Salt Lake Community College
US Prisons
A History & General Overview
Ryan William Bryce
Criminal Justice 1010-1016
Clarence S. Illario
Due: 12/3/2014
The United States prison system has continually been a topic of great interest to many
over the years. It has been debated, praised and even shunned by our own citizens and nations
around the world. It is not hard to see why when you take into consideration that the history
behind the United States prison System, is a lengthy one and a filled with success, change, and
plenty of controversy. Even with that being said it still remains one of the most crucial aspects of
the United States criminal justice system. It can help to rehabilitate inmates as well as get them
back on the track to having a life outside of prison. The United State prison system on the other
hand, has contained and even executed some of the worst criminals known to US history. A few
that come to mind are Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, Al Cappone, and John Wayne Gacy. I’m
sure at least one of these names will sound or be familiar to you, and it’s because of messed up
individuals like these, that make prisons necessary.
It took a lot of time and thought as well as repeated trial and error to arrive at the prison
system we have today. This started with two old heated viewpoints on how best to rehabilitate
prisoners at the Beginning of the United stated in 1776. The first was based on the idea of
separate confinement, “A nineteenth-century penitentiary system developed in Pennsylvania in
which inmates were kept separate from each other at all times, with daily activities taking place
in individual cells.” And the second was bases on the congregate system or Auburn System. “A
nineteenth-century penitentiary system developed in New York in which inmates were kept in
separate cells during the night, but worked together in the daytime under a code of enforced
silence.” With these two points of view, came the first prison systems in the United Sates.
The first United State prison was constructed in 1790. It was constructed as an addition to
the Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia after state law was changed to treat and rehabilitate the
prisoner of their crimes and have them work, instead of just executing or harshly beating them.
The addition was filled with small solitary confinement cells, with 9 foot high walls and barred
windows at the very top. And designed so that prisoners could not communicate to each other.
This was based on the idea of separate confinement. It was implemented here by being made to
sit in a cell all by yourself in complete silence and work. You would then be able to focus on
your wrongdoings as well as stay busy and come out a model citizen. What happened instead
was the confinement eventually drove the prisoners insane, led to highly increased rates of
disease and even caused prisoners to commit suicide. Then thanks to the later overcrowding
(where 2 people were crammed each tiny cell) and rampant disease, the cost became too high
and the prison was shut down.
Out of the overcrowding and failure Of the Walnut Street prison came the opening of
New York, Auburn Prison 1816. It was initially ran on the idea of Separate Confinement like
Walnut Street. Then after succumbing to the same fate of Walnut Street with even more disease
and suicides it was abandoned in 1822. After 9 years a new warden opened Auburn Prison back
up and installed a new system known today as the Congregate System more commonly known as
the Auburn System. The difference was that the inmates worked in shops and not their cells and
had meals together. Though the same strict silence was imposed by guards who often times beat
the prisoners severely for breaking the silence. The Auburn system was not challenged by new
points of view until about 50 years later.
Progressives argued that the Auburn system did nothing to help rehabilitate the prisoners
and if anything it made them worse off. They had an idea of a new penology for the United
States prison system. So what was the idea of the new penology? It was to get men out of prison
as fast and safely as possible. Then keep them out as law-abiding, citizens who can support
themselves. With the desire to no longer commit crime, not because they are afraid of the
consequences, but because the genuinely don’t want to. A journal posted by the Berkley school
of law stated the following, “The new penology is neither about punishing nor about
rehabilitating individuals. It is about identifying and managing unruly groups.”(The New
Penology, Alfred) The new ideology came into effect at the Elmira Reformatory where they
interpreted a point system that progressives thought would help drive people to reform
themselves. On entering the institution, the offender was assigned a grade of 2. If the inmate
followed the rules and completed work and school assignments, after six months he was moved
up to grade 1, the necessary grade for release. If, however, the inmate broke institutional rules,
he was lowered to grade 3. A grade 3 inmate needed to behave properly for three months before
he could return to grade 2 and begin to work back toward grade 1 and eventual release. (Criminal
Justice in Action Pg. 431) This was highly controversial at the time and not many people agreed
and no wardens followed Elmira’s example.
This brings us to the Rehabilitation model. It is also known as the medical model.
