rights, barring cruel and unusual punishment. This analysis will explore the growth of Super-Max prisons in California, including a conclusion that offers policy recommendations to address current inadequacies in the California penal system.
Of all the states in the Union, California incarcerates more people than any other including the federal government. In 1996, California prisons held 146,290 inmates in 32 adult prison, representing an over-capacity rate of 186 percent (Too, 1996, 24). In November of that same year, California taxpayers voted their approval for an addition $5 billion bond to build and fill new prisons (Parkes, 2000, 4). Prison growth more than doubles state revenue in California, with a correction’s budget growing by 11% annually with state revenue increasing by only 5.3% (Too, 1996, 24).
Rising crime rates have led to a variety of trends in the criminal justice system that have been responsible for increasing numbers of inmates and high-tech security Super-Max prisons. As the Nation reports, “Americans’ fear of crime is creating a new version of the old military-industrial complex” (Prison, 1995, 223). Severe and mandatory sentencing are also current trends in the criminal justice system. Indeed, the new Super-Max prisons are designed to house the worst offenders in the criminal justice system. Known as super predators to law enforcement officials, Super-Max prisons like those at Corcoran and Pelican Bay have been designed to offer state-of-the-art security.
In Super-Max prisons, inmates are confined in windowless cells. The barest of human contact is available, save for prison guards, counselors and clergy. Motion detectors, even underground, remote-controlled steel doors, a plethora of cameras, 12-foot chain-link fences with razor wire and other measures are incorporated into the design of Super-Max facilities. Cells typically measure 7-feet-by-12-feet and include polished steel m...