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Incarceration in the United States

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Prisons in the United States are operated by the Federal government, as well as by each of the state governments. Incarceration is one of the main forms of punishment for the commission of felony offenses in the United States. Less serious offenders, including those convicted of misdemeanor offenses, may be sentenced to a short term in a local jail or with alternative forms of sanctions such as community corrections (e.g. halfway house), probation, and/or restitution. In the United States, prisons are operated at various levels of security, ranging from minimum-security prisons that mainly house non-violent offenders to Supermax facilities that house well-known criminals and terrorists such as Terry Nichols, Zacarias Moussaoui, and Richard Reid.

Compared with other countries, the United States has among the highest incarceration rates in the world. More people are behind bars in the United States than any other country. As of 2006, a record 7 million people were behind bars, on probation or on parole. Of the total 2.2 million were incarcerated. China ranks second with 1.5 million. The United States has 5 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated population.[1]

Federalism

The national (federal) government, states, counties, and many individual cities have facilities to confine people. Generally, "prison" refers to facilities for holding convicted felons (i.e., crimes where the sentence is more than one year). Individuals awaiting trial, held pending citations for non-custodial offenses, and those convicted of misdemeanors (crimes which carry a sentence of less than one year), are generally held in county jails. In most states, cities operate small jail facilities, sometimes simply referred to as "lock-ups", used only for very short-term incarceration--usually a day or so, until the prisoner comes before a judge for the first time or receives a citation or summons before being released or transferred to a larger jail. Some states operate "unified" systems, where the state operates all the jails and prisons. The Federal government also operates various "detention centers" in major urban areas or near federal courthouses to hold defendants appearing in federal court.

Many of the smaller county and city jails do not classify prisoners (that is, there is no separation by offense type and other factors). While some of these small facilities operate as "close security" facilities, to prevent prisoner-on-prisoner violence and increase overall security, others may put many prisoners into the same cells without regard to the criminal histories of the prisoners. Other local jails are large, and have many different security levels. For example, one of the largest jails in the United States is Cook County (located in Chicago). This facility has eleven different divisions (including one medical unit, and two for women prisoners), each classified at a different security level, ranging from dormitory style open housing to super-secure lock-down. In California, ostensibly to prevent violence, prisoners are segregated by race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation while held in county jails and in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's reception centers, where newly committed prisoners are assessed prior to being transferred to their "mainline" (long-term) institutions.

Sentencing

In the United States, a judge sentences a person convicted of a crime. The length of the prison term depends upon multiple factors including the severity of the crime, state and/or federal sentencing guidelines, and the personal discretion of the judge. These factors may be different in each state and in the federal system as well. The vast majority of criminal convictions in the United States arise from plea bargains, in which an agreement is made between prosecutors and defense council for the defendant to plead guilty to a lesser charge for a lesser sentence than they would receive if found guilty at trial.

There are two basic sentencing schemes used in the United States: determinate sentencing and indeterminate sentencing. A person given a determinate sentence either serves the entire sentence given by the judge, or may earn "good time" (known by different names in different states--comp. time, day-for-day time, etc.) based on a set of criteria established by statute and regulations. The date of release is completely objective, and is not subject to discretion.

For people serving indeterminate sentences, the judge will sentence them to a range of years (e.g., 5-50 years). The legislature generally sets a relatively short minimum term one must spend in prison (e.g., 1/3 of the minimum sentence), after which a parole board sets the actual date of prison release. Some states establish a set of criteria the parole board must follow; in other states, the decision is completely discretionary.

Sometimes criticized, indeterminate sentences may lead to inequitable results, allowing the personal likes and dislikes, and subjective point of view of individual members of parole boards to influence release decisions. This has resulted in charges of racial discrimination. On the other hand, others have argued that indeterminate sentences provide prisoners with an incentive to take advantage of programs designed for rehabilitation, and allow prison authorities to release someone once rehabilitation occurs.

