AMERICAN PRISON SYSTEM

By N.A.S.A
Natalia, Amelia, Silvio, Allya.
 INTRODUCTION
  Incarceration in the United States is a concurrent power
under the Constitution of the United States, which
means that prisons are operated under strict authority of
both the federal and state governments. Incarceration is
one of the main forms of punishment for the commission of
felony offenses in the United States.
 Less serious offenders, such as those convicted of
misdemianor offenses, may receive a short term sentence
to be served in a local city or county jail, or to alternative
forms of sanctions such as community corrections (halfway
house) or house arrest. Different U.S. prisons operate at
different levels of security, ranging from minimum-security
prisons—that mainly house non-violent offenders—to
supermax facilities that house the more dangerous
criminals.
 The United States has the highest documented incarceration
rate in the world. The U.S. incarceration rate on December
31, 2008 was 754 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents. The
USA also has the highest total documented prison and jail
It is the length of the prison sentences in the United States that is a huge
cause of such high numbers. One of the criticisms of the United States system
is that it has much longer sentences than any other part of the world.
Even though other countries have more prisoners annually, the fact that the
United States keeps their prisoners longer causes the total rate to become
higher. To give an example, the average burglary sentence in the United States
is 16 months, compared to 5 months in Canada and 7 months in England.[9]
Looking at reasons for imprisonment will further clarify why the incarceration
rate and length of sentences are so high. One of the biggest contributors is
the United States' spike is the war on drugs. Around 1980, the United States
had 40,000 people in prison for drug crimes. Currently, the United States
houses over 500,000 prisoners for these crimes. Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug
Policy Alliance said, "We now imprison more people for drug law violations than
all of Western Europe, with a much larger population, incarcerates for all
offenses". On the other hand, it should be noted that for example Japan and
Sweden have applied zero tolerance for illicit drugs at the same time as they
have few people in prison and low drug use, so the connection between drug
laws and number of prisoners is not simple.  
In conclusion the prison has become a central institution in American society,
integral to our politics, economy, and culture. Between 1976 and 2000, the
United States built on average a new prison each week and the number of
imprisoned Americans increased tenfold. With a current prison and jail
population of over two million, America has become the uncontested world
leader in incarceration.
USA and territories . Number of
inmates
in 2008

Total 2 , 424 , 279

Federal and state 1,518,559

prisons
Territorial prisons 13,576

Local jails 785,556

ICE facilities 9,957

Military facilities 1,651

Jails in Indian country 2,135

Juvenile facilities 92,845

 FACILITIES

GYM
EDUCATION HEALTHCARE
CHURCH CENTER

SEGREGATION
UNIT
VISITING AREA AGRICULTURAL DINING ROOM
ACTIVITIES
http://www.youtube.com/w
STAFF ACCOMMODATION
AREA
RECREATIONAL
AREA
 TYPES :
JUVENILE: Prisons for juveniles (people under 17 or
18, depending on the jurisdiction).
MILITARY: Prisons form part of military systems, and
are used variously to house prisoners of war.
POLITICAL: Certain countries maintain or have in the
past had a system of political prisons.
PSYCHIATRIC: Some PSYCHIATRIC facilities have
characteristics of prisons, especially when confining
patients who have committed a crime and are
considered dangerous or diagnosed with a wide
variety of Mental Disorders.
http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ueRFmmIyfw&NR=1
 Probation - court-ordered period of correctional supervision in the
community generally as an alternative to incarceration. In some
cases probation can be a combined sentence of incarceration
followed by a period of community supervision. These data
include adults under the jurisdiction of probation agency,
regardless of supervision status (i.e., active supervision, inactive
supervision, financial conditions only, warrant status, absconder
status, in a residential/other treatment program, or supervised out
of jurisdiction).

Prison - confinement in a state or federal correctional facility to

serve a sentence of more than 1 year, although in some
jurisdictions the length of sentence which results in prison
confinement is longer.

Jail - confinement in a local jail while pending trial, awaiting

sentencing, serving a sentence that is usually less than 1 year, or
awaiting transfer to other facilities after conviction.

