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PRISONER PRIVILEGES.   Term Paper ID:22916 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Reasons for & effects of social & political pressures to reduce inmate privileges & increase harshness of prison life.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Reasons for & effects of social & political pressures to reduce inmate privileges & increase harshness of prison life. Paper Introduction: CURTAILMENT OF PRISONER PRIVILEGES This research paper examines the recent trend toward the reduction and elimination of privileges of the inmate prison population in the United States. This trend, which is accelerating, stems from a variety of legal, economic and political causes. In the short run, the net effects of these changes has been to reduce operating costs in prisons and to increase prisoner unrest. Over the longer term, some of these changes, especially the reduction of educational and counselling programs, may make more difficult the prevention and control of crimes committed by repeat offenders. Background In 1963, Hibbert surveyed the uneven progress made by the Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. 28Colman McCarthy, "The Pros Know Why Prisons Fail,"Washington Post, 9 September 1995, A17. 21Richard B. 24Hibbert, 131. In one state, Texas, which has enacted suchlaws, the incarceration rate has reached 659 per 1 , . "'3 Strikes' Proving Tough on Legal System." Los Angeles Times, 16 November 1995, A1.Schmitt, Richard B. 2 Smolowe, 59. "Even Prisoners Must Have Hope." Newsweek, 17 October 1994, 89.Zimmer, Dick. At issue is thedegree to which they may be required to bear an unfair or disproportionateshare of the belt tightening which will be required in many prisons untilnew prison construction catches up with the massive influx of new inmates.As Hibbert points out, many of the ideas floating about for restrictingprisoner privileges are really a throwback to an earlier and much lesscivilized era. "Making Jail Time Harder, State Cuts Jail TV and Sports." New York Times, 17 September 1994, A1.Purdy, Matthew. 15Dick Zimmer, "Prison Is No Place for Extras," ChristianScience Monitor, 28 February 1995, 2 . 3Hibbert, 422, 53. Conclusion Life in prison is becoming in many facilities much more onerous forinmates. aquarter of all prisoners have neither jobs nor classes to engage their timeand pent-up energies."[xx] (5) In many states, inmates are now charged for services which werepreviously free of charge. Dunn called most of thesesuits "a bounty of frivolous and groundless complaints," including a onemillion dollar claim against a state prison based on a guard's refusal torefrigerate a prisoner's ice cream and another case based on a stateprison's refusal to provide a prisoner with chunky peanut butter.[vii] (2) Prison overcrowding. 27Thomas H. 16Lacayo, 31. In most prisons, sanitary,dietary and other living conditions were improved. Background In 1963, Hibbert surveyed the uneven progress made by the movement toreform prison conditions in the United States in the 19th and 2 thcenturies. (7) Security has been tightened in many prisons, especially in jailholding facilities, which in many counties are the most overcrowded,because of chaotic conditions which have developed. Provided access to lawyers paid for by the government, indigentprisoners flooded the courts with law suits, which amounted to 33, casesin 1993, 15 percent of all federal civil cases. McCarthy argues that "longer sentences and meaner bastilles arecounter-productive."[xxviii] Stolberg points out that even at the currentrate of prison construction, many prisoners will have to be released beforetheir full sentences expire and that prisoners who have pursued collegedegrees in prison have only about one half the rate of recidivism than dothose who have not taken college courses. Apart from these humanitarian considerations, some voices have raisedpractical objections to an expansion of the current trend. attorney, argued that "privatelyoperated prisons do not provide superior-quality services and do not resultin substantial savings."