In the mid-1970s, most states and the federal system moved away from indeterminate sentencing toward determinate sentences (also known as "truth in sentencing"). Since 2000, there has been the beginning of a movement back toward some degree of indeterminacy in sentences. Many states have some mixture of the two. For example, Illinois' prisoners since 1978 have been given determinate sentences; however, there are various programs (e.g., substance abuse counseling) that will result in reduction of sentences, and the Director of the Department of Corrections has discretion to reduce every sentence by 180 days for "meritorious" activities.

Finally, some prisoners are serving life sentences. In some states, life means life, without the possibility of parole. In these states, the only way out is death. In other states, people with life sentences are eligible for parole.

Security levels

Prisoners reside in different facilities that vary by security level, especially in security measures, administration of inmates, type of housing, and weapons and tactics used by corrections officers. The federal government's Bureau of Prisons uses a numbered scale from one to six to represent the security level. Level six is the most secure, while level one is the least.

State prison systems operate similar systems. California, for example, classifies its facilities from Reception Center through Levels I through IV (minimum to maximum security) to specialized high security units (all considered Level IV) including Security Housing Unit (SHU), California's version of Supermax, and related units.

As a general rule, county jails, detention centers, and reception centers, where new commitments are first held either while awaiting trial or before being transferred to "mainline" institutions to serve out their sentences, operate at a relatively high level of security, usually close security or higher.

Supermax

Supermax prison facilities provide the highest level of prison security. These units hold those considered the most dangerous inmates. These include serial killers, inmates who have committed assaults, murders or other serious violations in less secure facilities, high-profile criminals such as Theodore Kaczynski, Terry Nichols, Zacarias Moussaoui and (formerly) Timothy McVeigh, and inmates known to be or accused of being prison gang members.

The United States Federal Bureau of Prisons operates one such facility: ADX Florence, built specifically as a supermax facility in 1994. United States Penitentiary, Marion was a supermax until recently, but has been downgraded to a medium security facility. Utilizing a penal construction and operation theory known as the "control unit" prison, the conditions of these facilities are considered harsh by some human rights watchdog organizations. Inmates generally spend 23 or more hours per day in their cells, with the additional hour spent either in a supervised one-man shower, or in an "outdoor" recreation area, generally a solid-walled pen twice the size of a cell, also used in solitary confinement.

The cells themselves in ADX Florence minimize social contact and increase isolation between cellmates and the external prison workings. The cells, usually 3.5 x 2 meters (7ftx12ft) are constructed with solid "boxcar" doors, i.e., with no windows and a locked food port, and are nearly completely soundproofed. Drains and drainpipes leading to the cells, which in USP Marion provided a method of communication and passage of contraband between cells, route to a central damping location. Telephone privileges are virtually non-existent, as is any access to the Internet. All mail, except pre-announced legal communications, is opened, read, and censored. No physical contact is allowed with visitors. Prisoners receiving visitors are isolated in sealed compartments and speak by telephone. In addition, the windows of the cells are very small and designed to give no actual view of any other part of the prison (in order to prevent a prisoner from knowing his location and thus discouraging escape attempts). Access to ADX Florence is through a tunnel and the prison is explicitly designed to be defensible against armed attacks from the outside.

Some prisoners at ADX Florence are part of a step-down program, where they are gradually rewarded for good behavior by being allowed more common-area interactions. These prisoners, if they complete the program, will transfer back to a maximum-security facility.

Although the US federal government only operates one facility of this nature, many states are now following suit by building segregation units in existing prisons or whole new facilities (such as the Ohio State Penitentiary) built on the same model.

Maximum security

All have individual cells with sliding doors controlled from a secure remote control station. Often prisoners are confined in their cells 23 hours a day, but in some institutions, prisoners are allowed out of their cells for most of the day. When out of their cells, prisoners remain in the cellblock or an exterior cage. Movement out of the cellblock or "pod" is tightly restricted using restraints and escorts by correctional officers.