Parole - period of conditional supervised release in the

community following a prison term, including prisoners released to
parole either by a parole board decision (discretionary parole) or
according to provisions of a statute (mandatory parole). These
data include adults under the jurisdiction of a parole agency,
regardless of supervision status (i.e., active supervision, inactive
supervision, financial conditions only, absconder status, or
 SECURITY LEVELS

Priso n e rs re sid e in d iffe re n t fa cilitie s th a t va ry b y se cu rity le ve l,

e sp e cia lly in se cu rity m e a su re s, a d m in istra tio n o f in m a te s, typ e o f
h o u sin g , a n d w e a p o n s a n d ta ctics u se d b y co rre ctio n s o ffice rs. The
fe d e ra lg o ve rn m e n t's B u re a u o f Priso n s uses a numbered scale from
o n e to five to re p re se n t th e se cu rity le ve l. Le ve l five is th e m o st
se cu re , w h ile le ve l o n e is th e le a st. S ta te p riso n syste m s o p e ra te
sim ila r syste m s.

MAXIMUM: In a m a xim u m se cu rity p riso n o r a re a , a ll p riso n e rs h a ve

in d ivid u a l ce lls w ith slid in g d o o rs co n tro lle d fro m a se cu re re m o te
co n tro lsta tio n . Priso n e rs a re a llo w e d o u t o f th e ir ce lls o n e o u t o f
tw e n ty fo u r h o u rs. W h e n o u t o f th e ir ce lls, p riso n e rs re m a in in th e ce ll
b lo ck o r a n exte rio r ca g e . M o ve m e n t o u t o f th e ce ll b lo ck o r " p o d " is
tig h tly re stricte d u sin g re stra in ts a n d e sco rts b y co rre ctio n a l
o ffice rs. M o ve m e n ts a n d a cce ss to b a sica lly e ve ryth in g is re stricte d . T h e
sim p le st o f n e ce ssitie s se e m like lu xu rie s. R a p ist, K ille rs, V io le n t
O ffe n d e rs a n d D e a th R o w se n te n ce s a re fo u n d in th is typ e o f
p riso n . In m a te s fa ll in to h o m o sexu a lity a s a co n se q u e n ce o f iso la tio n .
h ttp :// w w w . yo u tu b e . co m / w a tch ?v = z5 A b In 3 IlV s
Under close security, prisoners usually have one - or two -person cells
o p e ra te d fro m a re m o te co n tro l sta tio n . E a ch ce ll h a s its o w n to ile t a n d
sin k . In m a te s m a y le a ve th e ir ce lls fo r w o rk a ssig n m e n ts o r co rre ctio n a l
p ro g ra m s a n d o th e rw ise m a y b e a llo w e d in a co m m o n a re a in th e ce llb lo ck
o r a n exe rcise ya rd . T h e fe n ce s a re g e n e ra lly d o u b le fe n ce s w ith
w a tch to w e rs h o u sin g a rm e d g u a rd s, p lu s o fte n a th ird , le th a l-cu rre n t
e le ctric fe n ce in th e m id d le .
medium security group may sleep in dormitories on bunk beds with lockers
to sto re th e ir p o sse ssio n s. T h e y m a y h a ve co m m u n a lsh o w e rs, to ile ts a n d
sin ks. D o rm ito rie s a re lo cke d a t n ig h t w ith o n e o r m o re co rre ctio n a l
o ffice rs su p e rvisin g . T h e re is le ss su p e rvisio n o ve r th e in te rn a lm o ve m e n ts
o f p riso n e rs. T h e p e rim e te r is g e n e ra lly d o u b le fe n ce d a n d re g u la rly
p a tro lle d .
minimum security facilities a re co n sid e re d to p o se little p h ysica lrisk to th e
p u b lic a n d a re m a in ly n o n -vio le n t " w h ite co lla r crim in a ls" . Minimum
se cu rity p riso n e rs live in le ss-se cu re d o rm ito rie s, w h ich a re re g u la rly
p a tro lle d b y co rre ctio n a l o ffice rs. A s in m e d iu m se cu rity fa cilitie s, th e y
h a ve co m m u n a l sh o w e rs, to ile ts, a n d sin ks. A m in im u m -se cu rity fa cility
g e n e ra lly h a s a sin g le fe n ce th a t is w a tch e d , b u t n o t p a tro lle d , b y a rm e d
g u a rd s. A t fa cilitie s in ve ry re m o te a n d ru ra l a re a s, th e re m a y b e n o fe n ce
a t a ll. Priso n e rs m a y o fte n w o rk o n co m m u n ity p ro je cts, su ch a s ro a d sid e
litte r cle a n u p w ith th e sta te d e p a rtm e n t o f tra n sp o rta tio n o r w ild e rn e ss
co n se rva tio n . M a n y m in im u m se cu rity fa cilitie s a re sm a llca m p s lo ca te d in
o r n e a r m ilita ry b a se s, la rg e r p riso n s ( o u tsid e th e se cu rity p e rim e te r) o r
o th e r g o ve rn m e n t in stitu tio n s to p ro vid e a co n ve n ie n t su p p ly o f co n vict
la b o r to th e in stitu tio n . M a n y sta te s a llo w p e rso n s in m in im u m -se cu rity
 :
SUPER MAXIMUM p riso n fa cilitie s p ro vid e th e h ig h e st le ve lo f p riso n
security. These units hold those considered the most dangerous inmates.
These include inmates who have committed assaults, murders, or other
serious violations in less secure facilities, and inmates known to be or
accused of being prison gang members. Most states have either a super
max section of a prison facility or an entire prison facility designated
as a super max. The United States Federal Bureau of Prisons operates a
number of super max facilities across the country.
The custody level goes beyond Maximum by segregating the " worse of the
worst “.
•Criminals and terrorists who pose a threat to national security.
•They have individual cells and are kept in lockdown for 23 hours per
day.
•Meals are served through "chuck holes" in the cell door, and each inmate
is permitted out of their cell for one hour of exercise per day, alone.
•http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ik37_lockdown-inside-maxim

