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{{short description|Reform of the prison system}} | |||
{{Criminology and penology|penology}} | {{Criminology and penology|penology}} | ||
'''Prison reform''' is the attempt to improve conditions inside [[prison]]s, improve the effectiveness of a [[penal system]], or implement [[alternatives to incarceration]].<ref>{{ | '''Prison reform''' is the attempt to improve conditions inside [[prison]]s, improve the effectiveness of a [[penal system]], or implement [[alternatives to incarceration]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last1=Harris|first1=Duchess|title=The US Prison System and Prison Life|last2=Conley|first2=Kate|publisher=Essential Library|year=2020|isbn=9781532119224|location=Minneapolis, Minnesota|pages=8–9|language=English}}</ref> It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are impacted by crimes.<ref name=":1" /> | ||
In modern times the idea of making [[living space]]s safe and [[cleanliness|clean]] has spread from the [[civilian]] population to include prisons, on [[ethics|ethic]]al grounds which honor that unsafe and unsanitary prisons violate [[constitution]]al ([[law]]) prohibitions against [[cruel and unusual punishment]]. In recent times prison reform ideas include greater access to [[legal counsel]] and [[family]], [[conjugal visits]], proactive security against violence, and implementing [[house arrest]] with assistive technology. | In modern times the idea of making [[living space]]s safe and [[cleanliness|clean]] has spread from the [[civilian]] population to include prisons, on [[ethics|ethic]]al grounds which honor that unsafe and unsanitary prisons violate [[constitution]]al ([[law]]) prohibitions against [[cruel and unusual punishment]]. In recent times prison reform ideas include greater access to [[legal counsel]] and [[family]], [[conjugal visits]], proactive security against violence, and implementing [[house arrest]] with assistive technology. | ||
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Prisons contained both felons and debtors – the latter of which were allowed to bring in wives and children. The jailer made his money by charging the inmates for food and drink and legal services and the whole system was rife with corruption.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}} One reform of the sixteenth century had been the establishment of the ''London [[Bridewell]]'' as a [[house of correction]] for women and children. This was the only place any medical services were provided. | Prisons contained both felons and debtors – the latter of which were allowed to bring in wives and children. The jailer made his money by charging the inmates for food and drink and legal services and the whole system was rife with corruption.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}} One reform of the sixteenth century had been the establishment of the ''London [[Bridewell]]'' as a [[house of correction]] for women and children. This was the only place any medical services were provided. | ||
===United Kingdom=== | ===Europe=== | ||
====18th century==== | ====Continental countries==== | ||
The first public prison in Europe was ''Le Stinche'' in Florence, constructed in 1297, copied in several other cities. The more modern use grew from the prison [[workhouse]] (known as the [[Rasphuis]]) from 1600 in Holland. The house was normally managed by a married couple, the 'father' and 'mother', usually with a work master and discipline master. The inmates, or [[journeymen]], often spent their time on spinning, weaving and fabricating cloths and their output was measured and those who exceeded the minimum received a small sum of money with which they could buy extras from the indoor father.<ref>{{harvnb|Morris|Rothman|1995|pp=68–72}}</ref> | |||
An exception to the rule of forced labor were those inmates whose families could not look after them and paid for them to be in the workhouse. From the later 17th century private institutions for the insane, called the ''beterhuis'', developed to meet this need. | |||
In Hamburg, a different pattern occurred with the ''spinhaus'' in 1669, to which only infamous criminals were admitted. This was paid by the public treasury and the pattern spread in eighteenth-century Germany. In France the use of [[galley slave|galley servitude]] was most common until galleys were abolished in 1748. After this the condemned were put to work in naval [[arsenal]]s doing heavy work. Confinement originated from the ''hôpitaux généraux'' which were mostly asylums, though in Paris they included many convicts, and persisted up till the [[French revolution|revolution]]. | |||
The use of capital punishment and [[judicial torture]] declined during the eighteenth century and imprisonment came to dominate the system, although reform movements started almost immediately. Many countries were committed to the goal as a financially self-sustaining institution and the organization was often subcontracted to entrepreneurs, though this created its own tensions and abuse. By the mid nineteenth century several countries initiated experiments in allowing the prisoners to choose the trades in which they were to be apprenticed. The growing amount of [[recidivism]] in the latter half of the nineteenth century led a number of [[criminologist]]s to argue that "imprisonment did not, and could not fulfill its original ideal of treatment aimed at reintegrating the offender into the community".<ref>{{harvnb|Morris|Rothman|1995|pp=210}}</ref> Belgium led the way in introducing the [[suspended sentence]] for first-time offenders in 1888, followed by France in 1891 and most other countries in the next few years. [[Parole]] had been introduced on an experimental basis in France in the 1830s, with laws for juveniles introduced in 1850, and Portugal began to use it for adult criminals from 1861. The parole system introduced in France in 1885 made use of a strong private patronage network. Parole was approved throughout Europe at the [[International Prison Congress]] of 1910. As a result of these reforms the prison populations of many European countries halved in the first half of the twentieth century. | |||