Close security

Prisoners usually have one-or-two prisoner cells operated from a remote control station. Each cell has its own toilet and sink. Inmates may leave their cells for work assignments or correctional programs, and otherwise may be allowed in a common area in the cellblock or an exercise yard. The fences are generally double fences with watchtowers, housing armed guards, plus often a third, lethal-current electric fence in the middle.

Medium security

Prisoners that fall into the medium-security group may sleep in dormitories on bunk beds with lockers to store their possessions. They may have communal showers, toilets and sinks. Dormitories are locked at night with one or more correctional officers supervising. There is less supervision over the internal movements of prisoners. The perimeter is generally double fenced and regularly patrolled.

Minimum security

Prisoners in minimum-security facilities are considered to pose little physical risk to the public, and are mainly non-violent "white collar criminals". Minimum Security prisoners live in less-secure dormitories, which are regularly patrolled by correctional officers. As in medium security facilities, they have communal showers, toilets, and sinks.

A minimum-security facility generally has a single fence that is watched, but not patrolled by armed guards. At facilities in very remote and rural areas, there may be no fence at all. Prisoners may often work on community projects, such as roadside litter cleanup with the state Department of Transportation or wilderness conservation. Many minimum security facilities are small camps located in or near military bases, larger prisons (outside the security perimeter) or other government institutions to provide a convenient supply of convict labor to the institution. Many states now allow persons in minimum-security facilities access to the Internet.

California

The California penal system (which had 170,588 inmates as of 2007 - 475 behind bars per every 100,000 state residents) has been the focus of attention for growing influence upon the state's political arena. Former Governor Gray Davis was accused of favoring the prison guard union more than the interests of education. A number of allegations of prisoner abuse give rise to increased attention of the prison oversight committees. Accusations of police guard favoritism by these committees have occurred as well.

The California system has been a focus and origin of many trends in prison conditions within the United States as a whole. The state's large and diverse population, large size, large urban areas, history of gang and drug-related crime, tough sentencing laws and its status as an entry point to the US for both immigrants and drugs has given California a large and complex prison environment. With more than 170,000 prisoners occupying facilities designed for 83,000, California prisons are overcrowded, with most facilities holding more than 200% of their design capacity, forcing prisoners to triple-bunk in open gymnasiums and day rooms.

The system, like the state as a whole, lacks a racial/ethnic majority among the population, with Hispanic inmates making up approximately 37% of the population, black and white inmates each representing about 27%, and other inmates representing 8% as of 2006. Prisoner identification and affiliation is tied closely to race and region of the state, which has contributed to tension and violence within the system. There has been a long running racial tension between African American and Mexican American prison gangs and significant riots in California prisons where Mexican inmates and African Americans have targeted each other particularly, based on racial reasons.[2] California is the birthplace of many of the country's most powerful and best-known prison gangs, such as the Aryan Brotherhood and Mexican Mafia. State efforts against these gangs made California a pioneer in the development of Security Housing Unit "supermax" control-unit facilities.

The overcrowded conditions and accusations of inadequate medical facilities and mistreatment have caused the federal courts to intervene in the system's operation since the 1990s, appointing special oversight and enforcing consent decrees over the system's medical system and the SHU units and capping populations at several facilities. As of 2007, the state has plans to continue to expand the system and to involuntarily transfer inmates to other states or federal prisons. Also as of 2007, by order of federal courts, the system's medical system is under federal receivership and a federal court may impose a mandatory limit on the system's total population by June of 2007.


Population statistics

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In recent decades the U.S. has experienced a surge in its prison population, quadrupling since 1980, partially as a result of mandated sentences that came about during the "war on drugs" and despite the decline in violent crime and property crime since the early 1990s[3].

