The exact time and location of the world’s first actual prison is unknown, but obviously at some point in time incarceration within a prison system became a common consequence for criminal activities. Schmalleger writes that punitive imprisonment appeared to have been introduced in Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries for debtors and certain offenders against canon law (Schmalleger, 2009). In those decades penalties for criminal activities dealt more with shaming the offender in hopes of deterring them from future criminal activity. Examples of shaming include the ducking stool, the pillory, whipping, branding, and the stocks (History of the Prison Systems). In addition to the various forms of shaming and deterring, the death penalty was a common punishment for criminal activity, such as hangings, stoning, or burning. Within these decades, prisons were occasionally used as an alternative to corporal punishment. However, as years went on society’s view of an individual’s liberties and humanity were changing thus changing the views of how criminal acts should be handled changed as well. Schmalleger writes that near the end of the eighteenth century is when the concept of imprisonment as punishment reached its fullest expression. The prisons that had been established and continually altered in the United States eventually become models for European reformers that were in hopes of creating a prison system that would humanize criminal punishment (Schmalleger, 2009). The concept was that restricting a person’s liberty would be retribution enough, and that an exact period of time served in a prison could be assigned depending on the severity of a crime committed (Prison History). Early prisons came in the forms of ... ... middle of paper ... ...ources/news-article/prison-overcrowding-is-a-growing-concern-in-the-u-s/ Pelaez, V. (2014, March 31). The Prison Industry in the United States: Big Business or a New Form of Slavery?. Global Research- Center for Research on Globalization. Retrieved July 8, 2014, from http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-prison-industry-in-the-united-states-big-business-or-a-new-form-of-slavery/8289. Prison History. (n.d.). Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility. Retrieved July 6, 2014, from http://www.adpsr.org/home/prison_history. Prison Overcrowding - American Legislative Exchange Council. (n.d.). ALEC American Legislative Exchange Council. Retrieved July 8, 2014, from http://www.alec.org/initiatives/prison-overcrowding/ Schmalleger, F. (2009). Criminal justice today: an introductory text for the 21st century (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Seigal, L. J., & Worrall, J. L. (2012). Introduction to criminal justice (13th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Stohr, M. K, & P. Collins. (2009). Criminal Justice Management. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc.
Schmalleger, Frank. Criminology: A Brief Introduction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Prentice Hall., 2011.
Overcrowding is one of the predominate reasons that Western prisons are viewed as inhumane. Chapman’s article has factual information showing that some prisons have as many as three times the amount of prisoners as allowed by maximum space standards. Prison cells are packed with four to five prisoners in a limited six-foot-by-six-foot space, which then, leads to unsanitary conditions. Prisons with overcrowding are exposed to outbreaks of infectious diseases such as, tuberculosis and hepatitis.
Hickey, T. J. (2010). Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Crime and Criminology, 9th Edition. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Schmalleger, Frank, Criminal Justice A Brief Introduction, Upper Saddle River, NJ, Pearson Education Inc. , 2010, Page 387
...Prison Overcrowding: California." ALEC: American Legislative Exchange Council. American Legislative Exchange Council. Retrieved October 13, 2013 from Organization of CDCR
Daly, Kathleen, Goldsmith, Andrew, and Israel, Mark. 2006, Crime and Justice: A guide to criminology, third addition, Thomson, Lawbook Co.
Wright, J. (2012). Introduction to criminal justice. (p. 9.1). San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUCRJ201.12.1/sections/sec9.1
Canada reached its utmost population rate in 2013, with 15,000 inmates; this is a drastic increase of 75% in the past decade. Incarceration rates are rapidly increasing as crime rates decrease. Upon release, former prisoners have difficulty adapting into society and its social norms. Criminologist, Roger Graef states that, "the vast majority of inmates, the loss of local connections with family, job, and home sentences them again to return to crime." Prisoners often result in lethargy, depression, chronic apathy, and despair, making them ultimately rigid and unable to assimilate back into the public. Depression, claustrophobia, hallucinations, problems with impulse control, and/or an impaired ability to think, concentrate, or remember are experienced by prisoners who are isolated for a protracted amount of time; research has indicated that prisons can cause amenorrhea, aggressive behaviour, impaired vision and hearing, weakening of the immune system, and premature menopause. With the lack of system programs, the constant violence, and the social isolation, the prison system fails to prepare prisoners for reintegration to society. Prisons do not provide the proper structural functionalism to rehabilitate former long-term prisoners into society.
The prison system in the United States was not always like it is today. It took mistakes and changes in order to get it to the point it is at. Some people think that prisons should still be being changed while others feel that they are fine the way they are. It is hard to make an argument for one side or the other if one does not know about the history of prisons as well as the differences between prisons structures and differences in prison management. Knowledge of private prisons is also needed to make this difficult decision.
Schmalleger, F. (2009), Prentice Hall, Publication. Criminal Justice Today: An introductory Text for the 21st century
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 27, 343-360. http://ccj.sagepub.com.libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/content/27/3/342
Prison reform is a hot topic and ongoing issue that is making its way through the Senate and Legislation. America’s prisons are one of the most overcrowded
The origin of the word prison comes from the Latin word to seize. It is fair to say that the traditionally use of prison correspond well with the origin of the word; as traditionally prison was a place for holding people whilst they were awaiting trail. Now, centuries on and prisons today is used as a very popular, and severe form of punishment offered to those that have been convicted. With the exception however, of the death penalty and corporal punishment that still takes place in some countries. Being that Prison is a very popular form of punishment used in today's society to tackle crime and punish offenders, this essay will then be examining whether prison works, by drawing on relevant sociological factors. Furthermore, it will be looking at whether punishment could be re-imagined, and if so, what would it entail?