Exam 1 Penology

Exam 1 Study Guide- Penology Chapter 1: The Philosophical and Ideological Underpinnings of Corrections • Define corrections, penology, and punishment - - Examples from PowerPoints o Corrections- Includes institutional and community sanctions; Formerly referred to as penology (study of punishment).  Why do we have corrections- Protect society through surveillance and control of offenders; Assist courts with decisions; Provide information for sentencing; Offer treatment and rehabilitative services; Incapacitate during a criminal sentence. Examples from Textbook o Corrections- a generic term covering a variety of functions carried out by government (and increasingly private) agencies having to do with the punishment, treatment, supervision, and management if individuals who have been convicted or accused of criminal offenses.  Functions implemented in prisons, jails, and other secure institutions.  Also, the name we give to the field of academic study of theories, missions, policies, systems, programs, and personnel that implement those functions as well as the behaviors and experiences of offenders. o Penology- the study of the processes adopted for the punishment and prevention of crime. No matter what we call our prisons, jails, and other systems of formal social control, we are compelling people to do what they do not want to do, and they experience such arm twisting as punitive regardless of what name we use. o Punishment- legal punishment may be defined as the state-authorized imposition of some form of deprivation- of liberty, resources, or even life- on a person justly convicted of a violation of the criminal law. • Identify the earliest codes of punishment - Examples from PowerPoints o Code of Ur-Nammu- earliest existing written code o Code of Hammurabi- One of the earliest known penal codes • Explain the main concepts of the Classical School and Positivist School - - Key persons: Beccaria, Bentham, Garofalo Examples from PowerPoints o Classical School  Links crime causation to punishment, based on offenders' free will and punishment.  Founded by Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794)  Abolition of secret accusations  Written punishments  Argued punishment should be swift, certain, and severe.  Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)  Principle of utility o Greatest happiness for greatest number of people  Features of human nature o Hedonistic o Rational o Endowed with free will.  Hedonistic Calculus o Weight the costs and benefits o Positivist School  Criminal behavior is predetermined.  Characteristics and circumstances of the offender are important.  The concept of legal responsibility was called into question. Examples from Textbook o Classical school  Enlightenment ideas  Beccaria argued that punishments should be proportionate to the harm done, should be identical for identical crimes, and should be applied without reference to the social status of either the offender or the victim.  Certainty- the certainty of punishment, even if it be moderate, will always make a stronger impression than the fear of another which is more terrible but combined with the hope of impunity.  Swiftness- the more promptly and the more closely punishment follows upon the commission of a crime, the more just and useful it will be.  Severity- For a punishment to attain its end, the evil which it inflicts has only to exceed the advantage derivable from the crime; in this excess of evil one should include the loss of the good which the crime might have produced. All beyond this is superfluous and for that reason tyrannical. Beccaria made clear that punishments must outweigh any benefits offenders get from crime if they are to be deterred from future crime. Punishment should be as certain and swift as possible.  He also asserted that to ensure a rational and fair penal structure, punishments for specific crimes must be decreed by written criminal codes, and the discretionary powers of judges must be severely limited. Bentham  Principle of utility  Which posits that human actions should be judged as moral or immoral by their effects on the happiness of the community (the greatest good for the greatest numbers) Positivism (positivists)  took on themselves the methods of empirical science which more “positive” conclusions could be drawn. They were radical empiricists who insisted that only things that can be observed and measured should concern us.  Believe rationality, free-will, motivation, conscience, and human nature should be ignored.  They dismissed the classical notion that humans are free agents who are alone responsible for their actions.  Added characteristics and circumstances also determine the punishment.  Sentencing is based on both seriousness of the crime and the history and characteristics of the criminal.  