The Prison System in America

Kevin Blanco
October 27th 2016
Criminal Justice 1010

The Prison System in America

Synopsis
This research paper will explore the prison system in America,
exploring aspects from the history of prisons and types of prisons, to
prison statistics. The history of prisons examining how and why they
started in America, from American colonial times to the first plans for
an American prison. The types of prisons will be addressed including
the issues of economics, security, in each type of prison, private
prisons vs. public prisons and levels of security, to demographics of
prisoners. Prison statistics will be used throughout this research paper
to portray a better idea of the prison system in America today.
Keyword: America, prison, system

The Prison System in America

HISTORY OF PRISONS IN AMERICA

How and Why Prisons in America started
Through early history punishment for crimes was rather severe and
barbaric, for example, missing church could be punished by taking a
days worth of food away, burglary was usually punished by hanging,
homosexuality was punished by whipping, gossiping was punished by a
heavy iron cage placed over the head that contained a flat spiked
tongue of iron that was forced into the criminals mouth, other offenses
were often punished by a pillory which is an upright board where the
criminal was fastened and their ears were nailed to the board. For
instance, On April 23, 1771, the Essex Gazette of Newport, Rhode
Island, reported that William Carlisle was convicted of passing
Counterfeit Dollars, and sentenced to stand One Hour in the Pillory on
Little-Rest Hill . . . to have both ears cropped, to be branded on both
cheeks with the Letter R (for Rogue), and to pay a fine of One Hundred
Dollars and Cost of Prosecution (Cox 2003). Early punishment was
inhumane, shaming, and humiliating, most punishments were
executed in the public for that purpose; it supported the idea of
deterrence, so when people thought about committing a crime they
would think twice because of the punishment done to other offenders.
Once America gained independence from Britain, There was no

The Prison System in America

tolerance for crime in a country that offered such opportunity

(OConnor et al. 2014:20). Thus, the concept of a prison was born, the
two most popular prison plans were known as the Auburn Plan and the
Pennsylvania Plan. The Auburn Plan established Communication
among prisoners was not allowed and a strict daily routine and labor
schedule (OConnor et al. 2014:21). This plan also called for isolated
sleeping arrangements along with community dining halls. The
Pennsylvania Plan differed from the Auburn Plan in isolating prisoners
to individual cells for the extent of their sentence. According to
OConnor (2014), . . . this period marks two key transformations; a
comprehensive transition away from physical punishment and the
receding of public spectacle. With that being said, it stands true since
physical punishment was exchanged with efforts to rehabilitate
criminals minds, and practices now took place behind the closed doors
of a prison instead of in the public.
TYPES OF PRISONS IN AMERICA
Levels of Security in American Prisons
According to Gaines and Miller (2013), In federal prisons, this led to a
system with six levels based on the security needs of the inmates,
from level 1 facilities with the lowest amount of security to level 6 with
the harshest security measures. Without going into the logistics of
each level of security in prisons, most prisons can be broken down into

The Prison System in America

four levels, minimum, medium, maximum, and super-maximum

prisons. Minimum-security prisons usually contain first time offenders
of white-collar crimes; these prisoners are non-violent and well
behaved. These prisons do not have armed guards and prisoners have
the privileges of television as well as computers. Along with these
privileges, prisoners are also allowed to leave the prison grounds for
educational or employment opportunities. Gaines and Miller (2013)
state, Medium-security prisons hold about 40 percent of the prison
population and minimum-security prisons 20 (percent). Prisoners that
are not viewed as a risk of escaping or causing harm, and have
committed crimes not serious enough to be imprisoned in a maximumsecurity prison occupy medium-security prisons. Educational and
treatment programs are offered in these prisons, they also display lessrestrictive living arrangements and freedom to movement within the
walls of the prison. Maximum-security prisons house violent and repeat
offenders. With full attention to safety, security, and surveillance . . .
inmates lives are programmed in a militaristic fashion to keep them
from escaping or from harming themselves or the prison staff (Gaines
and Miller et al. 2013:436). Housing roughly a third of Americas
prisoners, these prisons are surrounded with concrete walls standing
twenty to thirty feet high, and fences topped with razor wire. Equipped
with watchtowers, armed guards monitor the prisoners. Prisoners are