Exceptions to this trend included France and Italy between the world wars, when there was a huge increase in the use of imprisonment. The National Socialist state in Germany used it as an important tool to rid itself of its enemies as crime rates rocketed as a consequence of new categories of criminal behavior. Russia, which had only started to reform its penal and judicial system in 1860 by abolishing corporal punishment, continued the use of exile with hard labor as a punishment and this was increased to a new level of brutality under [[Joseph Stalin]], despite early reforms by the [[Bolsheviks]]. | |||
Postwar reforms stressed the need for the state to tailor punishment to the individual convicted criminal. In 1965, Sweden enacted a new criminal code emphasizing non-institutional alternatives to punishment including conditional sentences, [[probation]] for first-time offenders and the more extensive use of [[Fine (penalty)|fines]]. The use of probation caused a dramatic decline in the number women serving long-term sentences: in France the number fell from 5,231 in 1946 to 1,121 in 1980. Probation spread to most European countries though the level of surveillance varies. In the Netherlands, religious and philanthropic groups are responsible for much of the probationary care. The Dutch government invests heavily in correctional personnel, having 3,100 for 4,500 prisoners in 1959.<ref>{{harvnb|Morris|Rothman|1995|pp=218–222}}</ref> | |||
However, despite these reforms, numbers in prison started to grow again after the 1960s even in countries committed to non-custodial policies. | |||
====United Kingdom==== | |||
=====18th century===== | |||
During the eighteenth century, British justice used a wide variety of measures to punish crime, including fines, the pillory and whipping. Transportation to The United States of America was often offered, until 1776, as an alternative to the death penalty, which could be imposed for many offenses including pilfering. When they ran out of prisons in 1776 they used old sailing vessels which came to be called ''hulks'' as places of temporary confinement.{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}} | During the eighteenth century, British justice used a wide variety of measures to punish crime, including fines, the pillory and whipping. Transportation to The United States of America was often offered, until 1776, as an alternative to the death penalty, which could be imposed for many offenses including pilfering. When they ran out of prisons in 1776 they used old sailing vessels which came to be called ''hulks'' as places of temporary confinement.{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}} | ||
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Quakers such as [[Elizabeth Fry]] continued to publicize the dire state of prisons as did [[Charles Dickens]] in his novels ''[[David Copperfield (novel)|David Copperfield]]'' and ''[[Little Dorrit (novel)|Little Dorrit]]'' about the [[Marshalsea]]. [[Samuel Romilly]] managed to repeal the death penalty for theft in 1806, but repealing it for other similar offences brought in a political element that had previously been absent. The Society for the Improvement of Prison Discipline, founded in 1816, supported both the [[Panopticon]] for the design of prisons and the use of the [[treadwheel]] as a means of hard labor. By 1824, 54 prisons had adopted this means of discipline.<ref>{{harvnb|Morris|Rothman|1995|p=97}}</ref> Robert Peel's [[Gaols Act 1823|Gaols Act of 1823]] attempted to impose uniformity in the country but local prisons remained under the control of magistrates until the Prison Act of 1877. | Quakers such as [[Elizabeth Fry]] continued to publicize the dire state of prisons as did [[Charles Dickens]] in his novels ''[[David Copperfield (novel)|David Copperfield]]'' and ''[[Little Dorrit (novel)|Little Dorrit]]'' about the [[Marshalsea]]. [[Samuel Romilly]] managed to repeal the death penalty for theft in 1806, but repealing it for other similar offences brought in a political element that had previously been absent. The Society for the Improvement of Prison Discipline, founded in 1816, supported both the [[Panopticon]] for the design of prisons and the use of the [[treadwheel]] as a means of hard labor. By 1824, 54 prisons had adopted this means of discipline.<ref>{{harvnb|Morris|Rothman|1995|p=97}}</ref> Robert Peel's [[Gaols Act 1823|Gaols Act of 1823]] attempted to impose uniformity in the country but local prisons remained under the control of magistrates until the Prison Act of 1877. | ||
====19th century==== | =====19th century===== | ||
The American [[separate system]] attracted the attention of some reformers and led to the creation of [[Millbank Prison]] in 1816 and [[Pentonville (HM Prison)|Pentonville prison]] in 1842. By now the end of transportation to Australia and the use of hulks was in sight and [[Joshua Jebb]] set an ambitious program of prison building with one large prison opening per year. The main principles were separation and hard labour for serious crimes, using treadwheels and cranks. However, by the 1860s public opinion was calling for harsher measures in reaction to an increase in crime which was perceived to come from the 'flood of criminals' released under the penal servitude system. The reaction from the committee set up under the commissioner of prisons, Colonel [[Edmund Frederick du Cane]], was to increase minimum sentences for many offences with deterrent principles of 'hard labour, hard fare, and a hard bed'.<ref>{{harvnb|Fox|1952|p=46}}</ref> In 1877 he encouraged [[Disraeli]]'s government to remove all prisons from local government and held a firm grip on the prison system till his forced retirement in 1895. He also established a tradition of secrecy which lasted till the 1970s so that even magistrates and investigators were unable to see the insides of prisons.