o o • Explain how punishment can be functional (think Durkheim) - Examples from Textbook o Durkheim contended that punishment is functional for society in that the rituals of punishment reaffirm the justness of the social norms and allow the citizens to express their moral outrage when others transgress those moral norms o Humankind has moved from retributive justice (revenge) to restitutive justice (making amends) • Compare and contrast the 5 major justifications of punishment - Examples from Textbook o Retribution- a “just desserts” model demanding that punishment match as closely as possible to the degree of harm criminals have inflicted on their victims- what they justly deserve. Those who commit minor crimes deserve minor punishments, and those who commit more serious crimes deserve more severe punishments. o Deterrence- people are discouraged from crime by the threat of punishment. o Incapacitation- refers to the inability of criminals to victimize people outside prison walls while they are locked up. o Rehabilitation- to restore or return to constructive or healthy activity. Whereas deterrence and incapacitation are justified mainly on classical grounds, rehabilitation is primarily a positivist concept. o Reintegration- use the time criminals are under correctional supervision to prepare them to reenter the free community as well equipped to do so as possible. • Identify the difference between specific and general deterrence - - Examples from PowerPoints o Deterrence- Discouraged from committing crime because of the threat of punishment  General and Specific Deterrence Examples from Textbook o Specific deterrence  Refers to the effect of punishment on the future behavior of persons who experience it. For specific deterrence to work, it is necessary that a previously punished person make a conscious connection between an intended criminal act and the punishment suffered as a result of similar acts committed in the past. o General deterrence  Refers to the preventive effect of the threat of punishment on the general population; thus, it is aimed at potential offenders. Punishing offenders serves as an example to the rest of us of what may happen if we violate the law, as we noted in the opening vignette. • Explain the difference between incapacitation and selective incapacitation - - Examples from PowerPoints o Incapacitation  Inability to commit crime while locked up, the goal is to defend society. o Selective incapacitation  Reserve prison for a select group. Examples from Textbook o Incapacitation- the inability of criminals to victimize people outside prison walls while they are locked up. o Selective incapacitation- a punishment strategy that reserves prison largely for a select group of offenders composed primarily of violent repeat offenders but may also include other types of incorrigible offenders. Chapter 2: Early Corrections: From Ancient Times to Correctional Institutions • Identify the different forms jails have taken throughout history - Examples from Textbook o READ PAGES 26 TO 34 • Explain how the Enlightenment changed ideas about punishment and practices - Key persons: Beccaria, Bentham, Howard - Examples from Textbook o READ PAGES 35 TO 38 o Howard  Personally experienced incarceration  The free system for jails should be ended.  Inmates should be separated by gender and offense (Single celling would be optimal)  Inmates should be provided with sanitary conditions and clean and healthy food and water.  Staff should serve as a model for inmates.  Jails and prisons should have a set of standards and be independently inspected to ensure these standards are maintained. o Beccaria and Bentham  In order that punishment should not be an act of violence perpetrated by one or many upon a private citizen, it is essential that it should be public, speedy, necessary, the minimum possible in the given circumstances, proportionate to the crime, and determined by the law.  Bentham- private-prison like structure, the panopticon, which he would operate, that ingeniously melded the ideas of improved supervision with architecture and enhance supervision of inmates. • Define early punishments including hulks, transportation, galley slavery, bridewells, and the contract and lease system - Examples from Textbook o Hulks- floating prisons used as temporary accommodation for prisons from overcrowded jails. o Transportation- a form of privatized corrections, whereby those sentenced to transportation were sold to a ship’s captain, who would in turn sell their labor as indentured servants to the colonials of America. o Galley Slavery- a sentence forcing the convict to work as a rower on a ship. o Bridewells- workhouses constructed to hold and whip or otherwise punish “beggars, prostitutes, and nightwalkers” and later serve as places of detention. o Contract and lease system- states instituted “black codes” which allowed them to prosecute black people for minor crimes, they were thrown in jail and leased out to private companies as part of the convict leasing system. • Explain the design of a panopticon and why it was a revolutionary idea - Examples from Textbook o Ingeniously melded the ideas od