[xxvii] He cites studies by the National Instituteof Correction and the National Institute of Justice in support of hiscontentions. In the shortterm, reductions in privileges may lead to greater prisoner unrest,security problems and possibly Attica type riots. In discussing a policeraid on a Hudson County (N.J.) jail, Purdy commented that "prisons andcounty jails nationwide are bulging with inmates, causing seriousmanagement problems from drug trafficking to violence behind bars."[xxii]He described a "free-wheeling chaotic atmosphere with food shortages,frequent fights that officers were slow to stop, and an ample supply ofcontraband from cigarettes to drugs."[xxiii] Consequences In an era of budgetary constraints and prison overcrowding, publicsupport for prison luxuries is unlikely to be forthcoming, and it is notunfair to expect prisoners to bear some of the burden of the resultingausterity along with other segments of the population. CURTAILMENT OF PRISONER PRIVILEGES This research paper examines the recent trend toward the reductionand elimination of privileges of the inmate prison population in the UnitedStates. 6Lacayo, 31. . 2Ibid. In a 1981 case, the Supreme Court held thatthe Constitution "does not mandate comfortable prisons" and that statemeasures to double up convicts in cells to relieve overcrowding wereconstitutional so long as they did not "violate a contemporary standard ofdecency."[viii] By 1995, 1.5 million prisoners were in state and federalprisons and in jail holding facilities, an increase of approximately 7 percent since 196 .[ix] The rate of incarceration reached a nation-wideaverage of 455 persons per 1 , of the adult population in 199 -1991,the highest rate in the world.[x] This situation was the result not only ofrising crime rates, but also legal changes such as Three Strikes and You'reOut and other tightened sentencing laws which imposed mandatory sentenceson repeat violent offenders and certain types of narcotics offenses andstricter parole requirements. Progress toward the reform of prison conditions has been severelyset back. Endnotes BibliographyBaer, Thomas H. Boston: Little, Brown, 1963.Lacayo, Richard. 29Ibid.----------------------- 12 Halfa dozen states now charge inmates for room and board.[xxi] (6) Other more extreme developments include the re-introduction ofchain gangs in prisons in Alabama and Arizona and striped prison uniformsin Mississippi prisons. N.J.) began to raise a great hue and cryover supposedly excessive prisoner privileges. Only time can tell whether these developments will serve anyuseful social purpose, but inputs from experienced correction professionalssuggest that the continued cutbacks in prisoner access to effectiverehabilitation programs may prove to have been short-sighted. The resulting overcrowding led to theearly release of many inmates held on lesser charges, which furtherheightened public anxieties. Forty state prisonsystems became subject to federal court orders which mandated thatpractices such as flogging and the failure to maintain adequate recreation,diet and hygiene violated the Eighth Amendment's ban against cruel andunusual punishment.[iv] In 1965, Congress enacted the Pell grant programand a small (less than one percent) portion of funds appropriatedthereunder was used to finance educational programs for indigentprisoners.[v] Reasons for the Backlash of the 199 s Beginning in the 198 s and continuing to the present time, publicattitudes toward the treatment of prisoners hardened. 8Jacques Steinberg, "Doubling Up in Cells Saves Money ButStirs Inmates' Anger," New York Times, 8 July 1995, L22. They include: (1) Doubling up of prisoners. 5Sheryl Stolberg, "School"s Out for Convicts," Los AngelesTimes, 14 September 1995, A1, A14. are designed to cut off and isolate inmates from family andfriends."[xix] (4) Cutbacks in rehabilitation, counselling and education programs.The 1994 federal omnibus anti-crime act ended the Pell grant program infederal prisons. 12Barbara Dority, "Americans in Cages," Humanist 53(November/December 1993): 36. "Privately Run Prisons Don't Offer Great Savings." New York Times, 27 August 1995, E14.Dority, Barbara. California hasrestricted prisoner access to R or X rated films, tapes andpublications.[xviii] (3) Visitation rights and telephone privileges have been curtailed insome state prisons, leading Dority to complain that visitation policies . 17Steinberg, 21. 