<ref>{{harvnb|Morris|Rothman|1995|p=153}}</ref> By the 1890s the prison population was over 20,000. | The American [[separate system]] attracted the attention of some reformers and led to the creation of [[Millbank Prison]] in 1816 and [[Pentonville (HM Prison)|Pentonville prison]] in 1842. By now the end of transportation to Australia and the use of hulks was in sight and [[Joshua Jebb]] set an ambitious program of prison building with one large prison opening per year. The main principles were separation and hard labour for serious crimes, using treadwheels and cranks. However, by the 1860s public opinion was calling for harsher measures in reaction to an increase in crime which was perceived to come from the 'flood of criminals' released under the penal servitude system. The reaction from the committee set up under the commissioner of prisons, Colonel [[Edmund Frederick du Cane]], was to increase minimum sentences for many offences with deterrent principles of 'hard labour, hard fare, and a hard bed'.<ref>{{harvnb|Fox|1952|p=46}}</ref> In 1877 he encouraged [[Disraeli]]'s government to remove all prisons from local government and held a firm grip on the prison system till his forced retirement in 1895. He also established a tradition of secrecy which lasted till the 1970s so that even magistrates and investigators were unable to see the insides of prisons.<ref>{{harvnb|Morris|Rothman|1995|p=153}}</ref> By the 1890s the prison population was over 20,000. | ||
==== | ======1877 – 1914====== | ||
The British penal system underwent a transition from harsh punishment to reform, education, and training for post-prison livelihoods. The reforms were controversial and contested. In 1877-1914 era a series of major legislative reforms enabled significant improvement in the penal system. In 1877, the previously localized prisons were nationalized in the Home Office under a Prison Commission. The Prison Act of 1898 enabled the Home Secretary to and multiple reforms on his own initiative, without going through the politicized process of Parliament. The Probation of Offenders Act of 1907 introduced a new probation system that drastically cut down the prison population while providing a mechanism for transition back to normal life. The Criminal Justice Administration Act of 1914 required courts to allow a reasonable time before imprisonment was ordered for people who did not pay their fines. Previously tens of thousands of prisoners had been sentenced solely for that reason. The Borstal system after 1908 was organized to reclaim young offenders, and the Children Act of 1908 prohibited imprisonment under age 14, and strictly limited that of ages 14 to 16. The principal reformer was Sir [[Evelyn Ruggles-Brise]]. the chair of the Prison Commission.<ref>R.C.K. Ensor. ‘’ England 1870-1914’’ (1937) pp 520-21.</ref><ref>J.W. Fox, ‘’The Modern English Prison ‘’ (1934).</ref> | The British penal system underwent a transition from harsh punishment to reform, education, and training for post-prison livelihoods. The reforms were controversial and contested. In 1877-1914 era a series of major legislative reforms enabled significant improvement in the penal system. In 1877, the previously localized prisons were nationalized in the Home Office under a Prison Commission. The Prison Act of 1898 enabled the Home Secretary to and multiple reforms on his own initiative, without going through the politicized process of Parliament. The Probation of Offenders Act of 1907 introduced a new probation system that drastically cut down the prison population while providing a mechanism for transition back to normal life. The Criminal Justice Administration Act of 1914 required courts to allow a reasonable time before imprisonment was ordered for people who did not pay their fines. Previously tens of thousands of prisoners had been sentenced solely for that reason. The Borstal system after 1908 was organized to reclaim young offenders, and the Children Act of 1908 prohibited imprisonment under age 14, and strictly limited that of ages 14 to 16. The principal reformer was Sir [[Evelyn Ruggles-Brise]]. the chair of the Prison Commission.<ref>R.C.K. Ensor. ‘’ England 1870-1914’’ (1937) pp 520-21.</ref><ref>J.W. Fox, ‘’The Modern English Prison ‘’ (1934).</ref> | ||
=====Winston Churchill===== | ======Winston Churchill====== | ||
Major reforms were championed by The Liberal Party government in 1906–14. The key player was [[Winston Churchill in politics, 1900–1939|Winston Churchill]] when he was the Liberal [[Home Secretary]], 1910–11.<ref>Jamie Bennett, "The Man, the Machine and the Myths: Reconsidering Winston Churchill’s Prison Reforms." in Helen Johnston, ed., ''Punishment and Control in Historical Perspective'' (2008) pp. 95-114. [https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230583443_6 online]</ref> He first achieved fame as a prisoner in the Boer war in 1899. He escaped after 28 days and the media, and his own book, made him a national hero overnight.<ref>Candice Millard | Major reforms were championed by The Liberal Party government in 1906–14. The key player was [[Winston Churchill in politics, 1900–1939|Winston Churchill]] when he was the Liberal [[Home Secretary]], 1910–11.<ref>Jamie Bennett, "The Man, the Machine and the Myths: Reconsidering Winston Churchill’s Prison Reforms." in Helen Johnston, ed., ''Punishment and Control in Historical Perspective'' (2008) pp. 95-114. [https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230583443_6 online]</ref> He first achieved fame as a prisoner in the Boer war in 1899. He escaped after 28 days and the media, and his own book, made him a national hero overnight.<ref>{{cite book |author=Candice Millard |authorlink= |title=Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill | others= <!