Paper Example on History of US Jails

Introduction

The transition from the feudal to the capitalist mode of production implied a radical transformation of the social order, as changes occurred in the field of the economy with the passage of a basically agrarian production to another of a mercantile or political nature with the consequent transformation of kingdoms disseminated in nation states, also affected by cultural and ideological changes (Misis, 2014). All these changes in the system led to the production of a new and functional man to the emerging social order. In these circumstances, it became necessary for the modern State to assume the role of producing a framework of laws, which turned out to be at that time rights for some and obligations for the majority. However, in that framework in which many men were in factories, children in school and women in the home; they were left out of the system and in many cases some people who had more difficulties to "adapt" were hit, as were the poor, the sick, the vagabonds, the old, orphans, pickpockets, beggars and crazy people (Barker, 2009). Thus, in the middle of the eighteenth century, jail emerged as the most important segregative space for the treatment of deviations, as an instrument that at the same time humanized sentences (by replacing corporal punishment with the deprivation of freedom), was adapted to the changes in the productive process and incorporated disciplinary elements for the moralization of the subordinate classes.

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Until the sixteenth century, the general rule of incarceration was used for the purposes of custody of detainees until the time of trial; however, given the circumstances of the moment, - in which a considerable increase in crime was generated, which led to the creation of real contingents of prostitutes, vagabonds and beggars who ravaged the roads and cities of America, despite the actions of cleaning against that group, which prevented everyone from executing -, made the prison appear as a more applicable penalty. Thus, little by little all the different states began to use the prison as a repressive punishment, however severe corporal punishment (ranging from lashes to death), pecuniary sanctions and exile especially used with respect to the American colonies.

In America during 1660, the founder of William Penn arose, who did not believe in corporal punishment and advocated that the death penalty should only be for the premeditated murderer established corrections and fixed pecuniary penalties for various crimes. Until the death of Penn, (1718) Pennsylvania was distinguished by mankind from its prison regime, which was then supplemented by the old English code with its school of intolerable conditions (Foster & John, 2009). While in Europe, the restriction of freedom, was only considered for the purposes of custody and physical torment of the defendant until he was tried and convicted, totally ignoring the public jail as a way to execute a penalty, in America arose the aegis of William Penn, who did not believe in corporal punishment and advocated that the death penalty be only for the premeditated murderer, establishing corrections and fixing pecuniary penalties for the various crimes (Gottschalk, 2006). In the 18th century, a great penitentiary inventiveness was deployed in the United States, introducing the Walnut street prison, a cellular system of complete isolation during the day and night, excluding work. In this way, the prisoner spent day and night locked in a cell, without receiving visits, or work or perform activities that could prevent an environment conducive to meditation. It was intended to initiate a process of reflection inside the cell.

The use of imprisonment to punish criminal behavior was not utilized until the 1700's when the nation shifted away from the public punishment that focused greatly on inflicting pain to deter others. After a few decades though, the United States realized that their deterrence measures were not as successful as they once were. The first facilities were "simple and loosely organized buildings" that they housed individuals in with very little supervision. Men, women, and children, regardless of their crime, were all thrown into a large room together and left to "sort out" their crimes themselves. In the late 1970s, the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons met with Benjamin Franklin at his home to discuss the many issues surrounding the corrections system at the time (Greenberg & Valerie, 2001). In 1818 the Western Penitentiary was founded in Pennsylvania near Pittsburg. In 1829 in the Eastern Penitentiary of Pennsylvania, a combined system of cellular and forced labor was applied. The "Reformatory" penitentiary began operating in 1876 in Elmira under the leadership of Zebulon Brockway.

It was not until 1870 that the Americans abandoned their native system at the Cincinnati Congress and joined the so-called "progressive era," based on the use of mechanisms for gradual rehabilitation (Misis, 2014). Towards the twentieth century, the United States suffered a genuine criminal epidemic well known and immortalized in both literature and film, this criminal explosion required a remarkable effort to explain the causes and address the remedies, especially against organized crime, believing in the profitability of using large budgets to adapt delinquents within the figure of the "American dream" that situates its logical desires of wealth within the scheme of the America of the well-being.

Conclusion

Women prisons and juvenile facilities were built during the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. There were reforms that were drafted that significantly improved the lives of inmates such as the introduction of libraries and vocational training. The first maximum securities were built during the 20th century (Misis, 2014). There was also a shift in the penal policy during the 20th century and prisons became facilities for maintaining social order and isolating unwanted criminals rather than being just correctional facilities. American prisons are very different from other nations and they are different from each other. There are federal prisons that are divided into several levels of security. Among these are private prisons that are exclusively for non-Americans. There are also state prisons that are different for each state and there is a different federal criminal code for each state.

References

Barker, V. (2009). The politics of imprisonment: How the democratic process shapes the way America punishes offenders. New York: Oxford University Press.

Foster, H., & John, H. (2009). The mass incarceration of parents in America: Issues of race/ethnicity, collateral damage to children, and prisoner re-entry. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, 623: 179-194.

Gottschalk, M. (2006). The Prison and the gallows: The politics of mass incarceration in America. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Greenberg., D. & Valerie, W. (2001). State prison populations and their growth, 1971-1991. Criminology, 39: 615-653.

Misis, M. (2014). History of corrections in America. Illinois State University. 2011.