Prisons are often seen as an icon of security and justice. However, its imagery and function has begun to diverge in contemporary society. As a result of shifts in political and social ideologies, incarceration has begun emphasizing retribution and risk management rather than rehabilitation and social progress (Pizarro et al., 2006, p. 6). A testament of these shifts can be seen in super-maximum security prisons—also known as supermaxes. Despite its innovative appearance, the purpose and cost behind them is suspicious. This paper will further investigate the purpose, efficacy, and realities of the supermax as they relate to prison’s evolved function in contemporary society. There are several features that separate a supermax from a standard prison. Although many supermaxes will differ, four features are generally applicable (Kurki & Morris, 2001, p. 388-390). The first characteristic is the long-term and indefinite sentences. Sentencing is measured in years rather than months. Meaning, the main concern is minimizing offending rather than justice according to blameworthiness (Pizarro et al., 2006, p. 9). The second characteristic is the usage of an admission/transfer assessment. Unfortunately, prisoner representation is minimal during this process. Admission/transfer is …show more content…
Supermax prisons utilize a layout similar to Jeremy Bentham’s from the 1790s but adapted for the 21st Century. A supermax is seen as a computerized fortress layered with thick walls, surveillance/tracking, and armed personnel (Rhodes, 2007, p. 547). The extent of the isolation, reasoning for sentences, and its technological efficiency separates the supermax from past practices of solitary confinement (Haney, 2003, p. 125-126). The appearance is different but the concept is the
Many changes are made inside the justice system, but very few have damaged the integrity of the system and the futures of citizens and prisoners. Although the story seems to focus more on lockdown, Hopkins clearly identifies the damaging change from rehabilitation in prisons to a strategy of locking up and containing the prisoners. To the writer, and furthermore the reader, the adjustment represented a failure to value lives. “More than 600,000- about 3 times what it was when I entered prison, sixteen years ago. In the resulting expansion of the nation’s prison systems, authorities have tended to dispense with much of the rehabilitative programming once prevalent in America’s penal institutions” (Hopkins 157). The new blueprint to lock every offender in prison for extended sentencing leads to an influx in incarcerated people. With each new person
The goals of incarceration according to penological principles are incapacitation, rehabilitation, retribution, and deterrence. When exploring the outcomes of a time served in a supermax facility, rehabilitation can be immediately ruled out. Supermax facilities have been said to be potentially damaging to an inmate’s mental health and inflict irrational emotions of rage and lead an individual to lose touch with reality (Haney, 2003). Incapacitation is achieved through the incarceration of inmates in supermax facilities. Inmates are removed from society, preventing future crime. Incapacitation is achieved through all forms of incarceration, not just incarceration in supermax facilities. Deterrence is a heavily debated aspect. From a study done in 2005 by Roy King, the interviews of 42 supermax inmates had interesting findings in terms of deterrence. King’s findings suggested that some inmates spend their sentence in supermax reflecting on the wrongfulness of their actions. Inmates have stated that placement in these facilities have allowed them to release themselves from harmful influences of other problematic stressors and exercise self-control (King, 2005). Lastly, retribution.
Solitary confinement has the ability to shatter even the healthiest mind when subjected to indefinite lockdown, yet the mentally ill, who are disproportionately represented in the overall prison population, make up the majority of inmates who are held in that indefinite lockdown. Within your average supermax prison in which all inmates are subjected to an elevated form of solitary confinement, inmates face a 23-hour lockdown, little to no form of mental or physical stimulation that is topped off with no human interaction beyond the occasional guard to inmate contact. It is no wonder ‘torture’ is often used synonymously to describe solitary confinement. For years, cases arguing against solitary confinement have contested against its inhumane
The correctional system has tried to determine what the best method for dealing with criminals is, particularly criminals who are deemed to be the "worst criminal" type. There are two different models that have been suggested, the dispersion model and the consolidation model. To define it simply, the dispersion model "scatters offenders with unusually dangerous histories or disruptive behavioral patterns throughout the correctional system, thus avoiding a concentration of such offenders in any one location" (Hickey, 2010, p. 208). The consolidation model "involves placing all highly dangerous inmates at one location and controlling them through reliance on heightened security procedures" (Hickey, 2010, p. 209). Of course, each of these models has pros and cons, but it is the concept of supermax prisons that has caused debate.
In California, two supermax facilities were built by the state: Corcoran State Prison in 1988, and then Pelican Bay in 1989. The federal government soon followed suit and in 1994, the “first federal supermax opened, in Florence, Colorado.” It was not much longer before supermax prisons could be seen all over the country (Abramsky). In Wisconsin’s supermax facility, with similar conditions being found in a majority of supermaxes, there are “100-cell housing units” that are in groups of 25 cells.
