Prisons and Punishment Midterm

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - life cycle of criminal justice

plea bargaining, sentencing, prison conditions, rehab, parole, re entry

Cesare Beccaria Book title

on crime and punishments

Beccaria overview

condemns torture and death penalty, wants criminal justice system to be reformed and based on rational principles, punishment proportional to severity of crime, ahead of our time, prison conditions inhumane

Beccaria - felony murder

charged with murder during felony even if didn't attempt murder --> only country with this

why does beccaria condemn torture

people will break down and confessions can be false. it is wrong to torutre innocent man, but only torture if uncertain

beccaria 3 principles that govern mankind

revelation, natural law, and social conventions

beccaria 3 distinct kinds of virtue and vice

religious, natural, and political --> these never conflict

beccaria thoughts on religious principles

men have always abused religion. Natural justice is contant but human justice varies

Jeremy Bentham's idea

Panopticon - Discipline and punishment

Bentham overview

stat institutions exist for control (military, school, prisons) - not about freedom, constantly being watched, if they think you're there you don't need to be there, architecture of prisons made to break people down

lessons in integrity with san quentin state prison's tennis team

men choose this prison because of the programs, thirst for outside, overcrowding, violence and segregation, college courses, team motto is integrity

Universally accepted conclusions by Banaji and Greenwald

1. Black disadvantage exists

2. the disadvantage experienced by black americans is at least party due to race discrimination

3. social differentiation exists

4. attitudes have both reflective and automatic forms

5. people have often been unaware of disagreement between the reflective and automatic forms of their own attitudes

6. explicit bias is infrequent, implicit bias is pervasive

7. implicit race attitudes contribute to racial discrimination

Banaji and greenwald overview

americans race prejudices have morphed into harder to see forms, obama lost white vote by 12%, americans advocate equality but have biases

Banaji and greenwald early studies

emory bogardus: people didn't want contact with Greeks, Mexicans, or Black people in US

Thurstone: nationality preference - not ready to welcome Turks and Blacks into family

LaPiere: people wouldn't accept Chinese people in hotel over mail but would in person

Mamie and Kenneth Clark: doll studies: 2/3 black children chose to play with black doll

Gaertner and Bickman: white recipients discriminated by race is assisting people asking for help on phone

Banaji and greenwald american school preference

racially integrated

Banaji and greenwald: principled conservative view

blacks need no assistance because America offers equal opportunities now

Banaji and greenwald: covert bias view

many americans who express egalitarian views continue to privately have racial biases

Banaji and greenwald: black disadvantage exists

black people have disadvantage in obtaining mortgage loans, finding homes and rentals, getting callbacks for jobs, receiving effective medical care, going to prison, getting stopped searched and ticketed by police, lower tickets

Banaji and greenwald: group-responsible theories of black disadvantage

credits black americans with responsibility of own disadvantages, biological form says genes endow black americans with violence, cultural form says black culture draws toward criminal activity

Banaji and greenwald: others-responsible theories of black disadvantage

various others are responsible for black disadvantage - result of deliberate, overt race discrimination

Banaji and greenwald conclusion 2: the disadvantage experienced by black americans is at least partly due to race discrimination

proved by research, minor acts of discrimination accumulate

Article about Tray in Jessup

Tray and Rasheme discuss overcoming hardships, goal to humanize, Tray was trigger boy for drug kingpin, mom had him at 14, dad killed, started stealing at 7, convicted to life at 16, got BA in prison

david oshinsky book

worse than slavery

oshinsky worse than slavery overview

decade between emancipation and civil rights is overlooked, deliberate strategy to preserve white supremacy, no more prisons so plantations became prisons

oshinsky worse than slavery - new system but ...

same people in same places doing the same thing in a new system

oshinsky worse than slavery - difference between slavery and convict leasing

slavery had duty of care but now can work to death

oshinsky worse than slavery - how did south become modern

through convict leasing - building infrastructure

oshinsky worse than slavery - white chief

vardaman wanted to protect white from barbarians, heavy lynching and whipping, a vote for vardaman is a vote for white supremacy, won election

oshinsky worse than slavery - foundation of convict leasing system

control, domination, exploitation, works through "criminal justice" to return people to their plantations

oshinsky worse than slavery - 13th amendment

1865 emancipation exact in 13th amendment slavery continues today for those who committed a crime

oshinsky worse than slavery klan members

judges, mayors, etc

oshinsky worse than slavery - aftermath of war

Mississippi desolated by civil war - economically, casualties, land

oshinsky worse than slavery - whites belief

believed blacks would perish in freedom

oshinsky worse than slavery - legalized exploitation

black codes passed to control labor supply and ensure white supremacy - vagrancy and enticement laws

oshinsky worse than slavery - vagrancy laws

no lawful unemployment over 18

oshinsky worse than slavery - enticement laws

illegal to lure a worker away from employer with enticements

oshinsky worse than slavery - reconstruction

made a black majority and many black people were in positions of power in mississippi