--Переклад з англійської: ім'я перекладача--> |url= |accessdate= |year=2016 |publisher= Random House Large Print |location=London |isbn= 9780804194891 |page= 563 |series= |volume= |language=en}}</ref> He later wrote, "I certainly hated my captivity more than I have ever hated any other in my whole life...Looking back on those days I've always felt the keenest pity for prisoners and captives."<ref>{{cite book|author=Paul Addison|title=Churchill: The Unexpected Hero|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fa2h24pcwAUC&pg=PT59|year=2005|page=51|isbn=9780191608575}}</ref> As Home Secretary he was in charge of the nation's penal system. Biographer [[Paul Addison]] says. "More than any other Home Secretary of the 20th century, Churchill was the prisoner's friend. He arrived at the Home Office with the firm conviction that the penal system was excessively harsh.” He worked to reduce the number sent to prison in the first place, shorten their terms, and make life in prison more tolerable, and rehabilitation more likely.<ref>Addison, p. 51.</ref> His reforms were not politically popular, but they had a major long-term impact on the British penal system.<ref>Edward Moritz, Jr., "Winston Churchill - Prison Reformer," ''The Historian'' 20#4 (1958), pp. 428-440 {{jstor|24437567}}</ref><ref>Victor Bailey, "Churchill As Home-Secretary--Prison Reform." ''History Today'' vol 35 (March 1985): 10-13.</ref> | ||
=====Borstal system===== | ======Borstal system====== | ||
From 1894-5, [[Herbert Gladstone]]'s Committee on Prisons showed that criminal propensity peaked from the mid-teens to the mid-twenties. He took the view that central government should break the cycle of offending and imprisonment by establishing a new type of reformatory, that was called ''[[Borstal]]'' after the village in [[Kent]] which housed the first one. The movement reached its peak after the first world war when [[Alexander Paterson (penologist)|Alexander Paterson]] became commissioner, delegating authority and encouraging personal responsibility in the fashion of the [[Public school (UK)|English Public school]]: cellblocks were designated as 'houses' by name and had a ''[[housemaster]]''. Cross-country walks were encouraged, and no one ran away. Prison populations remained at a low level until after the second world war when Paterson died and the movement was unable to update itself.<ref>{{harvnb|Morris|Rothman|1995|pp=157–161}}</ref> Some aspects of Borstal found their way into the main prison system, including [[open prison]]s and housemasters, renamed ''assistant governors'' and many Borstal-trained prison officers used their experience in the wider service. But in general the prison system in the twentieth century remained in Victorian buildings which steadily became more and more overcrowded with inevitable results. | |||
===United States=== | ===United States=== | ||
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Since the 1960s the prison population in the US has risen steadily, even during periods where the crime rate has fallen. This is partly due to profound changes in sentencing practices due to a denunciation of lenient policies in the late sixties and early seventies and assertions that rehabilitative purposes do not work. As a consequence sentencing commissions started to establish minimum as well as maximum [[sentencing guidelines]], which have reduced the discretion of parole authorities and also reduced parole supervision of released prisoners. Another factor that contributed to the increase of incarcerations was the Reagan administration's "War On Drugs" in the 1980s. This War increased money spent on lowering the number of illegal drugs in the United States. As a result, drug arrests increased and prisons became increasingly more crowded.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/10/war-on-drugs-prisons-infographic_n_4914884.html|title=Just How Much The War On Drugs Impacts Our Overcrowded Prisons, In One Chart|first=Kathleen|last=Miles|date=10 March 2014|via=Huff Post}}</ref> The rising prison population was made up disproportionately of African American with 90% of those sentenced to prison for drug offense in Illinois in 2002.<ref>Alexander, Michelle. "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness." ''Dimensions of Culture 2: Justice, Edited by Dr. Amanda Solomon, Dr. Megan Strom, and Dr. Emily Johnston, Cognella, 2019, pp. 89-94.''</ref> By 2010, the United States had more prisoners than any other country and a greater percentage of its population was in prison than in any other country in the world. "Mass incarceration" became a serious social and economic problem, as each of the 2.3 million American prisoners costs an average of about $25,000 per year. Recidivism remained high, and useful programs were often cut during the recession of 2009–2010. In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court in ''[[Brown v. Plata]]'' upheld the release of thousands of California prisoners due to California's inability to provide constitutionally mandated levels of healthcare. | Since the 1960s the prison population in the US has risen steadily, even during periods where the crime rate has fallen. This is partly due to profound changes in sentencing practices due to a denunciation of lenient policies in the late sixties and early seventies and assertions that rehabilitative purposes do not work. As a consequence sentencing commissions started to establish minimum as well as maximum [[sentencing guidelines]], which have reduced the discretion of parole authorities and also reduced parole supervision of released prisoners. Another factor that contributed to the increase of incarcerations was the Reagan administration's "War On Drugs" in the 1980s. This War increased money spent on lowering the number of illegal drugs in the United States. As a result, drug arrests increased and prisons became increasingly more crowded.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/10/war-on-drugs-prisons-infographic_n_4914884.html|title=Just How Much The War On Drugs Impacts Our Overcrowded Prisons, In One Chart|first=Kathleen|last=Miles|date=10 March 2014|via=Huff Post}}</ref> The rising prison population was made up disproportionately of African American with 90% of those sentenced to prison for drug offense in Illinois in 2002.