Incarceration & Punishment

Why are jails more diverse than prison?

hold pre-trial, convicted awaiting sentencing, minor offenses less than a year

who are jails typically run by?

the county sheriff

operational challenges of jails

• recieve less financial support and attention

• dilapidated structures

• less trained staff

Processing trends

• 10.6 million in 2016

• average stay is 25.1 days

booking process

• strip searches

• potential detox

• housing classification

how is housing determined?

• offense

• gang involvement

• history

Judges typically have only minutes to evaluate. . .

• defendant's flight risk

• threat to the community

• ability to pay

types of release/bonds

• release on recognizance

• cash

• commercial

• deposit

• usecured release

Release on Recognizance

Release without financial conditions if the defendant is deemed low risk

Cash Bond

Posting the full bail amount

Commercial Bond

Paying a non-refundable fee (usually 10%) to a private agent who posts the rest

Deposit Bond

• Posting 10% with the court

• liable for the full amount if they fail to appear

Unsecured Release

• No upfront payment

• liable for the full amount if conditions are violated

Bail Reform

• some states (like California) have abolished bail

• others rely on pretrial risk assessment technology to guide judges

Sentencing Foundations

usually occurs 30 days post-conviction

Types of Sentences

• Indeterminate

• Determinate

• Mandatory

• Concurrent

• Consecutive

Indeterminate Sentence

A year range based on a rehabilitation philosophy

Determinate Sentence

A fixed number of years aligned with retribution

Mandatory Sentence

Sentences required by law for specific crimes where probation is not an option

Concurrent Sentence

Serving two sentences at the same time

Consecutive Sentence

serving them sequentially

Presentence Investigation (PSI)

• report written by a probation officer

• includes a defendant’s background and a sentencing recommendation

Victim Impact Statements

Harm statements from victims

Parole

Release from prison before completing a full sentence

Alexander Maconochie

• Developed the "mark system" in Australia

• tasks performed determined release

Sir Walter Crofton

• Created the "Irish System" involving stages

• including solitary confinement and a "ticket of leave"

Parole and Reentry Challenges

• gaps in healthcare (Medicaid suspension)

• high risks of overdose

• limited mental health therapy in the community

Mental Illness in Jails

• 64% of jail inmates have mental health issues

• compared to 10.6% of the general population

Chronic Health in Jails

• 50% of inmates have chronic health problems

• heart disease is the second leading cause of death in jails

Estelle v. Gamble (1976)

"deliberate indifference" to inmate medical needs violates the 8th Amendment

Packer’s Models: Crime Control Model

• Prioritizes community protection

• efficient suppression of crime.

Packer’s Models: Due Process Model

Prioritizes the integrity of the legal process and individual rights

Punishment Justifications

• Retribution

• Deterrence

• Incapacitation

• Rehabilitation

• Reintegration

Modern Reform Ideas

• Wraparound services (housing/job training)

• Restorative Justice

• Clean Slate legislation (record sealing)

• Peer Support Mentoring

Juvenile Justice System

focusing on "the best interests of the child"

Juvenile Justice System Terminology Differences

• arrested vs taken into custody

• trials vs adjudicatory hearings

• sentences vs dispositions

Parens Patriae

the state acts as the "ultimate guardian" of children who are neglected or delinquent

Juvenile Justice System Status Offenses

Acts that are only illegal because of the individual's age

Judicial Waiver

A judge decides whether to move the case

Juvenile Justice System Legislative Exclusion

Certain serious crimes automatically require the youth to be tried as an adult

In re Gault

juveniles have the right

• to counsel

• against self-incrimination

• to confront witnesses

Roper v. Simmons

Abolished the death penalty for crimes committed under age 18

Miller v. Alabama

Struck down mandatory life without parole for juveniles

Abolition

reimagining how society addresses harm and safety

The Abolitionist Framework

• Decarceration

• Divest/Invest

• Transformative Justice

Decarceration

Strategies to reduce the number of people in prison

Divest/Invest

Moving funding away from policing and prisons and into community-based "wraparound services"

Transformative Justice

• not relying on state systems

• focusing on the root causes of harm and communal accountability

The Prison-Industrial Complex

The overlapping interests of the government that use surveillance, policing, and imprisonment as solutions to economic, social, and political problems

Restorative Justice

• "Who was harmed?"

• “What do they need to heal?"

• involves the victim, the offender, and the community.

Traditional Justice

• "What law was broken?"

• "Who did it?"