The Prison System in America

confined to small cells that contain a bunk, a toilet, and a sink

surrounded by various gates and bars, often referred to as . . . its own
prison within a prison (Gaines and Miller et al. 2013:437). Every
objective of each prisoner is monitored during every hour of a day
through frequent searches and head counts. Lastly, super-maximum
prisons are at the top of prisons concerning security protocols.
Prisoners are viewed as a high risk to commit murder even behind
bars, whether that is to another prisoner or prison staff. Gaines and
Miller (2013) explain, Prisoners are confined to their one-person cells
for twenty-two and a half hours each day under video camera
surveillance. They receive meals through a slot in the door. The cells
measure eight by ten feet and are windowless. No decoration of any
kind are permitted on the walls. This is by far the worst type of prison
a criminal can be imprisoned in because of the lack of privileges as
well as socialization, it has been suggested that this type of prison can
cause psychological issues with an inmate.
Public Prisons vs. Private Prisons
A state government or the federal government operates a public
prison, while a third party contracted by a government agency runs a
private prison for a profit. Godard (2016) suggests, Since the 1970s
federal and state correction agencies have consistently struggled to
meet the increased demands brought on by the US Department of

The Prison System in America

Justice and strict drug laws. As the strictness of laws increased so did
the need to house criminals; the necessity of money as well as space
was desperately needed to keep up with the number of criminals to be
imprisoned. Thus, the birth of private prisons arose, a prison ran by a
third party that would save taxpayer dollars as well as lower the cost of
housing inmates. Though private prisons are a very debatable topic,
Today, privatized prisons make up 10% of the corrections marketturning over $7.4 billion per year (Godard 2016). Private prisons are a
debated topic because of the use of inmates contracted out to do labor
and turn a profile. Private prisons were seen to . . . build faster and
cheaper facilities, operate on smaller budgets, and improve the quality
of confinement and services (Schultz et al. 2016:3). With that being
said, private prisons are out to make a profit so some ethical issues
come into question with private prisons, such as labor rights and
quality of confinement. First, labor rights, Schultz (2016) explains,
Working inmates in general are denied minimum wage, workers
compensation, unemployment benefits, and a safe workplace. In
contrast to the publics labor rights, private prisons are violating those
rights to their prisoners. Quality of confinement comes into question
because private prisons are out to turn a profit so they can tend to cut
corners having to do with quality of staff, care, and living conditions to
save money. In general, private prisons tend to score lower in levels of

The Prison System in America

care and condition compared to public prisons (Schultz et al.

2016:15). Despite the speculation surrounding private prisons, the
actual cost of running public prisons to a taxpayer is $39 billion
(dollars) according to Godard (2016). Godard (2016) continues to
explain, The average cost of incarcerating an American prisoner
varies from state to state. Some states, like Indiana managed to keep
prices low at around $14,000 per inmate. While states like New York
pay around $60,000 . . . Regardless of the pros and cons of both
public and private prisons, they help incarcerate 1,562,000 prisoners
as of 2016, according to Wagner and Rabuy (2016).
CONCLUSION
In closing, the history of American punishment reflects the
establishment of prisons in America. Along with the establishment of
prisons came the need of organizing prison security specifically for
different profiles of prisoners. As times changed, and laws hardened
the need to establish private prisons became essential in keeping up
with the need to incarcerate criminals. Though the topic of private
prisons is still debatable today, the fact of saving taxpayer money
cannot be denied. As times continue to change, new ideas will arise,
and the prison system in America will continue to evolve.

Bibliography

The Prison System in America

Cox, A. James. 2003. Bilboes, Brands, and Branks Colonial Crimes and
Punishments. Retrieved October 17th, 2016
(http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/spring03/branks.cfm).
Gaines, K. Larry, and Roger Leroy Miller. 2013. Criminal Justice in
Action. 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Godard, Thierry. 2016. The Economics of the American Prison
System. Retrieved October 17th, 2016
(https://smartasset.com/insights/the-economics-of-the-americanprison-system).
OConnor, Rachel. 2014. The United States Prison System: A
Comparative Analysis. Graduate Theses and Dissertations,
Graduate School at Scholar Commons, University of South
Florida.
Wagner, Peter and Bernadette Rabuy. 2016. Mass Incarceration: The
Whole Pie 2016. Retrieved October 17th, 2016
(http://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2016.html).
Schultz, Carla. 2015. Prison Privatization: Driving Influences and
Performance Evaluation. Themis: Research Journal of Justice
Studies and Forensic Science 3 (1): 1-22.

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