improves supervision with architecture (because of its rounded, open, and unobstructed views) would greatly enhance the supervision of inmates. o READ PAGE 38 • Discuss the importance of the Quakers (e.g., William Penn) in shaping corrections in America - Examples from Textbook o Was not a fan of harsh punishment. o Great Law  Based on quaker principles and deemphasized the use of corporal and capital punishment for all crimes but the most serious. His reforms substituted fines and jail time for corporal punishment. He promoted Pennsylvania as a haven for quakers, who were being persecuted in England. • Explain the types of people housed at Walnut Street Jail - Examples from Textbook o Originally constructed in 1773 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated as a typical local jail of the time: holding pretrial detainees and minor offenders; failing to separate by gender, age, or offense; using the fee system, which penalized people living in poverty and led to the near starvation of some; and offering in better accommodations and even access to liquor and sex for those who could pay for it. • Compare and contrast the Pennsylvania and New York Prison Models - Examples from Textbook o Pennsylvania model- Designed to house prisoners in solitary confinement (READ PAGES 42-43) o New York model- preferred over the Pennsylvania system and was copied extensively by American prison builders, in part because it disavowed the solitary confinement that Dickens and other lamented in the Pennsylvania prisons. (READ PAGES 44-47) Chapter 4: Sentencing: The Application of Punishment • Define sentence, justice, mandatory minimums, truth-in sentencing laws - - Examples from PowerPoints o Sentence- Imposition of a criminal sanction by a judicial authority.  Guidelines- scales for calculating sentence lengths.  Benefits: reduce sentencing disparity, promote uniform punishments and rational basis Examples from Textbook o Sentence- the punitive penalty ordered by the court after a defendant has been convicted of a crime by a jury, by a judge in a bench trial, or in a plea bargain. Sentence typically occurs about 30 days after a conviction. o Justice- a moral concept that is difficult to define, but in essence it means that people must be treated in ways consistent with norms of fairness and in accordance with what they justly deserve by virtue of their behavior. o Mandatory minimums- can exist in the context of both determinate and indeterminate sentencing structures and simply means that probation is not an option for some crimes, and the minimum time to be served is set by law. o Truth-in sentencing laws- laws that require that there be a truthful, realistic connection between the sentences imposed on offenders and the time they actually serve. • Understand the advantages and disadvantages of plea bargaining - Examples from PowerPoints o o o Plea Bargaining  Agreement between defense and prosecution  Defendant pleads guilty in exchange for certain concessions.  Who Decides?  The prosecutor determines the charges.  Judge determines the sentence. Advantages  Quick and easy disposal of cases  Offers something for everyone. Disadvantages  Penalty for non-cooperation  Innocent may guilty plea • Compare and contrast determinate and indeterminate sentencing - - Examples from PowerPoint o Indeterminate sentencing  Sentences with a minimum and maximum time to serve o Determinate sentencing  Sentences of a fixed term Example from Textbook o Determinate sentencing- means that convicted individuals are given a fixed number of years they must serve at range; the maximum prison time for a given crime is set by the state legislature in state statutes. o Indeterminate sentencing- one in which the actual number of years a person may serve is not fixed but rather is a range of years, such as the person “shall be imprisoned for not less than 2 or 3 years to 10 years”; more serious crimes move both maximum and minimum time periods upward. • Explain the difference between concurrent and consecutive sentences - Examples from PowerPoints o Concurrent sentences  Two sentences served at the same time.  Ex) 8 years for arson + 5 years for robbery =? o Consecutive sentences  Two or more sentences served one at a time. -  Ex) 3 years for battery + 1 year for assault + 2 years for theft =? Examples from Textbook o Concurrent- one in which two separate sentences are served at the same time. o Consecutive- one in which two or more sentences must be served sequentially (one at a time). • Identify ways the United States has chosen to handle habitual offenders - - Examples from PowerPoints o Three strikes law  Judges sentence 3rd time felons to 25+ years o Life without parole  No chance of release Examples from Textbook o Three-strikes and you’re out statutes are derived from the same punitive atmosphere that led to truth-in-sentencing statues. Means that offenders with third felony conviction may be sentenced to life imprisonment regardless of the nature of the