Goals and Programs
The goals of sentencing have changed over time depending on the culture of a given place. In modern society, sentencing involves limiting the freedom of an offender and seems to be in conflict with contemporary morals. However, sentencing is justified since it is conducted by a legitimate authority and only applies to individuals who have been proven to violate the laws. The goals of sentencing include:
General Deterrence
General deterrence is an objective of sentencing that aims to prevent members of society from committing similar offenses. When the public witnesses the sentencing of others, they would be frightened from conducting such acts of criminality. The government must, however, balance between dispensing justice to everyone and deterring criminal activity.
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Specific Deterrence
Specific deterrence aims to prevent offenders from committing crimes again in the future. The pain and suffering caused by sentencing are designed to be harsh enough to inhibit reoffending. However, evidence shows that about 80 percent of current prisoners in the United States served prior sentences questioning the effectiveness of sentencing to achieve this goal.
Incapacitation
Incapacitation as a goal of sentencing aims at restricting dangerous individuals from being harmful to others. When offenders are serving their sentences, society is protected from their harmful activities (Siegel & Bartollas, 2018). Evidence reveals that an increase in the number of individuals in prison has reduced crime rates, though other factors have also contributed to this trend.
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation perceives violators of the law as victims that need to be reformed into upright members of society. Scholars argue that factors such as trauma and poverty significantly contribute to deviant and criminal behavior. Sentencing offers programs that address the needs of offenders without focusing too much on the gravity of their offenses.
Restorative Justice
Restorative justice as a goal seeks to reintegrate offenders back into society. The core principle of restorative justice is reparation to make amends in the form of service. The community acts as a substitute victim that the offender must serve (Siegel & Bartollas, 2018). Restorative justice also makes the offender understand the dangers of their action.
Impact of Sentencing Structures
The sentence imposed by a judge is made based on the information presented during the trial. A report from a probation officer on the defendant's history is also used to determine the type of sentence to give. As a result, different sentence structures have varied impacts.
Determinant vs Indeterminant
Determinate sentences allow a fixed number of years defined by the law served to the defendant depending on the type of crime. For example, if the law sets a sentence of up to 25 years for robbery, a repeat offender may be given 18 years. Early release indeterminate sentences can be due to overcrowding or good time credits. The concept of parole does not exist in this model of sentencing. On the other hand, indeterminate sentences are based on the principle of offenders serving for a given period rehabilitated. For example, the law would recommend a sentence of 1 of 15 years for robbery. The inmate would be subjected to a parole program that would allow them to serve community service after completing I year sentence and proven to be rehabilitated.
Three-Strikes Laws
The three-strikes law was established by U.S Congress and 25 states for recurrent offenders that mandated lengthy sentences without parole. The three-strikes law is designed for 3 rd -degree felonies or higher. Highly publicized crimes by repeat offenders led to the rationale of establishing these laws (Siegel & Bartollas, 2018). It has been argued that the three-strikes law violates due process by restricting the liberty of an individual under a vague legal framework. Three-strikes law, though validated as legal by the U.S Supreme Court, assumes the future risk of a criminal without any empirical support. Based on this argument, the U.S Supreme Court determined that it was unconstitutional to give judges the power to determine the hypothetical future risk of an individual.
Invisible Punishment
Former inmates usually experience difficulty interacting in society as ordinary citizens with equal rights. The label of being an ex-inmate is regarded as a form of punishment on its own. Equal chances of employment are denied for these individuals, with certain policies outright restricting ex-convicts' hiring. The reluctance to hire ex-convicts by private employers also adds to this injustice termed as invisible punishment. Evidence demonstrates that the success of an offender in parole is directly related to their gainful employment.
The civil liberty of ex-inmates is denied since, in many states, they cannot acquire the relevant certificates required for employment opportunities. Through scrutiny of ex-convicts who seek public service opportunities also discriminates against them, limiting their efforts. Former inmates cannot get employment in some federal or state positions such as community nursing. Their limited experience and training also put them in a handicapped position in seeking employment. Other restriction on civil liberties of former inmates includes serving on a jury, and requirement to register with law enforcement upon release.
Restrictions on the private lives of inmates, such as denial of parental rights, often lead to family problems. The lack of skills to constructively interact with strangers and coworkers also limits their freedom and pursuit of happiness. In addition, former convicts have been known to live with the social stigma of being labeled a "former criminal," and publicly accessible records with information about their conviction have worsened the experience.
Structure and Logistics of Correctional Facilities
Processing
The intake process of offenders begins at the short-term confinement stage, where inmates are kept temporarily for less than a year. Incarcerated individuals are first subjected to a classification process to determine the most effective rehabilitation for them. There are diverse offenders with different states of mental health. Risk assessment is conducted on all inmates to determine caseload. The Level of Service Inventory (LSI-R) is the most common risk assessment method.
Inmates, while in correctional facilities, can be subjected to searches and seizures. The Fourth Amendment gives individuals the right to secure their homes and properties from unwarranted searches and seizures. A valid warrant can only be issued upon reasonable cause and must be supported by an affirmation. In addition, the warrant must clearly specify the place to be searched and items that are to be seized. The Fourth Amendment does not extend to inmates since the Court determined that searches by prison officers are reasonable.
