Incarceration and Punishment

Durkheim

punishment expresses collective conscious and reinforces social solidarity

Durkheim

crime is normal bc it clarifies moral beliefs

Durkheim

punishment is about moral outrage and social unity, not just defense

Durkheim

Limitations: assumes social consensus; ignores inequality and power

Marx

punishment reflects economic structure and class relations

Marx

laws protecting ruling-class interests

Marx

crime often linked to poverty and capitalist inequality

Marx

Key Idea: prisons manage marginalized + surplus labor

Marx

Limitations: overly economic; less attention to culture and institutions

Foucault

shift from public disciplinary surveillance

Foucault

institutions create docile bodies

Foucault

power operates thru constant monitoring and normalization

Foucault

Key Idea: prisons reflect broader systems of surveillance (schools, workplaces)

Foucault

Limitation: limited focus on race and capitalism

Elias

punishment linked to civilizing process

Elias

over time societies move from violent corotational punishment to controlled legal punishment

Elias

Key Idea: Increasing self control and emotional regulation

Elias

Limitations: assumes linear progress; doesn't explain mass incarceration

Poverty is criminalized through

policing homelessness, cash bail system, court fines and fees, quality of life policing, drug enforcement in poor neighborhoods

How does Incarceration Create Poverty?

Loss of wages, criminal record-> limited employment, housing restrictions, housing restrictions, family financial burden, court debt

Colonial Era

penal transportation: sends convicted offenders from England to colonies to serve as indentured laborers

Colonial era

work under contract-> blends justice w/economic exploitation

After American Revolution

Rise of penitenaries

After American Revolution

labor as moral reform, instill discipline and discourage idleness

After American Revolution

US punishment (forced labor) is inseperable from enslaved labor systems

After American Revolution

Many colonial legal codes treated labor violations as punishable offenses

After American Revolution

began to adopt structural work routines similar for outside labor

Post Civil War and Convict Labor Systems

convict leasing and other labor systems developed where incarcerated were leased out to priv businesses for labor (mining, railroads, etc.)

Post Civil War and Convict Labor Systems

targeted for former enslaved black men; reenslavement

Post Civil War and Convict Labor Systems

economic value from punishment

Core Findings in Sociology of work

Individuals are embedded in larger units of analysis

Core Findings in Sociology of work

Technology and markets are shaped by social (human) forces

Core Findings in Sociology of work

Work orgs are characterized not only by formal and written policies, but also by informal and unwritten expectations

Core Findings in Sociology of work

Organizational leaders benefit from systematic bias in their favor

Punitive Perspective

work/labor as discipline

Punitive perspective

Little/no wages

Punitive perspective

labor as punishment comes 1st then wages, etc

Punitive perspective

Focus on control

Rehabilitative Perspective

treats labor as rehabilitative tool (skills, routines, time management taught for after release)

Rehabilitation perspectives

labor is part of reform agenda

Restorative/Transformative Perspective

fair wages

Restorative/transformative perspective

voluntary participation

Restorative/transformative perspective

Worker protections

Restorative/transformative perspective

Reintegration focus

Prison Labor Perspective Criteria

wages, voluntariness, skill transferability, post-release outcomes

Facility Maintenance

type of prison labor that keeps prison running, most common

ex: kitchen, laundry, cleaning

industry

type of prison labor that does manufacturing (furniture, textiles), not common

state prison

Private-Sector Contracts

type of prison labor

Call centers, agricultural labor

Outside Carceral Work

type of prison labor, less common public parks, road crews, etc.

Role of Work

"Snack Money" Podcast

work provides small wages, status and structure, access to goods, escape from isolation, also reinforces control

Criminalization of Blackness Argument

Blackness became statistically and politically equated w/crime after slavery

Criminalization of Blackness Evidence

Post Emancipation crime stats used to justify inequality

Data misused to support segregation and policing

Northern progressiveness framed black communities as inherently criminal

Criminalization of Blackness Key Idea

Crime stats were used to naturalize racial inequality

When did the Convict Lease System Emerge?

1870s After Reconstruction

Why did the Convict Lease System Emerge?

To replace slave labor

Why did the Convict Lease System Emerge?

Southern states needed revenue

Why did the Convict Lease System Emerge?

controlled freed Black popu

Convict Lease System

prisoners leased to mines, farmlands and railroads

Extreme brutality

No oversight

Why was the Convict Lease System Profitable

no cost for housing/feeding workers long-term

High mortality= easy replacement

Criminalization of Blackness and Mass Incarceration

justified racialized policing

supported policies that targeted Black communities

normalized idea that incarceration was legit response to racial inequality

Blacks became disproportionately surveilled, arrested and incarcerated

Convict Lease System and Mass Incarceration

created incentives for arresting people to do labor

linked incarceration directly to economic exploitation

established pattern where CJS controlled Black Labor

Redlining

banks and federal housing programs refused mortgages to Black Neighborhoods

Suburbiniation

white families moved to suburbs w/better schools, jobs and infrastructure

Redlining and suburbanization and Mass Incarceration

concentrated poverty leads to higher policing and surveillance

Redlining and suburbanization and Mass Incarceration

underfunded schools and fewer opportunities increase vulnerability to criminalization

Redlining and suburbanization and Mass Incarceration

urban neighborhoods became framed as dangerous crime zones

Deindustrialization

massive job loss in urban communities, rising unemployment and economic instabilities in cities

Deindustrialization and Mass Incarceration

w/o stable employment poverty increased, informal and illegal economics expanded, govs responded with policing, not economic investment

Urban Crisis

60s-70s, US cities experienced economic decline, racial segregation, civil unrest and rising poverty

Instead of addressing structural inequality, many politicians framed prob as crime and disorder

Urban Crisis and Mass Incarceration

expansion of law and order policies

increased police presence in urban areas

Tougher sentencing policies

crime control became response to social inequality

War on Drugs Key Policies

Mandatory min sentences

3 strikes law

increased drug policing

War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration

Drug policies dramatically increased number of people entering prison, esp. for nonviolent offenses

Rapid increase prison popu from 1980s onward

Industrialization

Factories expanded, but harsh conditions (long hours, dangerous work and low wages)

Led to labor strikes and worker organizing

Industrialization and Prison Labor

prisons were source of cheap labor that could undercut free workers

states and businesses used incarcerated to produce goods cheaply, weaken work bargaining power and maintain production during labor unrest

Organized Labor and Prison Labor

labor unions strongly opposed prison labor bc it created unfair comp

Unions pushed for restriction on prison labor products

Highlighted tension of prisons as sites of punishment and/or as economic production systems

New Deal Regulation of prison labor

1930s gov introduced regulations addressing conflict between free and prison labor: Limited insterstate sale of prison made goods and comp between prison and priv industries

attempted to protect free workers, regulate prison markets

Prison labor continued but its economic reach was restricted

Establishment of Federal Prison Industries (UNICOR)

designed to organize labor w/in federal prisons, provide structured work programs and supply goods to gov agencies (furniture, clothing, military equipment, etc)

Institutionalized prison labor as permanent feature of federal prison systems

Deregulation and Expansion of Prison Labor

70s/80s prison popus increased, regulations on labor loosened

Large prison popus created large labor force w/ low wages

Prison labor became attractive to gov agencies and priv companies seeking cheap labor

Deregulation and Expansion of Prison Labor Key Developments

growth of priv prison industries

partnerships w/ corporations

expansion of prison work programs