1. Three restrictions on judicial discretion:
Mandatory minimum sentences
“Three strikes”
Sentencing guidelines

2. 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?

3. Corrections
Carrying out the sentence of the decreed by the judicial system
History of Corrections
Community Corrections
Intermediate Sanctions
Institutional Corrections

4. The Middle Ages to the 17th Century
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

5. Colonial America (1600s-1750s)
Punishment was public
Punishment was corporal or capital
Prison-like institutions existed, but were not used as “punishment”

6. COPORAL PUNISHMENTS

7. 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

8. Walnut Street Jail and Eastern Penitentiary

9. Pennsylvania vs. Auburn System
Western Penitentiary, Eastern Penitentiary
Silent System
New York
Auburn Prison
Congregate System
Only difference?
Isolation of inmates during the day

10. 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

11. 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.

12. 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

13. Pennsylvania vs. Auburn System
Western Penitentiary, Eastern Penitentiary
Silent System
New York
Auburn Prison
Congregate System
Only difference?
Isolation of inmates during the day

14. 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

15. 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.

16. 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

17. 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”

18. The Corrections Continuum
Probation
Intermediate Sanctions
Jails
Prisons

19. 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

20. 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)

21. 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

22. Parole Parole as release from prison Parole as supervision
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

23. Abolish Parole?
Typically, states move to abolish “discretionary parole release”
When this is done, “post release supervision” is still part of the process

24. 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

25. Intermediate Sanctions
Probation Prison Death
ISP EM Boot Camp

26. WHY do these critters exist?
Prison crowding in 1980s
Probation viewed as failure
Need for “continuum” of sanctions

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. Do boot camps work? Reduce Recidivism? Divert Offenders?
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

32. 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

33. 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)

34. 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

35. 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.

36. 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

37. 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?

38. Why are these Critters thriving?
Provide Continuum
Politically Powerful
Boot camp residents with shaved heads, saluting….
Public wants “harsh” punishments
Myth of effectiveness

39. Institutional Corrections
Go to jail, go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200

40. 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

41. 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)

42. 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)

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

44. The incarceration rate has kept pace

45. 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

46. 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

47. The Pains of Imprisonment
Gresham Sykes
Material possessions
Heterosexual relationships
Security
Autonomy
Deprivation model vs. Importation model
Does old “inmate code” still exist? NO

48. 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

49. 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

50. Women’s Issues Typically single prison per state Pregnancy, motherhood
Get less resources
More difficult to visit
Pregnancy, motherhood
Where do children go if mothers are locked up?

51. 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