The three states with the lowest ratio of imprisoned to civilian population are, as of 2004, Maine (148 per 100,000), Minnesota (171 per 100,000), and Rhode Island (175 per 100,000). The three states with the highest ratio are Louisiana (816 per 100,000), Texas (694 per 100,000), and Mississippi (669 per 100,000). [4]

In terms of federal prison, 57 % of those incarcerated were sentenced for drug offenses. Currently, considering local jails as well, almost a million of those incarcerated are in prison for non-violent crime. [5]

In 2002, roughly 93.2 % of prisoners were male. About 10.4 % of all black males in the United States between the ages of 25 and 29 were sentenced and in prison by year end, compared to 2.4 % of Hispanic males and 1.2 % of white males. [6]

At the end of 2005, about 1 out of every 136 U.S. residents was incarcerated either in prison or jail. [7] The total amount being 2,320,359, with 1,446,269 in State and Federal prisons and 747,529 in local jails.[8]

Comparison with other countries

Compared with other countries, the United States has among the highest incarceration rates in the world. More people are behind bars in the United States than any other country, according to available official figures. As of 2006, a record 7 million people were behind bars, on probation or on parole. Of the total, 2.2 million were incarcerated. China ranks second with a reported 1.5 million followed by Russia with 870,000. Note however that China's true prison population has been speculated to be considerable higher by activists such as Harry Wu. The United States has 5 percent of the world's population and 25 percent of the world's incarcerated population. [2]

As of 2006, the incarceration rate in prison and jail in the United States was 737 inmates per 100,000, or 1 of every 136 adults. [3]. For the most part, the U.S. rate is three to eight times that of the Western European nations and Canada. The rate in England and Wales, for example, is 139 persons imprisoned per 100,000 residents while in Norway it is 59 per 100,000 and in Australia and France it is around 100 inmates per 100,000. In many countries, it is common for prisoners to be paroled after serving as little as one third of their sentences. In the US, most states strictly limit parole, requiring that at least half of a sentence be served. For certain heinous crimes, there is no parole and the full sentence must be served.

The prison population in China was 111 per 100,000 in 2001 (sentenced prisoners only), although this figure is highly disputed. Chinese human rights activist Harry Wu, who spent 19 years in forced-labor camps for criticizing the government, estimates that 16 to 20 million of his countrymen are incarcerated, including common criminals, political prisoners, and people in involuntary job placements. Even ten million prisoners would mean a rate of 793 per 100,000. [9]

Conditions of imprisonment

The non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch raised concerns with prisoner rape and medical care for inmates. [10] In a survey of 1,788 male inmates in Midwestern prisons by Prison Journal, about 21% claimed they had been coerced or pressured into sexual activity during their incarceration and 7% claimed that they had been raped in their current facility.[11]

In August 2003, a Harper's article by Wil S. Hylton estimated that "somewhere between 20 and 40 % of American prisoners are, at this very moment, infected with hepatitis C". Prisons may outsource medical care to private companies such as Correctional Medical Services, which, according to Hylton's research, try to minimize the amount of care given to prisoners in order to maximize profits.

Also identified as an issue, within the prison system is Gang violence, as many gang members retain their gang identity and affiliations when imprisoned. Segregation of identified gang members from the general population of inmates, with different gangs being housed in separate units often results in the imprisonment of these gang members with their friends and criminal cohorts. Some feel this has the effect of turning prisons into "institutions of higher criminal learning". [12]

Privatization

In recent years, there has been much debate over the privatization of prisons. The argument for privatization stresses cost reduction, whereas the arguments against it focus on standards of care, and the question of whether a market economy for prisons might not also lead to a market demand for prisoners (i.e. tougher sentencing for cheap labor). While privatized prisons have only a short history, there is a long tradition of inmates in state and federal-run prisons undertaking active employment in prison for low pay.

The three leading corporations in the private prison business in the U.S. are the Corrections Corporation of America (NYSE: CXW), the GEO Group, Inc., (NYSE: GEO), and Cornell Companies (NYSE: CRN).