<ref>Alexander, Michelle. "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness." ''Dimensions of Culture 2: Justice, Edited by Dr. Amanda Solomon, Dr. Megan Strom, and Dr. Emily Johnston, Cognella, 2019, pp. 89-94.''</ref> By 2010, the United States had more prisoners than any other country and a greater percentage of its population was in prison than in any other country in the world. "Mass incarceration" became a serious social and economic problem, as each of the 2.3 million American prisoners costs an average of about $25,000 per year. Recidivism remained high, and useful programs were often cut during the recession of 2009–2010. In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court in ''[[Brown v. Plata]]'' upheld the release of thousands of California prisoners due to California's inability to provide constitutionally mandated levels of healthcare. | ||
In 2015 a bipartisan effort was launched by [[Koch family foundations]], the [[ACLU]], the [[Center for American Progress]], [[Families Against Mandatory Minimums]], the [[Coalition for Public Safety]], and the [[John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation|MacArthur Foundation]] to more seriously address criminal justice reform in the United States.<ref name=tAtl>{{cite web| last =Ball| first =Molly| title =Do the Koch Brothers Really Care About Criminal-Justice Reform?| work =The Atlantic| date =Mar 3, 2015| url =https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/do-the-koch-brothers-really-care-about-criminal-justice-reform/386615/}}</ref><ref name=dbeast>{{cite web| last =Mak| first =Tim| title =Koch Bros to Bankroll Prison Reform| work =The Daily Beast| date =Jan 13, 2015| url =http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/13/koch-bros-to-bankroll-prison-reform.html}}</ref> The Kochs and their partners are combatting the systemic overcriminalization and overincarceration of citizens from primarily low-income and minority communities.<ref name=wapos>{{cite | In 2015, a bipartisan effort was launched by [[Koch family foundations]], the [[ACLU]], the [[Center for American Progress]], [[Families Against Mandatory Minimums]], the [[Coalition for Public Safety]], and the [[John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation|MacArthur Foundation]] to more seriously address criminal justice reform in the United States.<ref name=tAtl>{{cite web| last =Ball| first =Molly| title =Do the Koch Brothers Really Care About Criminal-Justice Reform?| work =The Atlantic| date =Mar 3, 2015| url =https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/do-the-koch-brothers-really-care-about-criminal-justice-reform/386615/}}</ref><ref name=dbeast>{{cite web| last =Mak| first =Tim| title =Koch Bros to Bankroll Prison Reform| work =The Daily Beast| date =Jan 13, 2015| url =http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/13/koch-bros-to-bankroll-prison-reform.html}}</ref> The Kochs and their partners are combatting the systemic overcriminalization and overincarceration of citizens from primarily low-income and minority communities.<ref name=wapos>{{cite news| last =Horwitz| first =Sari| title =Unlikely Allies| newspaper =Washington Post| date =Aug 15, 2015| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2015/08/15/clemency-the-issue-that-obama-and-the-koch-brothers-actually-agree-on/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2015/1020/Congress-s-big-bipartisan-success-that-might-be-just-beginning |title=Congress's big, bipartisan success that might be just beginning | work=Christian Science Monitor | date=Oct 20, 2015 | author=Gass Henry}}</ref> The group of reformers is working to reduce recidivism rates and diminish barriers faced by rehabilitated persons seeking new employment in the work force. In addition they have a goal in ending [[Asset forfeiture]] practices since law enforcement often deprives individuals of the majority of their private property.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://cjonline.com/news/2015-10-15/forfeiture-reform-aligns-likes-billionaire-charles-koch-aclu | title=Forfeiture reform aligns likes of billionaire Charles Koch, ACLU | work=The Topeka Capital Journal | date=Oct 15, 2015 | author=Hudetz, Mary}}</ref> | ||
[[Decarceration in the United States]] includes overlapping reformist and [[Prison abolition movement|abolitionist]] strategies, from "front door" options such as sentencing reform, [[decriminalization]], [[Diversion program|diversion]] and mental health treatment to "back door" approaches, exemplified by parole reform and early release into community supervision programs, amnesty for inmates convicted of non-violent offenses and imposition of prison capacity limits.<ref>{{Cite web|title=NCJRS Abstract - National Criminal Justice Reference Service|url=https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=204851|website=www.ncjrs.gov|language=en|access-date=2020-05-08}}</ref> While reforms focus on incremental changes, abolitionist approaches include budget reallocations, prison closures and restorative and transformative justice programs that challenge incarceration as an effective deterrent and necessary means of incapacitation. Abolitionists support investments in familial and community mental health, affordable housing and quality education to gradually transition and jail employees to jobs in other economic sectors.