California Super Max Prisons

California incarceration & prison funding rates 03

Super-max prison security measures 04

Changing U.S. attitudes toward crime 05

Ineffectiveness of Super-Max prisons 06

Brutality and inhumanity of Super-Max prisons 06

Eighth-Amendment and crime deterrence 07

Discussion, Recommendations & Conclusions 08

The rise in crime during the past three decades in American society has resulted in mandatory sentencing guidelines, tougher parole policies, stricter drug sentencing laws, and longer sentences are adding and keeping more criminals in prison for longer periods of time. In 1995 the Justice Department reported there were 1,012,851 people in federal and state prisons, a quadrupling of the inmate population since 1970 (Prison, 1995, 223).

The fear of crime in American society has resulted in an extraordinary expansion of the U.S. prison system over the past decade. More significantly, the prison boon has seen the advent of Super-Max Prisons. Super-Max prisons are designed to house offenders who are considered the worst-of

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e tougher laws on crime and increases in prison funding. As one New York State assemblyman, Daniel Feldman, writes, “When Republican legislators cry ‘Lock ‘em up,’ they often mean ‘Lock ‘em up in my district’” (Prison, 1995, 223). Despite the increases in the numbers of inmates, tougher and longer sentences, and the advent of Super-Max prisons, many argue that increasing incarceration is doing little to deter crime. The Justice Department reports that from 1996 to 200, convictions for drug trafficking have nearly double with seemingly little impact on addiction or the drug market. Further, more than 60% of those in federal and state prisons are incarcerated because of drug crimes. Adding to complexity of the inmate population is the increasing gulf between whites and blacks in prison. According to the Nation, “Prison expansion reinforces racism. African-Americans, who account for 13% of the U.S. population, are 54% of those behind bars” (Prison, 1995, 223). Adding to these problems is the fact that many see the current prison system in the U.S. as ineffective. Even though jails are primarily occupied by low-level drug users, the prison system is expanded at the expense of funding for rehabilitation efforts. Incarceratio
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Approximate Word count = 2244
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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