drugs, Mass Incarceration, and a Call to Action for America's Black Youth By Carl L. Young An Alternative Plan Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science In Sociology: Corrections Minnesota State University, Mankato Mankato, Minnesota Spring 2013 Final Draft 4/20/2013 1 This Alternative Plan Paper has been examined and approved by the following members of the Examining Committee. _____________________ Dr. Leah Rogne, Advisor _____________________ Dr. William Wagner _____________________ Dr. Penny Jo Rosenthal _____________________ Dr. Nadarajan Sethuraju ________________ Date 2 A bstract This alternative plan paper examines the circumstances that have evolved as a incarceration of the Black community. In the last thirty years, the federal government of the United States of America has engaged in camp which has involved a variety of policies to stop the production, distribution and sale of illegal narcotics. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent in a war that has targeted the most vulnerable in our society, impacting its youth for generations to come. This alternative plan paper addresses...
Words: 18864 - Pages: 76
...It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back: The War on Drugs, Mass Incarceration, and a Call to Action for America's Black Youth By Carl L. Young An Alternative Plan Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science In Sociology: Corrections Minnesota State University, Mankato Mankato, Minnesota Spring 2013 Final Draft 4/20/2013 1 This Alternative Plan Paper has been examined and approved by the following members of the Examining Committee. _____________________ Dr. Leah Rogne, Advisor _____________________ Dr. William Wagner _____________________ Dr. Penny Jo Rosenthal _____________________ Dr. Nadarajan Sethuraju ________________ Date 2 Abstract This alternative plan paper examines the circumstances that have evolved as a result of the Reagan Administration’s War on Drugs and the increase of mass incarceration of the Black community. In the last thirty years, the federal government of the United States of America has engaged in campaign known as the “War on Drugs,” which has involved a variety of policies to stop the production, distribution and sale of illegal narcotics. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent in a war that has targeted the most vulnerable in our society, impacting its youth for generations to come. This alternative plan paper addresses the impact of the War on Drugs and the criminal justice policies that have impacted the life chances of Black youth nationwide and calls for a new social movement...
Words: 19872 - Pages: 80
...CUSTODIAL AND NON-CUSTODIAL MEASURES The Prison System Criminal justice assessment toolkit 1 UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME Vienna CUSTODIAL AND NON-CUSTODIAL MEASURES The Prison System Criminal Justice Assessment Toolkit UNITED NATIONS New York, 2006 The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations, the Secretariat and Institutions of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Belgian 2006 OSCE Chairmanship concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. This publication has not been formally edited. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION TO THE ISSUE ..................................................................................... 1 2. OVERVIEW: GENERAL AND STATISTICAL DATA ......................................................... 5 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 7.1 7.2 OVERVIEW OF COUNTRY AND PRISON SYSTEM.............................................. 5 PRISON POPULATION ........................................................................................... 6 PROFILE OF PRISON POPULATION..................................................................... 6 QUALITY OF DATA ......................................
Words: 26294 - Pages: 106
...The Stanford Prison Experiment was a landmark psychological study of the human response to captivity, in particular, to the real world circumstances of prison life. Subjects were randomly assigned to play the role of "prisoner" or "guard". Those assigned to play the role of guard were given sticks and sunglasses; those assigned to play the prisoner role were arrested by the Palo Alto police department, deloused, forced to wear chains and prison garments, and transported to the basement of the Stanford psychology department, which had been converted into a sort of jail. What was the lesson learned from Zimbardo’s (1971) Stanford Prison experiment about the influence of social roles on an individual’s behavior? Several of the guards became progressively more sadistic — particularly at night when they thought the cameras were off, despite being picked by chance out of the same pool as the prisoners. The experiment very quickly got out of hand. A riot broke out on day two. One prisoner developed a psychosomatic rash all over his body upon finding out that his "parole" had been turned down. After only 6 days (of a planned two weeks), the experiment was shut down, for fear that one of the prisoners would be seriously hurt. Although the intent of the experiment was to examine captivity, its result has been used to demonstrate the impressionability and obedience of people when provided with a legitimizing ideology and social and institutional support. It is also used to illustrate cognitive...
Words: 2721 - Pages: 11
...“Privatizing conflicts”. Concerns with restorative justice Table of content Introduction 2 1 The appeal of restorative justice 3 2 Privatizing conflicts 5 2.1 Legal sphere concerns with privatizing conflicts 5 2.2 Feministic concerns with privatizing conflicts 8 3 Underexplored pitfalls 11 Conclusion 12 References 14 Introduction This paper is written within the framework of the master course ‘Restorative Justice’. It aims to be an academic reflection on some of the concepts educated throughout these classes.[1] The literature on restorative justice is extensive and therefore the case for it will not be made again here. Basic notions will not be repeated in this paper. The majority of criminologists already accept the letdown of the current criminal justice system on certain accounts; problems have been solidly exposed and opponents of restorative justice have been constantly defending the need for their rationale. Perceived advantages are well-known and have been documented soundly. But this work attempts to look beyond the reform minded and optimistic spirit that most of the restorative body of thought (rightfully) carries. Certain less obvious aspects of the theory might be underconceptualized, overlooked or taken for granted. Taking the concern of some more critical authors that restorative justice processes ‘privatize’ conflicts as a starting point, it will be explored whether or not this privatizing...