third felony. • Discuss the implications of sentencing disparities, both legitimate and illegitimate - - Examples from PowerPoints o Occurs as a result of a wide variation in sentences received by different offenders. o Legitimate  Rational justification for sentence differences o Illegitimate  No rational justification for sentence differences Examples from Textbook o Sentencing disparities- occurs when there is wide variation in sentences received by different offenders. o Legitimate- if it is based on considerations such as a crime seriousness and/or prior record. o Illegitimate and discriminatory if it does not involve these implications. • Explain the reasons for the creation of alternative courts (e.g., problem solving, drug courts) - Examples from Textbook o Problem solving courts READ PAGES 85-89  Focus on outcomes.  System change.  Judicial involvement.  Collaboration  Nontraditional roles  Screening and assessment  Early identification of potential candidates o Drug Courts READ PAGES LISTED ABOVE • Explain the purpose of Presentence Investigation reports (PSI’s) - - Examples from PowerPoints o Assists judges in making sentencing decisions. o Informs sentence, treatment, classification, parole decisions. o Completed 30 days or less before sentencing. Examples from Textbook o READ page 92 TO 95 Chapter 5: Jails and Detention Centers • Define coequal staffing, Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), and overcrowding - Examples from Textbook o o o Coequal staffing- programs that provide comparable pay and benefits for those who work in the jail with that of people who work on the streets as law enforcement in sheriff’s department. PAGE 133 Prison rape elimination act- mandated that the BJS collect data on sexual assaults in adult and juvenile jails and prisons and that it identifies facilities with high levels of victimization. Overcrowding- occurs when the number of inmates exceeds the physical capacity. Over the past several decades the number of jail beds needed by jurisdictions has increased, and they were often filled almost as soon as they were built. • Explain the types of jail, their similarities, and differences - - Examples from PowerPoint o 1st generation  Cells in long rows  Walkways in front of the cells o 2nd generation  POD housing designs  Remote supervision and electronic controls to control doors. o Podular/New Generation  Officers are in the unit with the inmates. Examples from Textbook o The typical jail is operated by the sheriff of a county. o Jails for adults are sometimes called detention centers, and jails for juveniles are almost always referred to as detention centers. o Most jails are composed of one or two buildings in close proximity to each other. • Explain what happens during the booking process - Examples from PowerPoint o 1. Arrive at the facility- may require medical intervention, breathalyzer test o o o - 2. Name, personal information, crime recorded 3. Mug Shot; fingerprints taken 4. Search the individual  Can be released or detained. Examples from Textbook o READ PAGES 109-110 • Discuss how overcrowding and staffing shortages have affected jail operations - - Examples from PowerPoint o Half of the jail operate over capacity.  Cannot separate those awaiting trial vs. serving sentences. Examples from Textbook o READ PAGES 110-112 • Explain the marginalized groups often overrepresented in jails - - Examples from PowerPoint o Blacks and Latinx are overrepresented. o High rate of mental health illness, substance abuse, homelessness o Suicide is one of the leading causes of death. Examples from Textbook o READ PAGES 112-122 • Describe the approaches jails have taken to address medical problems of inmates: elderly, women, and substance users - Examples from PowerPoint o Elderly  Greatest need for medical care  Most costly o Women  High rates of prior sexual + physical abuse, and substance abuse o Juveniles -  High rates of sexually transmitted diseases compared to general public. Examples from Textbook o Elderly  Much more prone to medical issues than younger inmates  Most costly to manage in jails because of their greater need for medical care. o Women  Reported a rate of cancer that was almost 8 times that of men (cervical cancer)  Every medical problem documented in a study, the women reported greater prevalence than the men, except for paralysis and tuberculosis.  Women are more likely to die in jail from illness than men. o Juveniles  Sexually transmitted diseases  Gonorrhea and chlamydia  Girls had a higher percentage than boys. o READ PAGES 123 • Explain the use of bail and release on recognizance and the disadvantages of these Programs - - Examples from PowerPoints o Cash bond.  Provide the court with a cash deposit (10-100% of amount) o Property bond  Use a piece of property that the defendant owns to secure the amount needed for bail. o Release on Recognizance (ROR)  Released on the promise they will return on their court date. Examples from Textbook o READ PAGE 134