25Richard Strator, "Even Prisoners Must Have Hope,"Newsweek, 17 October 1994, 89. A number of states have taken away body-building equipment,miniature golf courses, boxing and wrestling gyms, ice-cream and sodamachines and cable TV. The 1994omnibus anti-crime act removed coffee pots and musical instruments fromprison cells. "Flood of Prisoner Rights Suits Brings Effort to Limit Filings." New York Times, 21 March 1994, A1.Gerth, Jeff and Stephen Labata. In the 18th century, more than one half of the prisons inEngland were privately owned and until recently, the practice of charginginmates for basic services led to many abuses, in particular corruption ofguards and preferential treatment for prisoners with funds. . 7Ashley Dunn, "Flood of Prisoner Rights Suits BringsEffort to Limit Filings," New York Times, 8 July 1995, 22. In an effort to reduce operating costs,the State of New York has doubled up 81 of 2 , cells in its maximumsecurity prisons, which the state claims will save $1 million.[xvii] (2) A number of states have eliminated prisoner owned property incells, including computers, stereos, tape recorders and radios. Gerth and Labata claim that some privatized prisons haveincurred costs 24 percent higher than well-managed federal prisons. "Jail Business Shows Its Weaknesses." New York Times, 24 November 1995, A1.Hibbert, Christopher. He cites the success achieved by a non-profit alternative sentencing program for felony offenders carried out byHuron House near Detroit only one fifth of the graduates of which havecommitted felonies after their release from prison, as compared with a rateof two thirds among ex-cons as a whole. Faced with cost-cutting pressures, the federalgovernment and some states such as Florida and Tennessee have contractedwith private firms to operate some prisons. Some of them have ordered cut backs on foods whichare considered more luxurious than those fed to GIs. . Smolowe says that "most [prisons] offer some courses,[but] . In the longer run, Gerthand Labata point out that there are "pitfalls involved in putting prisonsunder the control of private companies.[xxvi] In a letter to the editors ofthe New York Times, Baer, a former u.S. "The Pros Know Why Prisons Fail." Washington Post, 9 September 1995, A17.Nossiter, Adam. 14Dority, 36. tight budgets have forced cutbacks in recent years; . 19Dority, 36. Over the longer term, some of these changes, especiallythe reduction of educational and counselling programs, may make moredifficult the prevention and control of crimes committed by repeatoffenders. 9Lacayo, 31. 11Steinberg, 21. Reforms included the introductionof drug and alcohol treatment and counselling programs and the adoption ofvocational training and work programs, which eventually came to include 91percent of federal and 7 percent of state prisoners. 4Richard Lacayo, "The Real Hard Cell," Time, 4 September1995, 31. "And Throw Away the Key." Time, 7 February 1994, 55-59.Steinberg, Jacques. Draconian forms ofincarceration and punishment such as chain gangs and solitary confinementdisappeared or became much less common. "More and More Jails Are Charging Inmates for Their Services." Wall Street Journal, 3 March 1995, A1.Smolowe, Jill. 22Matthew Purdy, "State's Jail Raid Is Unusual But ReasonsFor It Are Not," New York Times, 21 January 1996, A1. 23Ibid. "Prison Is No Place for Extras." Christian Science Monitor, 28 February 1995, 2 .----------------------- 1Christopher Hibbert, The Roots of Evil (Boston: LittleBrown, 1963), 172. 1 Jill Smolowe, "And Throw Away the Key," Time, 7 February1994, 58. Others argue that much savings inoverall crime-related costs could be obtained by spending scarce funds oncrime prevention programs, especially for youthful offenders. "Doubling Up in Cells Saves Money But Stirs Inmates' Anger." New York Times, 21 March 1994, A1.Stolberg, Sheryl. He cites a poll conducted by theSenate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution which showed that amongprison wardens surveyed, 85 percent said that "most politicians are notoffering effective solutions to crime."[xxix] He says that the consensusamong correction professionals is that the most effective ways to reducethe rate of recidivism among released inmates is through greater emphasison training, drug and mental health treatment and placement counsellingwhile they are still in prison. 