Private companies which provide services to prisons combine in the American Correctional Association, which advocates legislation favorable to the industry.

Illegal Immigration

270,000 illegal immigrants served jail time in 2003, representing 21% of the federal prison population. It is estimated that currently 27% of federal prison inmates are criminal aliens, noncitizens convicted of crimes while in this country legally or illegally.[4]

Criticism

Some feel the high levels of incarceration is due to the long sentences mandated under American law, especially for nonviolent crimes like theft and drug possession (see Three-strikes laws). Some also feel that repeat offenders are not properly handled and that more focus should be on rehabilitation. A survey showed that among the nearly 300,000 prisoners released, 67.5% were rearrested within 3 years, and 51.8% were back in prison. [13] However, the study found no evidence that spending more time in prison raises the recidivism rate, and found that those serving the longest time, 61 months or more, had a significantly lower re-arrest rate (54.2%) than every other category of prisoner. This is most likely explained by the older average age of those released with the longest sentences, as the study shows a strong negative correlation between recidivism and age of release.

Some have criticized the United States for having a high amount of non-violent and victim-less offenders incarcerated,[14][15] as half of all persons incarcerated under State jurisdiction are for non-violent offences and 20 percent are incarcerated for drug offences.[16][17] "Human Rights Watch believes the extraordinary rate of incarceration in the United States wreaks havoc on individuals, families and communities, and saps the strength of the nation as a whole."[14]

The United States spends an estimated $60 billion [18] each year on corrections. The population of inmates housed in prisons and jails in the United States exceeds 2 million, with the per capita incarceration population higher than that officially reported by any other country. Because of its size and influence, the U.S. Prison industry is often referred to as the Prison-industrial complex. Criminal justice policy in the United States has also been criticized for the disproportionate representation of African Americans and other minorities. [18]

References and notes

  1. ^ Report: 7 million Americans in justice system
  2. ^ Racial segregation continues in California prisons
  3. ^ "US Department of Justice on War on drugs". Retrieved 1006-12-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ "Prisoners in 2004" (PDF). Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved 2006-06-28.
  5. ^ "America's One-Million Nonviolent Prisoners". Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. Retrieved 2006-06-13.
  6. ^ "Prisoners in 2002" (PDF). Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved 2006-06-13.
  7. ^ Elizabeth White (22 May 2006). "1 in 136 U.S. Residents Behind Bars". Associated Press.
  8. ^ Paige M. Harrison and Allen J. Beck, Ph.D. (November 2006). "Prisoners in 2005" (PDF). U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. p. 13.
  9. ^ This sentence is copied verbatim from http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040206.html
  10. ^ "Inhumane Prison Conditions Still Threaten Life, Health of Alabama Inmates Living with HIV/AIDS, According to Court Filings". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2006-06-13.
  11. ^ Cindy Struckman-Johnson & David Struckman-Johnson (2000). "Sexual Coercion Rates in Seven Midwestern Prisons for Men" (PDF). The Prison Journal.
  12. ^ "Gang and Security Threat Group Awareness". Florida Department of Corrections. Retrieved 2006-06-13.
  13. ^ "Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994". Bureau of Justice Statistics.
  14. ^ a b Fellner, Jamie. "US Addiction to Incarceration Puts 2.3 Million in Prison". Human Rights Watch. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accesesdate= ignored (help)
  15. ^ Abramsky, Sasha (January 222002). Hard Time Blues: How Politics Built a Prison Nation. Thomas Dunne Books. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Prisoners in 2005" (PDF) (PDF). United States Department of Justice: Office of Justice Programs. November 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-03.
  17. ^ "America's One-Million Nonviolent Prisoners". Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. Retrieved 2007-06-003. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  18. ^ a b Slevin, Peter (2006, June 8). "U.S. Prison Study Faults System and the Public". The Washington Post. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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