The release of inmates from facilities can be conducted after the inmate has served their time or has been granted parole. The release of inmates on parole has become so common that annually 550,000 inmates are granted parole. The parole board evaluates the inmate's rehabilitation record and history of offenses before making a decision. Under parole, the released inmates are supervised and controlled to discharge from parole or revoke.
Structure
There exist three types of jurisdiction for correctional facilities, federal, state, and local or private. The federal system houses almost 12% of all inmates, with the majority under state correction (Siegel & Bartollas, 2018). Federal prisons have better standards than state prisons and generally have better rehabilitation programs. Private prisons have lower rates of recidivism and are bigger built than federal and state facilities. Private facilities also have higher capacity and have more flexible programs. However, private facilities experience higher rates of unruly inmate behavior and offer limited social programs than the state and federal types.
These prisons are designed using four different layouts: radial, telephone, courtyard, and campus designs. The radial design includes alleys that span from a central point. Maximum security prisons often adopt this layout—the telephone layout designed with a central alley having branches from the sides. Classification of prisoners can be done effectively under this layout. However, inmates can block the main alley causing disruption of all operations. The courtyard design is aesthetically constructed to provide security with courtyard buildings. This design provides enough space for rehabilitative training and programs to be categorized.
Age-Related Diversity
The different levels of sanctions that correctional facilities provide to inmates have varying degrees of challenges. Juvenile prisons have more freedom and offer better rehabilitation to the inmates. Maximum security prisons have high levels of violence among the inmates and poor rehabilitation. The extreme restriction of supermax prisons has seen the violence and escapes reduced since the authority has high levels of control. However, the isolation has resulted in high levels of depression and severe mental health for convicts. Released inmates from supermax and maximum-security prisons portrayed high levels of violence. Age was also a factor in incident rates of mental illness, with convicts older than 54 years being least affected while those younger than 25 years most affected. The history of substance abuse and mental illness among inmates is correlated.
Systemic Issues
Impact of Diversity
Diversity in correctional facilities is a controversial issue since there exist varying gender-based classifications of inmates. Gender-neutral is a common evaluation of correctional institutions. Education, employment, and mental health are other examples of classification that illustrate the diversity in correctional facilities. Misconduct among inmates has often been predicted by these needs assessment indicators. In a gender-based classification of inmates, evidence reveals female convicts demonstrate a high occurrence of overlapping issues such as drug abuse, sexual discrimination, violence, and mental illness. The classification that gives diversity helps correctional officers develop proper care to meet the different needs of inmates. Studies reveal that more than half of all inmates suffer from mental illness, and state facilities are mostly affected. The female correctional facilities have higher incidences of mental health problems than their male counterparts. Mental illness is also different depending on ethnicity, with White inmates mostly affected, followed by African Americans.
Culturally, women correctional facilities face a deficit in rehabilitation programs compared to male facilities. Women inmates are being inadequately trained and poorly prepared to integrate into society. Existing programs also fail to address the gender-sensitive nature of women inmates. The different paths to crimes by women and men should lead to more gender-specific rehabilitation programs. The separation of mothers from their children in prison is also never fully addressed, with over half of women inmates being mothers. Nurseries for incarcerated mothers are poorly facilitated and do not provide healthy environments for growth. Sexual abuse and victimization of LGBT in correctional facilities is also a common occurrence among both female and male inmates. HIV and STD often spread fast among members of the LGBT because of poor protection and education.
Rise of Incarceration and Reduction Strategies
The mass incarceration associated with the War on Drugs has led to an increase in the prison population and sometimes overcrowding. The federal and state government strategy to combat drugs by sentencing users and peddlers has not been effective since drug abuse is persistently high (Siegel & Bartollas, 2018). Rehabilitation of users instead of arrest and sentencing would be a better strategy against drug and substance abuse. Another factor that has contributed to the increase in the prison population is the parole violation offenders. The conditions used by the parole board to supervise offenders released on parole offer a limited chance for rehabilitation. Training offenders and sensitizing the community to integrate them are better strategies to be used against this challenge.
Prison Culture
Prison culture is impacted by long-term incarceration rates and sexual violence in prisons. Long-term inmates with little probability of release to recreate community and family life establish cultural, social order within the facilities. Old cultural habits are also passed down to new inmates by offenders serving lone term sentences. Sexual violence experienced in prisons also creates a culture of coerced homosexuality. Prison authorities tolerate this conduct in the wrong belief that prisoners would because little problems can engage in such sexual violence.
Prisonitization refers to the emerging social culture within prisons during the Big House era of prison. A social code was developed that included being tough and never betraying a fellow inmate (Siegel & Bartollas, 2018). This code was encouraged by authorities since it contributed to order within the facilities. Prisonization as a process encouraged the assimilation of new inmates into the social culture system. Most of the inmates in this era were prisonized and partook in the community system of prison life by surrendering their civilian identities.
References
Siegel, L. J., & Bartollas, C. (2018). Corrections today . Cengage Learning.
