Three restrictions on judicial discretion:



Three restrictions on judicial discretion:

Mandatory minimum sentences

“Three strikes”

Sentencing guidelines

Sentencing Guidelines

Typical Guideline

Criminal History Score X Offense Severity

Each combination = specific range of sentences

Do they work?

They do reduce sentencing disparity

BUT, do they simply shift discretion to the prosecutors and the legislature?

Corrections

Carrying out the sentence of the decreed by the judicial system

History of Corrections

Community Corrections

Intermediate Sanctions

Institutional Corrections

The Middle Ages to the

17th Century

The Middle Ages

Feudal period: blood feuds--> wergild

Later Middle ages (Henry VIII, Elizabeth I)

Increase in corporal and capital punishment

Bizarre and extravagant tortures

17th Century

Poor laws and “houses of correction”

Transportation (for profit), galley slaves

Colonial America (1600s-1750s)

Punishment was public

Punishment was corporal or capital

Prison-like institutions existed, but were not used as “punishment”

COPORAL PUNISHMENTS

The Rise of the Penitentiary

(1750-1800)

William Penn

Revised criminal code in Pennsylvania to forbid torture and mutilation; ordered new “houses of correction”

Walnut Street Prison (1790)

Other states (New Jersey, New York) followed

Walnut Street Jail and Eastern Penitentiary

Pennsylvania vs. Auburn System

Pennsylvania

Western Penitentiary, Eastern Penitentiary

Silent System

New York

Auburn Prison

Congregate System

Only difference?

Isolation of inmates during the day

Corrections in the 1800s

Auburn System wins debate

Easier to perform labor; the only way to perform factory labor

But, prison brutal, corporal punishment prevalent

Prison building boom (1850s)

Prison Industry

Contract system, convict-lease, state account

The Progressive Era

We’ve already talked about the progressives

1920s

Attacked many social ills (working conditions, poverty….)

In Criminal Justice

Argued that rehabilitation (not punishment, penance) should be the goal of corrections

Platform of indeterminate sentences, probation, parole.

Corrections from 1970 to present

Faith in rehabilitation crushed

Liberals = justice model; Conservatives = punish

1970s = deterrence

1980s-present = deterrence/incapacitation

Return to determinate sentencing

3 strikes legislation

Chain gangs, “strip-down” prisons

Pennsylvania vs. Auburn System

Pennsylvania

Western Penitentiary, Eastern Penitentiary

Silent System

New York

Auburn Prison

Congregate System

Only difference?

Isolation of inmates during the day

Corrections in the 1800s

Auburn System wins debate

Easier to perform labor; the only way to perform factory labor

But, prison brutal, corporal punishment prevalent

Prison building boom (1850s)

Prison Industry

Contract system, convict-lease, state account

The Progressive Era

We’ve already talked about the progressives

1920s

Attacked many social ills (working conditions, poverty….)

In Criminal Justice

Argued that rehabilitation (not punishment, penance) should be the goal of corrections

Platform of indeterminate sentences, probation, parole.

Corrections from 1970 to present

Faith in rehabilitation crushed

Liberals = justice model; Conservatives = punish

1970s = deterrence

1980s-present=deterrence/incapacitation

Return to determinate sentencing

3 strikes legislation

Chain gangs, “strip-down” prisons

Conscience and Convenience

Why were the first prison built?

“Penitentiaries”

“Correctional Facilities”

Why do we still build prisons if we no longer believe in rehabilitation?

Incapacitation as the “default” goal of prisons….or “convenience”

The Corrections Continuum

Probation

Intermediate Sanctions

Jails

Prisons

Probation

Father of Probation is John Augustus

Formally adopted in progressive era

Suspend sentence, in return, offender abides by “conditions of probation”

Conditions set and enforced by judicial system

Offenders who “fail” may have probation revoked, and original sentence imposed

Functions of Probation Departments

Pre-sentence Investigation (PSI)

Interview offender, case history, tied to rehabilitation

Includes recommendation for sentence

Supervision of Offenders

Counseling, meet with offenders

Help with job, broker community resources

Supervise (house visits, drug testing)

Use of Probation

Almost 2/3 of the total corrections population is on probation

Roughly 3.5 million offenders are on probation

Average Caseload = 113

Goal has shifted

Rehabilitation to supervision/zero tolerance

Parole

Parole as release from prison

Discretionary release

Parole board = appointed by governor

Rehabilitation and intermediate sentences

Parole as supervision

Similar to probation supervision

Early release a privilege, therefore must follow conditions of release

Abolish Parole?

Typically, states move to abolish “discretionary parole release”

When this is done, “post release supervision” is still part of the process

How “effective” are probation and parole supervision?

Cost savings

Probation and parole are much less expensive than prison

Recidivism

Large differences in “recidivism” across jurisdictions

As high as 65% (California felons), as low as 25% (Huntsville, TX)

Depends upon “risk” of clients

Intermediate Sanctions

Probation Prison Death

ISP EM Boot Camp

WHY do these critters exist?

Prison crowding in 1980s

Probation viewed as failure

Need for “continuum” of sanctions

What is the goal of these critters?

