The Prison System

The Prison System Elden Brooks Axia College of the University of Phoenix Online

The Prison System The Prison System

There are few places as cruel and lonely in the world as a prison. There are few people in those prisons who truly ever wished they ended up there or think they ever would. With the challenges that face the criminal justice system of America today there is perhaps none greater than the administration, continuation and much needed expansion of the prison system and its appendages. From overcrowding to riots there are more potential problems with todays prisons than there are viable solutions. With the future of prisons unknown, one need only look briefly into the past of prisons to see how the system has morphed and evolved from basically being non existent to its size and significance of today. American Prison history When the colonists from England first arrived on the scene in the new world that would later be formed into the United States, there was hardly a prison system to speak of at all. There was no real effective way to care for prisoners, contain them, nourish them, counsel them like is possible in todays prisons. Instead, wrong-doers who were convicted were either let go after a public or sometimes private beating, scourging or whipping in the same manner as was being done back in England and other European nations. Some of those who were repeat offenders or those who committed the most grievous of crimes were publicly executed by a variety of means. It wasnt until the later 1700s close to and soon after the Constitution was penned and the United States formed that the punishment of criminals was taken into more thoughtful consideration and more options opened up for the convicted. In Philadelphia Pennsylvania, the first penitentiary was opened that provided solitary confinement to prisoners and allowed for time to serve as a punishment. The Great Penitentiary Rivalry

The Prison System With several more penitentiaries like the first in Philadelphia appearing nearby and in other states, the philosophy of how a prison should operate began to take shape and evolve. The Pennsylvania prisons tended to leave inmates to themselves through solitary confinement and enforced silence while in New York the inmates were together while having silence enforced as well. These two contrasting operation methods lead to a kind of rivalry in regards to how future

prisoners should be confined and what privileges they should be afforded. Eventually, because of money and space, the New York method of communal prison cells and workshop-like labor became accepted as the more practical method and can be seen in prisons today. The Purpose of the Prison With these developing prison models and philosophies, the question of the real purpose of the prison came into view. The original ideas of punishment for crime had not been entirely forgotten and never will be but the possibility of rehabilitation and release became the greater goal of the system. Though the prison was and is a harsh and cold place, the hope of an early release based on good behavior was something that a prisoner could get along with. These changing views were evolving all throughout the 1800s and into the 1960s, 1970s and to some extent even today. There appears to be effective means of rehabilitating those who are willing to have it and at the same time there is a need for the dark, solemn loneliness of the maximum security solitary confinement for those who have continued destructive behavior even in prison. Time will tell that the purpose of the prison is served only on the individual basis of those serving time in it. Publicly Funded vs. Privately Funded Prisons With the change in scope of prisons form punishment to rehabilitation, the next problem was undoubtedly seen on the horizon before it ever hit: overcrowding. The longer terms for

The Prison System punishment and the increasing population of prison inmates lead to a huge population boom in

the 80s and 90s in prisons across the country. Because most publicly funded prisons are ran by state and federal dollars and employees, there was a market for the private sector to step in and make an offer. Private companies began operating prisons because the cost is often much less. There are arguments for and against privately operated prisons. Some ethical concerns arise when the rights of an individual are taken into the hands of the lowest bidder. Safety concerns for inmates and guards arise as private companies may have fewer hoops to jump through than government agencies. Even as the debates carry on, the market continues to prove to be profitable as prisons populations rise and the need for facilities rises with it. Conclusion Over the short history of the United States there has been an evolution of the prison system that has carried the options of the convicted from being beaten and or killed to a communal arena of labor, rehabilitation and the chance of early release on good behavior. While capital punishment is still weighted in the most serious of criminal cases, there is in large part, more opportunity for todays prison inmates as there was in the early days of this country. With different levels of prison security, different rehabilitation programs at the convicts disposal and habitable standards; there has been a visible shift in the way that a prison operates. As prison populations continue to move upward, there remains a need for additional facilities and streamlined operations in existing facilities and often the answers are found in the privatization of prisons. Though it will always be a dank and dark place, a prison of today is heads above a prison of yesterday.

The Prison System References 1. Wadsworth. (2006). Criminal Justice in Action: The Core. Thompson Learning Inc. 2. About the Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved April 14, 2009 from http://www.bop.gov/about/index.jsp