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Decarceration Strategies: How 5 States Achieved Substantial Prison Population Reductions|url=https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/decarceration-strategies-5-states-achieved-substantial-prison-population-reductions/|website=The Sentencing Project|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title='Abolish Prisons' Is the New 'Abolish ICE'|url=https://politi.co/2MrbixA|last=Arrieta-Kenna|first=Ruairí|website=POLITICO Magazine|language=en|access-date=2020-04-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Vera Institute|url=https://www.vera.org/ending-mass-incarceration|last=Hyperakt|date=2020-05-02|website=Vera|language=en|access-date=2020-05-03}}</ref> | [[Decarceration in the United States]] includes overlapping reformist and [[Prison abolition movement|abolitionist]] strategies, from "front door" options such as sentencing reform, [[decriminalization]], [[Diversion program|diversion]] and mental health treatment to "back door" approaches, exemplified by parole reform and early release into community supervision programs, amnesty for inmates convicted of non-violent offenses and imposition of prison capacity limits.<ref>{{Cite web|title=NCJRS Abstract - National Criminal Justice Reference Service|url=https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=204851|website=www.ncjrs.gov|language=en|access-date=2020-05-08}}</ref> While reforms focus on incremental changes, abolitionist approaches include budget reallocations, prison closures and restorative and transformative justice programs that challenge incarceration as an effective deterrent and necessary means of incapacitation. Abolitionists support investments in familial and community mental health, affordable housing and quality education to gradually transition and jail employees to jobs in other economic sectors.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Decarceration Strategies: How 5 States Achieved Substantial Prison Population Reductions|url=https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/decarceration-strategies-5-states-achieved-substantial-prison-population-reductions/|website=The Sentencing Project|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title='Abolish Prisons' Is the New 'Abolish ICE'|url=https://politi.co/2MrbixA|last=Arrieta-Kenna|first=Ruairí|website=POLITICO Magazine|language=en|access-date=2020-04-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Vera Institute|url=https://www.vera.org/ending-mass-incarceration|last=Hyperakt|date=2020-05-02|website=Vera|language=en|access-date=2020-05-03}}</ref> | ||
== | ==Theorists== | ||
[[File:Boston Herald September 12, 1921.png|thumb|Reformer Thomas Mott Osborne, Attorney Ziegler, and Victor Folke Nelson 1921]] | |||
Numerous theorists have written on the topic of prison reform and advocated for scientific, compassionate, and evidence-based approaches to rehabilitation. One of the most famous was [[Thomas Mott Osborne]], former prison commander of Portsmouth Naval Prison and former warden of New York's [[Sing Sing]] prison, who himself chose to live briefly as a prisoner to better understand the prison experience.<ref name="OSB">"[http://cayugamuseum.org/thomas-mott-osborne-and-prison-reform/ Thomas Mott Osborne and Prison Reform – Cayuga Museum of History and Art.]." Retrieved on February 8, 2022.</ref> Osborne was a mentor to other renowned prison reform theorists, such as [[Austin MacCormick]]. Prisoners themselves, such as [[Victor Folke Nelson]],<ref name="PDN2"> ''Prison Days and Nights'', by Victor F. Nelson (New York: Garden City Publishing Co., Inc., 1936)</ref> have also contributed to the theories and literature on American prison reform. | |||
==Theories of incarceration and reform== | ==Theories of incarceration and reform== | ||
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===Restitution or repayment=== | ===Restitution or repayment=== | ||
Prisoners are forced to repay their "debt" to society. Unpaid or low pay work is common in many prisons, often to the benefit of the community. In some countries prisons operate as labour camps. Critics say that the repayment model gives government an economic incentive to send more people to prison. In corrupt or authoritarian regimes, such as the former Soviet Union under the control of Joseph Stalin, many citizens are sentenced to forced labour for minor breaches of the law, simply because the government requires the labour camps as a source of income. [[Community service]] is increasingly being used as an alternative to prison for petty criminals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/a/anderson-justice.html |title=New York Times | | Prisoners are forced to repay their "debt" to society. Unpaid or low pay work is common in many prisons, often to the benefit of the community. In some countries prisons operate as labour camps. Critics say that the repayment model gives government an economic incentive to send more people to prison. In corrupt or authoritarian regimes, such as the former Soviet Union under the control of Joseph Stalin, many citizens are sentenced to forced labour for minor breaches of the law, simply because the government requires the labour camps as a source of income. [[Community service]] is increasingly being used as an alternative to prison for petty criminals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/a/anderson-justice.html |title=New York Times |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2013-06-13}}</ref> | ||
===Reduction in immediate costs=== | ===Reduction in immediate costs=== | ||
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''"Whereas the practice of confining such lunatics and other insane persons as are chargeable to their respective parishes in Gaols, Houses of Correction, Poor Houses and Houses of Industry, is highly dangerous and inconvenient"''<ref> | ''"Whereas the practice of confining such lunatics and other insane persons as are chargeable to their respective parishes in Gaols, Houses of Correction, Poor Houses and Houses of Industry, is highly dangerous and inconvenient"''<ref> | ||
{{cite web | {{cite web | ||
|last=Roberts, Andrew | |last=Roberts, Andrew | ||
|title=''Table of Statutes'' | |title=''Table of Statutes'' | ||
|work=The asylums index | |work=The asylums index | ||
|publisher=Middlesex University, London, England | |publisher=Middlesex University, London, England | ||