oshinsky worse than slavery - richardson

started era of convict leasing in mississippi, helped him earn a fortune, lied about conditions

oshinsky worse than slavery - mississippi plan

democrat plan to win back state government and ensure white supremacy through terror, coercion, and fraud, 300 blacks murdered in a few days

oshinsky worse than slavery - pig law

1876 - redefined larceny (punishable to 5 years) to include farm fraud and animals worth 10 dollars or more

oshinsky worse than slavery - powell's camp

lots of breakouts - experimented ways to stop them

oshinsky worse than slavery - scientific racism

theories of brain size, sexual arousal, and arrested development

oshinsky worse than slavery - parchman farm

held most mississippi felons, was old plantation, children and disabled people, segregation, dormitories were cages, trusty system of convicts of guards, reform came slowly, end of segregation brought violence, remains 70% black which is stable from 1930s

oshinsky worse than slavery - convict leasing as a profit-driven system

lucrative for state governments and private companies - funded public projects with revenue, corrupt practices like bribery and fraud

oshinsky worse than slavery - convict leasing conditions

inhumane: discipline, abuse, inadequate food and shelter, long hours, dangerous environments, lynching, flogging

Michelle Alexander book

the new jim crow: mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow Overview

black men have always been barred from voting with different tactics, changes have less to do with structure and more about language, once you are a felon old discrimination practices are legal, only russia close in incarceration rates, release from prison is just new phase of control, only a major social movement can dismantle the new caste system

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - what is the new jim crow

mass incarceration marginalizes the Black community, segregates them, and authorizes discrimination, overt racial segregation dismantled, blacks relegated to underclass, colorblind myth, eroded trust between black communities and law enforcement

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - lineage of racism

slavery - convict leasing - jim crow - mass incarceration

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - some african americans have experienced great success in recent years

does not mean that a racial caste system no longer exists

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - when does a new form of racialized social control begin

as backlash against the current system intensifies

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - concept of race and history

relatively recent development from European imperialism, systematic enslavement of Africans emerged with deliberate speed, planter class did a racial bribe to extend special privileges to poor whites to drive wedge between them and black slaves, bond labor was transformed into a racial caste

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - founding of US

constitution based on effort to preserve a racial caste, 3/5 compromise, end of slavery created economic and political dilemmas for southern white society

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - reconstruction

black codes overturned, new legislation protecting freed slaves was passed, 13th amendment, abolishing slavery, had potential to undermine caste system, african americans power began to rise and white reacted with panic - resurgent KKK, vagrancy and other laws were enforced vigorously

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - prisoners

became younger and blacker and length of sentences boomed

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - liberal philosophy of race relations

emphasized stigma of segregation and hypocrisy of a government that celebrates freedom but denies it on race

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - conservation philosophy

blamed liberals for pushing blacks ahead of their station in life and contributed to their downfall (more popular than liberal)

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - brown v board

signaled end of home rule in the South - fresh wave of white terror for those who supported dismantling Jim Crow, KKK resurges

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - civil rights movement

effects of the revolution were undeniable, evolved into a poor peoples movement and addressed white poverty with race neutral language, seen as a crime, FBI reports dramatic increases in national crime rate (baby room), riots against police, after civil rights act debate shifts to crime

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - new deal

designed to alleviate the suffering of poor people in the midst of the Depression and blacks benefitted disproportionately, whites responded positively for economic relief, conservatives argued poverty caused by culture

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - war on drugs

central to mass incarceration, racial profiling in law enforcement, police have discretion over who to stop and search, money involved, few resources for defendants, high sentencing for drug laws with 3 strike laws, disproportionately targeted black communities, long term consequences like loss of voting rights, reduced job opportunities, limited access to housing, crack vs powder was 100 to 1 now 18 to 1

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - color of justice

targeting for jury selection, mccleskey vs kemp, stigmas, willy horton ad, blacks more likely to be arrested and prosecuted for same offenses, sentencing disparities, death penalty disparities

McCleskey vs Kemp

death penalty case on race where US Supreme Court rejected claim that McCleskey got penalty due to race because white people are 16 times less likely to get DP - had to show in specific case

willy horton ad

30 second presidential ad, huge racial / political implications, Bush VP running, swung election and bush won, Dekakis supported weekend passes but furloughts weren't weekend passes, wasn't supposed to have his face

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - stigma of a criminal record

felony conviction has lifetime stigmas and places individuals in a second-class status, barriers to employment, housing, education, and social services, impact on families, prison as a social welfare system

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - legal discrimination

felonies face legal discrimination like denial of voting rights and restrictions on public assistance - disenfranchisement and marginalization

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - collateral consequences

loss of access to federal student loans, housing discrimination, denial of professional licenses

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - prison as a social welfare system

criminal justice system has become a de facto social welfare system for poor communities, with incarceration being used to address societal problems like drug addiction and mental illness

Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow - call to action

breaking silence, acknowledge problem, open discussion, education and awareness

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - background

US arrests more people than any other democracy even though this leads to more crime, friend Marty Tankleff arrested for murder of his parents, sentenced to 50 to life, exonerated after 17 years

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - US mass incarceration

most punitive country, 5% of population but 25% of prisoners, 7-10 times incarceration rate of Europe, rate spiked from 500k to 2mill, increase in probation and parole, gender gap, black men 6 times white prison population, women fastest growing population, over 1% of prisoners behind bars, OECD below 100 but US at 700

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - juvenille and female prisoners

5 times the rate of the next closest country

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - fear from increase in crime

mass incarceration, private policing, surveillance, gated communities

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - growth of incarceration and violent crime

no effect

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - US police

more aggressive, violent, and militarized than Europe, stop and frisk not allowed in Europe, 54% people stopped black 11% white, 88% stopped were innocent, deaths by police in 900s per year vs 2 in 3 years in UK

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - france system

antiquated / decrepit system

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - Germany system

lenient and humane system

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - UK system

most closely matches US system

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - plea bargaining increase

court cases are getting relatively rate - 95% of criminal cases are settled in plea bargaining

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - plea bargaining in theory

represents mutually agreeable arrangement between prosecution and defense, both sides can be spared time and expenses, defendant knowingly and willingly waived rights to trial, can be charge bargaining sentence bargaining or fact bargaining, prosecutor will lower charge for plea or threaten higher charge for trial, seems pro defendant

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - plea bargaining in practice

coercive legal extortion, wrongful convictions, unconstitutional, public defenders are overburdened and seek quick resolve, prosecutors overcharge, mandatory minimums, use of overcharging as a threat, 95% of criminal cases result in plea bargains

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - plea bargains in france

french system is forgiving, prosecutor's decision is independent of if defendant confesses, rarely used

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - plea bargaining in Germany

merciful, banned until 2009, judge has active role, upper limit, cases still go to trial, only for minor crimes

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - adversarial system

US - 2 sides who play to win, prosecution vs. defense, judge (procedural rules), jury (fact finder), guilt vs no guilt, both do whatever it takes, prosecutor has more resources and power, used in common law countries (UK)

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - inquisitional model

judges play direct face finding role - Europe

Unusually Cruel Marc Howard - plea bargaining in UK

90% of convictions through guilty pleas, prosecutors have less power, defense attorneys have better preparation and defense

Comparative Sentencing

life sentences and DP are uniquely US and are increasing, convictions going down in other countries, sentencing for same crime is more severe in US, juvenile life sentencing, england uses proportionality, pre 1970s interderminate sentencing, time served requirements

indeterminate sentencing

a model of criminal punishment that encourages rehabilitation through the use of general and relatively unspecific sentences - disconnect between sentence and time served

determinate sentencing

A period of incarceration that is fixed by a sentencing authority and cannot be reduced by judges or other corrections officials - without discretionary parole release

structured sentences

increase harshness, includes criminal history

mandatory sentencing

punishment that judges must impose according to what the law directs, takes away case specific discretion from trial judge and remove discretion of parole board to grant release, mandatory minimum statues, targeting habitual offenders

time-served requirements

seek to ensure that time served by offenders is primarily determined by length of sentence imposed

prosecutor overview

said to be most powerful actor in criminal justice system, represents interests of states and its citizens, most are elected in state or appointed, prosecutorial discretion has been subject of controversy throughout century, have full discretion and have absolute immunity, radically decentralized, seek to develop political connections through friendships with associates, investigate crimes

what decisions do prosecutors make

types of crime to pursue, allocate resources, where to dispatch undercover crews on drug busts, whether to bring charges, whether to charge as adult or juvenile, whether to seek enhanced penalties, death penalty, life without parole, grant immunity / leniency for testimony, plea bargains

prosecutor ethical duties

pursue justice not convictions, refrain from extrajudicial comments - not in the news, disclose exculpatory evidence (Brady vs. maryland)

prosecutor selection and election

appointed: Alaska, connecticut, new jersey, DC (US attorney), elected 47 other states

prosecutor: grand juries

proceedings are supposed to be secret, leads to indictment, originally to protect defendants from false accusations but not considered an effective tool for prosecutors, famous quote by NY chief judge Wachtler: if a DA wanted, a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich

prosecutor social context

develop shared understanding of typical crimes, who commits them, where they occur, etc, helps explain high rate of plea bargaining, incentive for defense lawyers is economic and practical (most are guilty), police abuses in extracting confessions, piling on flimsy charges

Amy Bach book

ordinary injustice

Amy Bach Ordinary Injustice - defense

vigorous defense is cornerstone of legal system, every accused deserves dedicated representation, system incentivizes plea bargains so defendants can be coerced into accepting them, disparities for defense resources, race, socioeconomics, and systemic biases influence defenses