13Jeffrey Rabin, "'3 Strikes' Proving Tough on Legal System,Study Says," Los Angeles Times, 16 November 1995, A1. "Americans in Cages." Humanist 53 (November-December 1993): 36.Dunn, Ashley. A 1995 Time/CNN pollshowed that 67 percent of those surveyed thought that inmates were treatedtoo leniently.[vi] The reasons for this shift in public attitudes were asfollows: (1)Frivolous law suits. Hibbert quotes Winston Churchill who said that "the mood and temperof the public with regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one ofthe most unfailing tests of the civilisation of any country."[xxiv]Strator says that "for all the lip service once paid to rehabilitation inthis country, America is about nothing but punishment, and punishment isthe intentional infliction of pain by those in power upon the lesspowerful."[xxv] Prisoners, like the poor generally, are an inconsequentialfactor in political calculations and ready targets for the frustrations andfears of society. Seven statesreported prison populations which were well in excess of prisoncapacity.[xi] In 1992, state outlays for the construction of new prisonsincreased by 16 percent in a single year.[xii] According to some estimates,capital expenditures for prisons will triple by the end of thedecade.[xiii] The total costs of maintaining prisoners and amortizingprison construction costs now approach $3 , per annum, as compared withan average annual cost of educating students in the public school system of$4, .[xiv] (3) Political pressures. . .. Sixty one percent of all bunks in federalprisons in 1994 were occupied by narcotics offenders and the number ofwomen prisoners increased sharply. Schmitt, "More and More Jails Are ChargingInmates for Their Incarceration," Wall Street Journal, 3 March1995, A1. The specific measures adopted havevaried from one jurisdiction to another. He concluded that "conditions in many American gaols hadimproved little in more than a hundred years."[i] The Wickersham Report inthe 192 s stated that the prison system in the United States was"antiquated, unintelligent and frequently cruel and inhuman."[ii] According to Hibbert, the basic impediment to prison reform was thewidespread conviction of prison authorities and the public that "prisonsshould primarily be places of detention and punishment" and that "thereform of the criminal was considered of negligible importance comparedwith the protection of society."[iii] The impetus for reform gainedmomentum, especially after World War II, because of a combination ofhumanitarian considerations and studies showing that it was possible torehabilitate a certain fraction of inmates. In 1995, Zimmer sponsoredlegislation in the House of Representatives entitled the No Frills PrisonAct and stated in sponsoring the bill (which did not pass) that "jails areplaces for punishment, not relaxation."[xv] Republican presidentialcandidate Phil Gramm said that "we've got to stop building prisons likeHoliday Inns."[xvi] The Rollback of Prisoner Privileges The onslaught on prisoner privileges has gathered momentum in the199 s and shows no signs of abating. 26Jeff Gerth and Stephen Labata, "Jail Business Shows ItsWeaknesses," New York Times, 24 November 1995, A1. These range from haircuts to medical fees. The Roots of Evil. "The Real Hard Cell." Time, 4 September 1995, 31-32.McCarthy, Colman. 18Adam Nossiter, "Making Jail Time Harder, State Cuts JailTV and Sports," New York Times, 17 September 1994, A1. "School's Out for Convicts." Los Angeles Times, 14 September 1995, A1, A14.Strator, Richard. "State's Jail Raid Is Unusual, But Reasons For it Are Not." New York Times, 21 January 1996, A1, A14.Rabin, Jeffrey L. This trend, which is accelerating, stems from a variety of legal,economic and political causes. Under these circumstances, it is hardlysurprising that some politicians in state legislatures and in the Congress,such as Representative Zimmer (R. A 1961 Supreme Court case provided prisonerswith direct access to the federal courts for the protection of their civilrights. In the short run, the net effects of thesechanges has been to reduce operating costs in prisons and to increaseprisoner unrest. Baer, "Privately Run Prisons Don't Offer GreatSavings," New York Times, 27 August 1995, E14. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.