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ik7j_lockdown-inside-maxim

•
THE AMERICA PRISION AND THE
NORMALIZATION OF TORTURE
. Prison has m ade the threat of torture part of everyday life for m illions of individuals in the
U nited States, especially the 6 .9 m illion currently incarcerated or otherw ise under the control
ofthe penalsystem . M ore insidiously, our prison system has helped m ake torture a norm al,
legitim ate , even routine part of A m erican culture .
Im prisonm ent itself, even w hen relatively benign , is arguably a form of torture . This is
im plicit in our society using prison as the m ost dire legal form of both "punishment " and
"deterrence ," except for execution
. Moreover, in the typicalAmericanprison, designedand run
to maximize degradation, brutalization, and punishment, overt torture is the norm. Beatings,
electric shock, prolonged exposure to heat and even immersion in scalding water, sodomy with
riot batons, nightsticks, flashlights, and broom handles, shackled prisoners forced to lie in
their own excrement for hours or even days, months of solitary confinement, rape and murder
by guards or prisoners instructed by guards--all are everyday occurrences in the American
prison system.
The use of sex and sexual humiliation as torture in Abu Ghraib and the other American
prisons in Iraq is endemic to the American prison. Psychological and physical sexual torture
is exacerbated by the underlying policy of denying prisoners any volitional sex, making the
only two forms of sexual activity that are physically possible--homosexuality and
masturbation--both offenses subject to punishment. Strip searches, including invasive and
often intentionally painful examination of the mouth, anus, testicles, and vagina, frequently
accompanied by verbal or physical sexual abuse, are part of the daily routine in most
prisons. A 1999 Amnesty International report documented the commonplace rape of prisoners by
guards in women's prisons.
Guantánamo Bay Naval Base
(Cuba)
 The United States Naval Station at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba dates from
1903, when the American government leased the 45-square mile site as a
coaling station in the wake of the Spanish-American War. Since the United
States broke off relations with Cuba after Fidel Castro's rise to power, the
base has operated as an obscure anomaly, one foreign power's self-
enclosed outpost in a hostile land. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001,
attacks on the United States, the base became the center of fierce
criticism from foreign governments and human rights activists. After the
American invasion of Afghanistan, prisoners suspected of being al Qaeda
members or supporters were transported to Guantánamo. In 2002,
President George W. Bush made it the central prison for suspects
considered unlawful enemy combatants in the war on terror.
 The Bush administration's efforts to try prisoners there before military
tribunals was blocked by a series of court rulings responding to challenges
brought by prisoners. Human rights groups and lawyers representing
detainees have painted a stark picture of conditions there, which included
harsh interrogation methods. The prisoners themselves have protested
through hunger strikes, riots and suicides.
 On Jan. 22, 2009, two days after his inauguration, President Obama signed
executive orders effectively ending the Central Intelligence Agency's
secret interrogation program, directing the closing of the Guantánamo Bay
detention camp within a year and setting up a sweeping, high-level review
 Almost immediately, Mr. Obama's plan to close the prison began to be
bogged down in a myriad of difficulties. Republicans criticized the move
consistently, saying it would lead to the release of dangerous prisoners.
 On May 2, 2009, the Obama administration indicated that it was moving
toward reviving the military commission system, which had been halted in
January. Mr. Obama was expected, though, to amend the Bush
administration's system, to provide more legal protections for terrorism
suspects. Continuing the commissions in any form would probably prompt
sharp criticism from human rights groups as well as some of Mr. Obama's
political allies because the troubled system became an emblem of the
effort to use Guantánamo to avoid the American legal system.
 In November, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced that five
detainees would face a military commission and five others - including
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 - would be prosecuted in federal court in New
York City.
 On Jan. 22, 2010, a Justice Department task force concluded that of the
nearly 200 detainees left at the center, close to 50 will be held indefinitely
because they are considered  too difficult to prosecute but too dangerous
to release. The administration has decided that nearly 40 other detainees
should be prosecuted for terrorism or related war crimes, and that the
remaining prisoners, about 110 men, should be repatriated or transferred
to other countries for possible release.
 Many questions remain. Of the roughly 110 detainees who are set to be
transferred to other countries, about 30 are Yemenis. The Yemeni
government has asked Washington to return its detainees and has said
that it would need substantial aid to rehabilitate the men. But the Obama
administration is increasingly skeptical of Yemen's ability to provide
adequate rehabilitation and security to supervise returned prisoners. The
administration recently halted transfers to Yemen in the wake of the
attempted bombing of an airplane bound for Detroit on Christmas - a plot
believed to have been developed by an affiliate of Al Qaeda based in
Can the American Prison System Be Fixed?
  