Divert offenders from prison (save money)

Reduce recidivism (through deterrence)

Provide an option to judges that fits between prison and probation

Intensive Probation or Parole Supervision (IPS)

Idea is to “soup up” traditional supervision

Reduce Caseloads (15 to 40 offenders)

Daily contact with offender

Routine drug testing

Curfews, home and employment visits

Do ISP’s work?

Do ISP’s divert from prison?

NO, judges are reluctant to send “prison-bound” offenders to ISP (Net Widening)

Do ISP’s reduce recidivism?

NO, when compared to similar group of offenders, they actually do worse (fishbowl effect)

Similar to “California Caseload Experiments” of the 1970s

Shock Incarceration (boot camps)

Short, intense incarceration to “shock” the offender into his/her senses

military drill and discipline, physical exercise, hard physical labor

typically reserved for young, non-violent, first-time offenders

short time-span, typically 6 months

Do boot camps work?

Reduce Recidivism?

NO, boot camp graduates have similar recidivism rates as offenders who receive different sanctions

Divert Offenders?

Possible, but not likely

Depends upon where in the system they are diverted

Home Confinement and Electronic Monitoring

Home confinement is an old practice

Electronic Monitoring is used to enforce home confinement

Technology emerged in the 1980s

Most are bracelets that work like invisible dog fences

Tell probation/parole officers whether or not a person has broken curfew

Residential Community Corrections

Traditional “Half-way house”

Used to reintegrate prison inmates into society

Now

Traditional functions

Sanction for probation violators

Day reporting centers

Split sentences (probation + RCC time)

How do RCC’s Work?

Typically, they are house-like structures (not prison-like)

Inmates (clients) are usually free to leave during the day (job, classes)

Return at night

Most RCC’s are privately run

Evidence for Cost Savings and Diversion

In order to divert and save $, demonstrate that the offender would’ve went to prison if not for the intermediate sanction

Most programs demonstrate “net widening”

Exception--if correctional personnel make decision.

Evidence for Recidivism

None of these sanctions have demonstrated recidivism reductions.

Why not? All of them are based on the principle of specific deterrence. Example of boot camp--why would this reduce recidivism?

Exception: some incorporate intervention programs grounded in good theory

Evidence for Providing a “Continuum”

This is the sole “Victory” for intermediate sanctions

Offenders report that ISP is more painful than traditional probation, and some suggest it is worse than prison

Is this enough to justify intermediate sanctions?

Why are these Critters thriving?

Provide Continuum

Politically Powerful

Boot camp residents with shaved heads, saluting….

Public wants “harsh” punishments

Myth of effectiveness

Institutional Corrections

Go to jail, go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200

JAILS

County Level Institutions

Usually run by Sheriff and deputies

House inmates (less than 1 year) and pre-trial detainees

Conditions notoriously poor

Little programming, no medical facilities

Violence, shifting population, suicide rates high

Prisons

Hold individuals sentence to at least 1 year

Operated by the executive branch

Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP)

98 Facilities

126,000 inmates

Most inmates (60%) are serving time for drug offense

Prisons ranked on a 1 to 6 scale (1 = FCI in Colorado)

State Prisons

Over 500 prisons, and 1.2 million offenders

Governor typically appoints warden

Organization

Maximum (razor wire, guard towers…)

Medium (similar to max, but less serious offenders)

Minimum (typically campus style)

Since the late 1970s, the total number of inmates in custody has increased dramatically

The incarceration rate has kept pace

Why the dramatic increase?

Change in public opinion, and political emphasis

Three strikes laws, “truth in sentencing”

Drug Policies

Increase in felony convictions

Factors that do not clearly influence incarceration

Crime rates

Economy

Profile of Prison and Jail Inmates

Racial Profile

35% White, 44% Black, 11%, Hispanic

11% of black males in 20s and 30s

Most (98%) are male

Most are poor, with less than a high school education

Most (60%) have been in prison before

The Pains of Imprisonment

Gresham Sykes

Material possessions

Heterosexual relationships

Security

Autonomy

Deprivation model vs. Importation model

Does old “inmate code” still exist? NO

The Inmate Economy

A black market exists in almost all prisons

Sex, drugs, alcohol, food, better living conditions…

What is the currency of the prison economy?

CIGARETTES

Why not “stamp out” the prison economy?

Guards are pragmatic (worry about the big stuff)

Some guards are part of the economy

Prison Gangs

Similar to the “outside,” gangs are divided along racial lines

Roughly 6% of inmates identify with a gang

Gangs control economy, rackets…

Primary concern is gang violence, and the possibility of riots

Women’s Issues

Typically single prison per state

Get less resources

More difficult to visit

Pregnancy, motherhood

Where do children go if mothers are locked up?

Does Rehabilitation Work?

Martinson (1975) “nothing works”

He later recanted his position, and argued that dome things do “work,” but nobody listened

Don Andrews (Canadian Psychologist)

Much “rehabilitation” is “correctional quackery”

What works?

Cognitive/Behavioral based programs

Intensive intervention with follow-ups

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