|year=1981 | |year=1981 | ||
|url=http://www.mdx.ac.uk/WWW/STUDY/Law.htm#48Geo3c96 | |url=http://www.mdx.ac.uk/WWW/STUDY/Law.htm#48Geo3c96 | ||
|access-date=2006-09-26 | |access-date=2006-09-26 | ||
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060904062428/http://www.mdx.ac.uk/WWW/STUDY/Law.htm | |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060904062428/http://www.mdx.ac.uk/WWW/STUDY/Law.htm | ||
|archive-date=2006-09-04 | |archive-date=2006-09-04 | ||
|url-status=dead | |url-status=dead | ||
}} | }} | ||
</ref> | </ref> | ||
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[[Zebulon Brockway]] in ''Fifty Years of Prison Service'' outlined an ideal prison system: Prisoners should support themselves in prison though industry, in anticipation of supporting themselves outside prison; outside businesses and labor must not interfere; indeterminate sentences were required, making prisoners earn their release with constructive behavior, not just the passage of time; and education and a Christian culture should be imparted. Nevertheless, opposition to prison industries, the [[Prison–industrial complex|prison-industrial complex]], and labor increased. Finally, U.S. law prohibited the transport of prison-made goods across state lines. Most prison-made goods today are only for government use—but the state and federal governments are not required to meet their needs from prison industries. Although nearly every prison reformer in history believed prisoners should work usefully, and several prisons in the 1800s were profitable and self-supporting, most American prisoners today do not have productive jobs in prison.<ref>''[http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2008/one20in20100pdf.pdf One in 100: Behind Bars in America]'', 2008, [[Pew Center]]'s Public Safety Performance Project @ pewcenteronthestates; Stephen Garvey, "Freeing Prisoners' Labor," 50 ''[[Stanford Law Review]]'' 339, 343 (1–1998); John Dewar Gleissner, ''Prison & Slavery – A Surprising Comparison'', Outskirts Press, 2010.</ref> | [[Zebulon Brockway]] in ''Fifty Years of Prison Service'' outlined an ideal prison system: Prisoners should support themselves in prison though industry, in anticipation of supporting themselves outside prison; outside businesses and labor must not interfere; indeterminate sentences were required, making prisoners earn their release with constructive behavior, not just the passage of time; and education and a Christian culture should be imparted. Nevertheless, opposition to prison industries, the [[Prison–industrial complex|prison-industrial complex]], and labor increased. Finally, U.S. law prohibited the transport of prison-made goods across state lines. Most prison-made goods today are only for government use—but the state and federal governments are not required to meet their needs from prison industries. Although nearly every prison reformer in history believed prisoners should work usefully, and several prisons in the 1800s were profitable and self-supporting, most American prisoners today do not have productive jobs in prison.<ref>''[http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2008/one20in20100pdf.pdf One in 100: Behind Bars in America]'', 2008, [[Pew Center]]'s Public Safety Performance Project @ pewcenteronthestates; Stephen Garvey, "Freeing Prisoners' Labor," 50 ''[[Stanford Law Review]]'' 339, 343 (1–1998); John Dewar Gleissner, ''Prison & Slavery – A Surprising Comparison'', Outskirts Press, 2010.</ref> | ||
[[Kim Kardashian|Kim Kardashian-West]] has fought for prison reform, notably visiting the White House to visit President Donald Trump in on May 30, 2018. In 2018, Trump announced he was providing clemency to Alice Johnson, a week after the meeting with Kardashian-West. Johnson was given a life sentence for drug charges.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/06/politics/alice-marie-johnson-commuted-sentence/index.html|title=Trump commutes sentence of Alice Marie Johnson|author=Jeremy Diamond and Kaitlan Collins|website=CNN|access-date=2019-04-14}}</ref> She has also helped with lobbying the First Step Act, reducing the federally mandated minimum prison sentences. | [[Kim Kardashian|Kim Kardashian-West]] has fought for prison reform, notably visiting the White House to visit President Donald Trump in on May 30, 2018. In 2018, Trump announced he was providing clemency to Alice Johnson, a week after the meeting with Kardashian-West. Johnson was given a life sentence for drug charges.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/06/politics/alice-marie-johnson-commuted-sentence/index.html|title=Trump commutes sentence of Alice Marie Johnson|author=Jeremy Diamond and Kaitlan Collins|website=CNN|date=6 June 2018|access-date=2019-04-14}}</ref> She has also helped with lobbying the First Step Act, reducing the federally mandated minimum prison sentences. | ||
Rappers [[Jay-Z]] and [[Meek Mill]] have also been advocates for prison reform, both being very outspoken about the issue. In 2019, they announced the launching of organization REFORM Alliance, | Rappers [[Jay-Z]] and [[Meek Mill]] have also been advocates for prison reform, both being very outspoken about the issue. In 2019, they announced the launching of an organization, [[Reform Alliance (United States)|REFORM Alliance]], which aims to reduce the number of people who are serving probation and parole sentences that are unjust. The organization was able to pledge $50 million to debut, also deciding to bring on CNN news commentator Van Jones as CEO.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/24/entertainment/jay-z-meek-mill-prison/index.html|title=Jay-Z and Meek Mill launch prison reform organization|author=Lisa Respers France|website=CNN|date=24 January 2019|access-date=2019-04-13}}</ref> | ||