 Some 2.2 million Americans are behind bars, at a cost of $60 billion a year. A
recent report harshly criticizes the state of America's prison system. The
report says prisoners are locked up and forgotten, creating hardened
criminals and a cycle of crime.http
://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist
The United States Prison System
 In reality, how effective is the prison system?
The definition of a correctional facility is “a prison”.  But is this really the
case; are prisons really correctional facilities?            
 Upon their investigation, the Human Rights Watch found that many prison
inmates have “scant opportunities for work, training, education, treatment,
or counseling” because of taxpayer resistance to increasing the already
outrageous amount on money spent on the prison system.  Finding
themselves in such seemingly hopeless situations, inmates with long
sentences, little hope of release, who are jammed into poorly equipped
facilities—therefore with little incentive for good behavior—often become
violent.  To read the Human Rights Watch article on the general state of
the American prison system entitled U.S. Prisons, The Human Rights Watch
also found that prisoner on prisoner sexual abuse is currently a rising issue
in the US prison system, as the number of inmates continually increases. 
As the issue of rape increases, so do the numbers of those both physically
and psychologically damaged.  Physical effects vary from instance to
instance and include the transmission of diseases/infections, such as HIV (a
particularly growing concern).  The psychological stress that inevitably
follow sexual abuse is another area of great concern as “victims of prison
rape commonly report nightmares, deep depression, shame, loss of self-
esteem, self-hatred, and considering or attempting suicide.”  Because of
the damages that accompany sexual abuse anger and tendencies toward
violence often increase.  Perhaps the most disconcerting aspects of the
issue of sexual abuse in prisons is that “prison authorities, unsurprisingly,
generally claim that prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse is an exceptional
Disadvantages of the American Prison System
In 2006, $68,747,203,000 was spent on corrections. "The average annual
operating cost per state inmate in 2001 was $22,650, or $62.05 per day; among
facilities operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, it was $22,632 per
inmate, or $62.01 per day."
Housing the approximately 500,000 people in jail awaiting trial who can't
afford bail costs $9 billion a year. Most jail inmates are petty, nonviolent
offenders. Twenty years ago most nonviolent defendants were released on their
own recognizance (trusted to show up at trial). Now most are given bail, most
pay .
It is estimated that 1 in 9 state government employees works in corrections.
The percentage of prisoners in federal and state prisons aged 55 and older
increased by 33% from 2000 to 2005 while the prison population grew by only
8%. The Southern Legislative Conference found that in 16 southern states the
elderly prisoner population increased on average by 145% between 1997 and
2007. The growth in the elderly population brought along higher health care
costs.  
Inmates are unable to apply for Medicare and Medicaid. Housing one prisoner
costs a state between $18,000 and $31,000 annually, $33 per day for the
average prisoner and $100 per day for an elderly prisoner. Most DOCs report
spending more than 10 percent of the annual budget on elderly care. State
governments pay all of their inmates' housing costs which significantly
increase as prisoners age.  
Prisons are expensive to operate.“Prisons are a costly enterprise. Prisoner
maintenance a few years ago averaged around $7,041 a year per prisoner for
adult jails and $9,439 for adult prisons. In a few states the figure exceeded
$20,000 per prisoner. Construction costs range from $25,000 to $50,000 per bed.
Nationwide this price has meant a $5 billion construction bill for the 800
local, state and federal institutions that in January 1977 were planning to
add 200,000 prison beds. The state lost tax revenue, and welfare costs for
inmate-related families added still another layer of expenditures that
governmental agencies had to build into their expanding criminal-justice
budgets.”
Do US prisons really rehabilitate criminals?
 This subject is relevant to the book, "Shot in the Heart," because of Gary
Gilmore's deep and profound history with the American prison system. The
core issue of Gary's life was his inability to be reformed and return to
society to enjoy a normal life. He blamed much of his failure and struggles
in life on a terrible prison system with harsh treatment and punishments,
such as isolation and medicine that made him sick.
 In a book called, "Prisons: Today's Debate," by Marilyn Tower Oliver, which is a
general book covering all facets of today's prison system. One chapter in
particular discussed the issue of the prison systems effectiveness in
stopping crime. The author first discusses the fact that prisons today are
moving towards harsher punishments such as isolation and longer
sentences, and backing off of rehab including formal education and
training on how to return to society. Statistics give evidence to the fact that
prisoners are less likely to return to prison having been given formal
societal training. The author also discusses prison's ability to create
"harder" criminals through punishment that makes the criminals more
hate-filled people and by surrounding, those with other criminals that
influences their thinking pattern and because of this, violent actions ensue.