It is easy to turn a blind I when there is no direct personal experience. Mass incarceration is an issue that influences other issues within the correctional system. The more people under correctional supervision means, the more individuals who can potentially be sexually victimized or placed in solitary confinement. Both are issues within the correctional system. Moreover, studies have shown that sexual victimization and solitary confinement have adverse side effects on inmates. If any of these variables are going to change for the better, then policy needs to change. Those in society, especially those with power who can affect policy in the penal system need to see these issues as a major problem. Some of the proposed solutions to reduce the incarceration rate and not new ideas, but a change in approach. Heroux (2011), suggested possible policy solutions to reduce the mass incarceration. Some of these solutions are earlier release, a change in mandatory minimums, transfer to non-institutions facilities, the diversion from institutional facilities, and doing away with mandatory minimum laws. This could be the next step towards reducing mass
The past two decades have engendered a very serious and historic shift in the utilization of confinement within the United States. In 1980, there were less than five hundred thousand people confined in the nation’s prisons and jails. Today we have approximately two million and the numbers are still elevating. We are spending over thirty five billion annually on corrections while many other regime accommodations for education, health
During the early half of the 19th century, there were two new models of prisons being built in the United States. Along with the new styles of prisons being constructed, two new styles of correctional systems were developed, the Pennsylvania system, and the Auburn, New York system (Mays & Winfree, 2009). Although the designs of the actual prisons were dramatically different, both systems shared similar ideals, with regards to how inmates should spend their days. Ultimately, the Auburn system prevailed as the more popular system of corrections in the United States, with some of the system’s correctional philosophies being used well into the 20th century (Mays & Winfree, 2009). Before discussing the actual philosophies, which were used to manage the inmates in each system, we should first look at the difference in the design of the prisons used in each system.
For centuries, prisons have been attempting to reinforce good behavior through various methods of punishment, some more severe than others. There are several types of punishments which include “corporal punishment, public humiliation, penal bondage, and banishment for more severe offenses, as well as capital punishment”(Linklater, V). Punishments in which are more severe pose the question “Has it gone too far?” and is stripping away the rights and humanity of a criminal justified with the response it is for the protection of the people? Is justice really served? Although prison systems are intense and the experience is one of a kind for sure, it does little to help them as statistics show “two-in-five inmates nationwide return to jail within three years of release”(Ascharya, K).
Rhodes, Lorna A. “Pathological Effects of the Supermaximum Prison.” American Journal of Public Health. October 2005. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1449421/# __sec3title.
It is said that prison should be used for more serious crimes such as rape, assault, homicide and robbery (David, 2006). Because the U.S. Prison is used heavily for punishment and prevention of crime, correctional systems in the U.S. tend to be overcrowded (David, 2006). Even though prisons in the U.S. Are used for privies on of crime it doesn 't work. In a 2002 federal study, 67% of inmates that
“The history of correctional thought and practice has been marked by enthusiasm for new approaches, disillusionment with these approaches, and then substitution of yet other tactics”(Clear 59). During the mid 1900s, many changes came about for the system of corrections in America. Once a new idea goes sour, a new one replaces it. Prisons shifted their focus from the punishment of offenders to the rehabilitation of offenders, then to the reentry into society, and back to incarceration. As times and the needs of the criminal justice system changed, new prison models were organized in hopes of lowering the crime rates in America. The three major models of prisons that were developed were the medical, model, the community model, and the crime control model.
America locks up five times more of its' population than any other nation in the world. Due to prison overcrowding, prisoners are currently sleeping on floors, in tents, in converted broom closets and gymnasiums, or even in double or triple bunks in cells, which were designed for one inmate. Why is this happening? The U.S. Judicial System has become so succumbed to the ideal that Imprisonment is the most visibly form of punishment. The current structure of this system is failing terribly. To take people, strip them of their possessions and privacy, expose them to violence on a daily basis, restrict their quality of life to a 5x7ft cell, and deprive them of any meaning to live. This scenario is a standard form of punishment for violent offenders, although not suitable for nonviolent offenders.
(2013) Prison: the facts Bromley Briefings Summer. Available from: http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/Prisonthefacts.pdf [Accessed 01 January 2014]. Sue Rex, A. and Robinson, G. (2004) Alternative Prison Options for an Insecure Society.
Prison was designed to house and isolate criminals away from the society in order for our society and the people within it to function without the fears of the outlaws. The purpose of prison is to deter and prevent people from committing a crime using the ideas of incarceration by taking away freedom and liberty from those individuals committed of crimes. Prisons in America are run either by the federal, states or even private contractors. There are many challenges and issues that our correctional system is facing today due to the nature of prisons being the place to house various types of criminals. In this paper, I will address and identify three major issues that I believe our correctional system is facing today using my own ideas along with the researches from three reputable outside academic sources.