Musician [[Johnny Cash]] performed and recorded at many prisons and fought for prison reform.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lundy |first=Zeth |url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/johnny-cash-at-folsom-prison |title=PopMatters |publisher=PopMatters |access-date=2013-06-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Antonino D'Ambrosio |url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/11/08/johnny_cash |title=The bitter tears of Johnny Cash |work=[[Salon.com]] |date= November 9, 2009 |access-date=2013-06-13| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091114075728/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/11/08/johnny_cash | archive-date= November 14, 2009 |url-status=dead|author-link=Antonino D'Ambrosio }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BBRDZoBeI88C&q=johnny+cash+prison+reform&pg=PA186 |title=Books.google.com |date= 2006-09-04|access-date=2013-06-13|isbn=9780306813689 |last1=Streissguth |first1=Michael }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/24/entertainment/jay-z-meek-mill-prison/index.html|title=Jay-Z and Meek Mill launch prison reform organization|last=Respers|first=Lisa|date=January 24, 2019|website=CNN}}</ref> His song "''Folsom Prison Blues",'' tells the tale from the perspective of a convicted killer in prison. Named after Folsom State Prison, which is California's second oldest correctional facility. Only twelve years later, after the song was released Cash performed the song live at the prison. | Musician [[Johnny Cash]] performed and recorded at many prisons and fought for prison reform.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lundy |first=Zeth |url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/johnny-cash-at-folsom-prison |title=PopMatters |publisher=PopMatters |access-date=2013-06-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Antonino D'Ambrosio |url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/11/08/johnny_cash |title=The bitter tears of Johnny Cash |work=[[Salon.com]] |date= November 9, 2009 |access-date=2013-06-13| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091114075728/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/11/08/johnny_cash | archive-date= November 14, 2009 |url-status=dead|author-link=Antonino D'Ambrosio }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BBRDZoBeI88C&q=johnny+cash+prison+reform&pg=PA186 |title=Books.google.com |date= 2006-09-04|access-date=2013-06-13|isbn=9780306813689 |last1=Streissguth |first1=Michael }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/24/entertainment/jay-z-meek-mill-prison/index.html|title=Jay-Z and Meek Mill launch prison reform organization|last=Respers|first=Lisa|date=January 24, 2019|website=CNN}}</ref> His song "''Folsom Prison Blues",'' tells the tale from the perspective of a convicted killer in prison. Named after Folsom State Prison, which is California's second oldest correctional facility. Only twelve years later, after the song was released Cash performed the song live at the prison. | ||
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Not all prison reformers approach the problem from the left side of the political spectrum, although most do. In "How to Create American Manufacturing Jobs," it was proposed that restrictions on prison industries and labor and federal employment laws be eliminated so that prisoners and private employers could negotiate wage agreements to make goods now made exclusively overseas.<ref>John Dewar Gleissner, How to Create American Manufacturing Jobs, Vol. 9, Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy, Issue 3 (2013) @ https://trace.tennessee.edu/tjlp/vol9/iss3/4</ref> This would boost prison wages and revitalize prison industries away from the money-losing state industries approach that now limits prison labor and industries. Prisoners want to work, but there are not enough jobs in prison for them to be productive. | Not all prison reformers approach the problem from the left side of the political spectrum, although most do. In "How to Create American Manufacturing Jobs," it was proposed that restrictions on prison industries and labor and federal employment laws be eliminated so that prisoners and private employers could negotiate wage agreements to make goods now made exclusively overseas.<ref>John Dewar Gleissner, How to Create American Manufacturing Jobs, Vol. 9, Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy, Issue 3 (2013) @ https://trace.tennessee.edu/tjlp/vol9/iss3/4</ref> This would boost prison wages and revitalize prison industries away from the money-losing state industries approach that now limits prison labor and industries. Prisoners want to work, but there are not enough jobs in prison for them to be productive. | ||
On December 21, 2018, President Donald Trump signed the First Step Act bill into law. The First Step Act has provisions to ease prison sentences for drug related crimes, and promote good behavior in federal prisons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/12/18/18140973/state-of-the-union-trump-first-step-act-criminal-justice-reform|title=The First Step Act, explained|last=Lopez|first=German|date=2018-12-18|website=Vox|access-date=2019-04-15}}</ref> | On December 21, 2018, President Donald Trump signed the First Step Act bill into law. The First Step Act has provisions to ease prison sentences for drug related crimes, and promote good behavior in federal prisons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/12/18/18140973/state-of-the-union-trump-first-step-act-criminal-justice-reform|title=The First Step Act, explained|last=Lopez|first=German|date=2018-12-18|website=Vox|access-date=2019-04-15}}</ref> [[Clementine Jacoby]]'s ''Recidiviz'' looks to reduce incarceration rates by making complex and fragmented criminal justice data usable, which enables leaders to take data-driven action and track the impacts of their decisions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Recidiviz {{!}} A Criminal Justice Data Platform |url=https://www.recidiviz.org/ |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=www.recidiviz.org}}</ref> | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||