Words: 5573 - Pages: 23
...policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Institute for Law and Justice 1018 Duke Street Alexandria, Virginia Phone: 703-684-5300 Fax: 703-739-5533 E-Mail: ilj@ilj.org Lake County, California, Arrest Policies Project A Process Evaluation April 5, 2000 Prepared by Brenda K. Uekert, Ph.D. Prepared for Lake County, California National Institute of Justice Violence Against Women Office Introduction The Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies Program encourages jurisdictions to implement mandatory or pro-arrest policies as an effective domestic violence intervention that is part of a coordinated community response. Congress appropriated funds for the Arrest Program under the Violence Against Women Act (1994). The Program assumes that the arrest of a batterer will leverage the coercive and persuasive power of the criminal justice system to ensure victim safety and manage the behavior of abusive, violent offenders. Ensuring victim safety and offender accountability are the guiding principles underlying the Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies. The Violence Against Women Act directs that the Arrest Program funds be used to • • • • •...
Words: 7104 - Pages: 29
...had more opportunities for those who are being released from prison from an extensive stay and who have lost the ability to understand how it is to live in the “real world”, maybe they would not turn back to crime and rejoin their peers in prison. This is a problem because there is a big issue with the overcrowding of prisons, and if we can reduce recidivism, then there will not be an issue of overcrowded prisons and people would start to turn their lives around. ““In light of rapidly rising prison populations in a vast number of jurisdictions, on the one hand, and high corresponding recidivism rates, on the other, the need for renewed focus on reintegrating prisoners into the community has become urgent” (Cheliotis, 2008). The purpose of this study is to show how there is an issue with the lack of work release programs for prisoners who are being released and how with these programs, the nation can reduce recidivism. It is important to study this because with many ex-prisoners who are not use to living in the “real world”, turn back to crime to go back to what they are comfortable in, prison life. That is why in showing that the current work release programs do not do enough to reduce recidivism rates, maybe a/some state(s) or country will find a way to solve this problem. It has been shown that drug release programs are very helpful when a person has been released, but for those who have not been to jail or prison for...
Words: 6283 - Pages: 26
...SOCIOLOGY & ANTHROPOLOGY CAPSTONE PRINCIPIA COLLEGE APRIL 2015 ABSTRACT Throughout history, the struggle of minorities has been seen in many facets of life such as in history, literature, music and film: Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi fought for the right of unrepresented minorities. Books such as Too Kill a Mocking Bird spoke to the prejudices of a community. Movies such as Roots illustrated the hardship of the slaves. From the Roman’s persecution of Christians to today’s rap song lyrics about economic disparities the plight of the minority has been fought for millennium. This research examines the struggle of minorities within the juvenile justice system and the differential rates of adjudication and length of sentencing between the white majority and the black minority juvenile offenders. During the course of this research, additional insights were gained from an internship at a youth correctional center as well as drawing on my own personal experience as a refugee from Gabon. The findings of my research demonstrate that minority offenders do receive harsher sentences than the whites, and that there are several factors contributing to higher rates of juvenile delinquency among African Americans; primarily education and community. To consider the struggle of minorities is important because it creates awareness that the maltreatment of a minority group by the dominant majority often ends in violence and destruction. If we can understand what cause the...
Words: 19434 - Pages: 78
...THE EMPLOYER AND THE EX-OFFENDER: THE DISCRIMINATORY EFFECTS OF CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………… 3 II. OFFENDER AND EX OFFENDER HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES………….. 5 A. LEGAL HISTORY OF EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION AGAINST EX OFFENDERS ……… 5 B. THE NUMBER OF EX OFFENDERS IS RAPIDLY INCREASING .............................................................................8 C. IMPACT OF CONVICTION ON EMPLOYABILITY OF EX OFFENDERS ................................................................. 10 III. CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS AID IN THE DISPROPORTIONATE EXCLUSION OF MINORITIES ………………………………………………………………………………… 13 A. EMPLOYERS ARE PREJUDICED UPON FINDING CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS .................................................. 13 B. BLACKS AND LATINOS ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE WORK FORCE DUE TO STIGMAS OF MINORITY STATUS AND CRIMINAL RECORD ....................................................................................................................... 15 IV. HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY TURNS ON EMPLOYER HIRING PRACTICES INFLUENCED BY CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS………………………………………………………………………………………… 18 A. THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION ATTEMPTS TO PROVIDE MUCH NEEDED GUIDANCE ON CONDUCTING CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS AND SUBSEQUENT HIRING PRACTICES ..................................................................................................................... 18 B. NOTABLE LEGAL ACTION STEMMING...
Words: 14524 - Pages: 59
...The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search "The Innocent Man" redirects here. For a South Korean television series, see The Innocent Man (TV series). The Innocent Man | | Author(s) | John Grisham | Country | United States | Publisher | Doubleday | Publication date | October 10, 2006 | Pages | 368 | ISBN | 978-0-385-51723-2 | OCLC Number | 70251230 | The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town (2006) is a nonfiction book written by John Grisham, and his first outside the legal fiction genre. The book tells the story of Ronald 'Ron' Keith Williamson of Ada, Oklahoma, a former minor league baseball player who was wrongly convicted in 1988 for the rape and murder of Debra Sue Carter in Ada and was sentenced to death. After serving 11 years on death row, he was exonerated by DNA evidence and other material introduced by the Innocence Project and was released in 1999. Contents * 1 Synopsis * 2 Book edition * 3 References * 4 External links | Synopsis Ron Williamson has returned to his hometown of Ada, Oklahoma after multiple failed attempts to play for various minor league baseball teams, including the Fort Lauderdale Yankees and two farm teams owned by the Oakland A's. An elbow injury inhibited his chances to progress. His big dreams were not enough to overcome the odds (less than 10 percent) of making it to a big league game. His failures lead to, or aggravate...
Words: 18140 - Pages: 73