The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law called
"Institutional Failure in the Life Histories of Men Condemned to Death." The
article focuses on the comparison between the problems the prisoners
faced in their lives and the institutional treatment they were given. Sixteen
cases, chosen at random are explored. The histories from their schools,
prisons, juvenile detention facilities, foster homes, and mental facilities.
Possible reasons these people to commit to a life of crime are that they
were abused as children, they were beaten unconscious, or they suffered
from an acquired mental illness. The histories of each of these people are
traced, showing the problems in the system that contributed to their wrong
 Chapter seven in the book, "Do Prisons and Harsh sentences stop crimes?" is
relevant to the book, "Shot in the Heart," by Mikal Gilmore in that it helps
understand Gary and his experience in prison better. The author, Marilyn
Tower Oliver, first discusses the effectiveness of rehabilitation. This is the
idea of training, educating, and reforming troubled criminals to allow them
a safe and normal return to society. Obviously, Gary's rehab failed because
he continued to return to jail just as 62% of state prisoners do within three
years of their release. This is called recidivism. Eventually a recidivist like
Gary was not trusted to return to society anymore. Perhaps it was these
harsh punishments that destroyed Gary's goodness and drove him towards
murder. According to the book, statistics show that rehab programs such as
giving formal educations decrease the chances for a prisoner to become a
repeat offender. This education, something that Gary never received, could
have made a difference in his life. Instead, he received beatings, isolation,
and hard time with hard criminals. Oliver next discusses the idea of prisons
creating criminals. She says that prisoners develop their own society
different from normal society. This shows that Gary's morals and values
were not necessarily wrong according to his prison society. Apparently, the
prison system was not effective in rehabbing Gary because of strict
treatment, too much time with other criminals, and alack of preparation for
a return to normal society.
• In the case of Gary Gilmore, the abundance of the violence in the
family could not be stressed more than Shot in the Heart stresses it. In the
article, two men were thought to be illegitimate by their fathers, causing
them to feel a separation anxiety while growing up. Gary as well, was thought
to be illegitimate by Frank Sr. Beyond his familial upbringing, Gary Gilmore
was placed in several institutions, which focused on the correction of people.
Through his time in these institutions, instead of becoming reformed, he
became more violent and recalcitrant. It seemed that the punishments he
was given sparked a greater violent nature within him. Eventually, he went in
and out of institutions, emerging with an increased hatred for the world. Well,
this article shows the certain experiences of an inmate, which may have
caused these people to succumb to violence. The article shows the sexual
abuse inmates received, the lack of proper psychiatric treatment for the men,
and the protection of certain inmates from more violent and harmful ones.
These are all causes of these men's future crimes. With Gary, similar poor