Prison and Jail Systems: Key Concepts and Trends

Risk & Needs Assessment

  • Implementation of a system to evaluate incarcerated individuals' risks and needs

  • System used to match individuals with appropriate programming and rehabilitation services

Firearm Policy for BOP Employees

  • Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employees allowed to carry concealed firearms off prison grounds

  • Secure lockboxes required for firearm storage while on duty

Protection for Pregnant Incarcerated Women

  • Prohibition of physical restraints on pregnant, laboring, and postpartum individuals in custody

Revisions to Mandatory Sentencing

  • Reduces severity of mandatory minimum sentences

  • Decreases length of extremely long or life sentences

Retroactivity of the Fair Sentencing Act (2010)

  • Changes to crack vs. powder cocaine sentencing disparities made retroactive

  • Individuals sentenced under harsher laws can seek reduced sentences

Additional Rehabilitation & Release Provisions in the First Step Act

  • Encourages home confinement for low-risk individuals

  • Expands compassionate release for seriously ill incarcerated persons

  • BOP required to issue ID cards upon release

Concerns about the First Step Act

  • Risk Assessment Tool Concerns

    • Criticized as inaccurate

    • Limited access to programming despite Act's intent

  • Funding and Scope Issues

    • Insufficient financial investment for implementation

    • Act only applies to the federal prison system, limiting its national impact

    • Unclear impact on broader national prison reform

Definition of a Prison

  • A facility designed for housing individuals as punishment for law violations; the notion of long-term imprisonment is modern

Early Use of Jails

  • Jails originally functioned as pretrial detention facilities, not for long-term incarceration

Common Historical Punishments

  • Whipping

  • Fines

  • Stocks

  • Physical labor

Early Jails in America

  • Jails appeared with English settlers; small due to incarceration not being a primary punishment

  • Example: Philadelphia’s first jail (1683) was a 5×7-foot cage

    • Used until 1820 and had poor conditions

Conditions in Early Jails

  • Prisoners charged for their own food

Walnut Street Jail (Philadelphia)

  • Opened in 1776 as a workhouse, later a military prison until 1784

    • Features included solitary confinement and hard labor

The Pennsylvania System

  • First system in the U.S. utilizing imprisonment as punishment

    • Involved solitary confinement to resist inmate corruption

    • Emphasis on religious reform, prayer, and reflection

  • Overcrowding and inadequate conditions prompted reforms

The New York (Auburn) System

  • Smaller cells with a congregate labor system: inmates worked together but without speaking

    • Sing Sing Prison known for corporal punishment and a legacy of executions

  • This system gained popularity for its increased capacity and profitability through large-scale prison labor

Elmira Reformatory (New York)

  • Introduced good time credits and parole

  • Practiced extensive evaluation of inmates on needs and rehabilitation potential

  • Criticized for use of corporal punishment

The Reformatory Era (1876)

  • Shift from strict punishment to rehabilitation, led by Zebulon Brockway

    • Introduced individualized treatment plans and incentive-based movement systems

The Punishment Era (1900–1940)

  • Renewed focus on punishment over rehabilitation amidst rising crime rates post-WWII

Purpose of Jails Today

  • Roles:

    • Holding individuals awaiting trial or transfer (including juvenile and immigration cases)

  • Conditions often inadequate

Tribal Jails

  • Facilitate community programs like work release and alternate monitoring

  • Staffed by police/sheriff departments, with an average stay of 11 days in 80 facilities nationwide

Federal and Private Prisons

  • Federal Prisons Context

    • Established 1930; major growth due to mandatory minimums and Sentencing Reform Act

    • Inmates: 145,605 as of Jan 2023 (93% male, 58% White, 38% Black)

    • Programming for drug treatment available for about 28,000 inmates in 2021

Private Prisons

  • Population of ~100,000 in 2020, making up 8% of the national total

  • Critiques focus on increased privatization under different administrations

  • Cost effectiveness evaluated with private facilities being cheaper per inmate per day

Military Prisons

  • Designed for those convicted of military crimes with various security levels (e.g., Level 1 for minor offenses to life sentences)

Prison Security Levels & Inmate Classification

  • Classification system evaluates risk & needs to determine prison placement

Issues in Incarceration

  • Racial Disproportionality: Overrepresentation of people of color in prison vs. general population

    • Example: Black men are 38% of prison population compared to 13% of U.S. men

  • Overcrowding Issues: Defined by a higher number of inmates than designed capacity, often leading to increased tensions and reduced rehabilitative programs

  • COVID-19 Impact: Incarcerated individuals faced higher health risks due to inadequate social distancing and care

Incarceration of Women & LGBTQ+ Individuals

  • Women make up about 7% of the prison population, and women of color are significantly overrepresented

  • Common offenses often linked to poverty and substance abuse

Prison Conditions & Financial Issues

  • Misconception of stability in prison life, as many expenses are borne by inmates

  • Medical costs and co-pays contribute greatly to financial strain

Prison Misconduct

  • Factors leading to misconduct include: youth, security levels, overcrowding, and administrative issues

Prison Riots

  • Major events stem from poor conditions and management, with notable examples such as Attica (1971) and New Mexico State Penitentiary (1980)

Sexual Misconduct

  • Underreported incidents, with legislation like the Prison Rape Elimination Act (2003) aiming to address issues

Legal Rights of Incarcerated Persons

  • A significant shift occurred in prisoner rights following cases such as Cooper v. Pate (1964) which allowed inmates to sue for rights violations

Constitutional Rights in Prison

  1. First Amendment: Right to practice religion

  2. Fourth Amendment: Limited privacy rights

  3. Sixth Amendment: Access to legal counsel

  4. Eighth Amendment: Protection against cruel and unusual punishment

Section 1983 vs. Habeas Corpus

  • Section 1983 allows inmates to challenge conditions of confinement and violations of rights

  • Habeas corpus permits challenges to the legality of imprisonment

Wrongful Convictions

  • A significant issue with 3,400 documented exonerations since 1989

    • African Americans are disproportionately affected

Leading Causes of Wrongful Conviction

  1. Perjury / False Accusations

  2. Official Misconduct

  3. Mistaken Eyewitness Identification

  4. False Forensic Evidence

  5. False Confessions

Case Example: Earl Washington

  • Wrongfully convicted due to a coerced confession; exonerated after DNA evidence excluded him.

Trends in Exoneration

  • Year-on-year increases in wrongful convictions and trends indicate a persistence in certain crime types and causes.