Progressives suggests that people commit crimes because of past abuse, strenuous life
circumstances, and when society has turned its back to them, they feel betrayed. And that the
goal of prisons should be to help the prisoner rather than punish them for what sometimes was a
terrible choice in the heat of the moment. The Rehabilitation model embraces the idea that with
mental therapy, and treatment, and education programs, when partnered with programs such as
probation and parole, criminals can be given hope and changed into productive, law-abiding
citizens and released into the public living healthy life’s like the rest of us. It wasn’t until about
1960’s until people really started paying attention to this model and the good it could do. Even
with low crime rates this was sadly quick lived on a large scale when public opinion polls during
the 80’s showing that the majority of people living in the United States were uncomfortable and
very skeptical with reintegrating prisoners back into the general public.
You would think that with the decline in violent crimes as well as property crime In the
United States during the 1980’s and 1990’s that the prison population would decline as well.
This ended up not being the case because you have people getting sentenced to longer prison
terms because of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, And studies have shown that in the late
1980’s and 1990’s state and federal funding for correctional and educational programs decreased
greatly. There was less money being spent at getting Prisoners rehabilitated and out of prisons
and the war on drugs was at a high. The public wanted officers to be tougher on crime as a
whole, and with the ever increasing technology of the time they did their jobs. Arrest increased
across the board almost 5 times the amounts previously recorded. We set ourselves for an
“explosion” in the prison populace. From 1985 to 2010 the prison population jumped 1,555,792
million people. That’s almost 1.5 times the greater than the amount of people then were in
prisons in 1985.I see arrests with the war on drugs, and especially the Sentencing Reform Act of
1984 as being the two largest contributing factors.
With the higher population of prisons came the increased cost of running them. This
causes the states and federal government to look into alternative solutions. This seems to be an
almost never ending problem with our prison system here in the United States. Today we spend
over $40 Billion a year to run our overly crowded prison system. That comes out to an average
of around $31,286 per prisoner. In Utah alone our taxpayers spend $29,349 per prisoner in our
state (The Price of Prisons 10-11). This is in part because our state is 1 of only 12 states in the
nation to run the reintegration model and give both male and female prisoners rehabilitation
services along with the education and training that will allow them to reintegrate into the general
population. And I feel that this is a great solution to the growing problem. At first glance most
people view this model as needless spending of taxpayer dollars. It is then important to take into
account that close to 95% of prisoners leave prison eventually, with the exception being death
row and life without parole inmates.
There are 4 kinds of prisons that make up the United State prison system. The prisons are
referred to as supermax (supermaximum), maximum security, medium security and minimum
security. Although the design may vary they all share the basic function of keeping prisoners
inside. The prisoners are constantly evaluated and then separated in levels ranging 1-6 with level
6 typically being supermax prisoners and 1 being for minimum security prisoners. In Utah
however the levels are backwards and 1 is for our worst criminals your level usually depends on
your criminal conviction as well as how dangerous you are. Although the number you receive is
subject to change, they then split you up between the 4 kinds of prisons based on your
evaluation. And until that number changes you will continue to serve out your sentence in the
prison you belong.
Supermax prisons are designed to have absolute control over the prisoner, and they are
for the absolute worst criminals usually always lvl 6. These are prisoners who have killed other
inmates, attacked correctional officers, committed acts of terrorism, were serial murderers and
rapist, at severe risk or hurting self and others, and are at an increased risk of being attacked or
killed by other inmates. They are under video surveillance almost 24/7 and confined to a cell
barely large enough for a bed and a toilet for 22 hrs. a day. Nothing comforts are allowed and
they only get to leave and come back to their cell to either shower or exercise in a small “yard”
after they are strip-searched and placed under restraints. They are given their food through a slot
in the door. And often suffer from severe mental problems because of the continued silence and
isolation.
Maximum security prisons on average house up to 2000 inmates which is about 32
percent of the United State prison system. And they typically carry level 5-4 prisoners. Like
supermax they can be monitored by video whenever the guard feels the need. They are
surrounded by multiple tall and sometimes electric walls with razor wire and armed guards that
watch the prisoners every move and will shoot to kill if they decide to act out or escape. The
prisoner’s cell is 8x14 ft. and has a bed toilet sink and sometimes a small cabinet. The prisoner
can be stripped searched at will with headcounts taken regularly. Each cell is divided into cell
blocks that are a basically a cell within a cell.
Medium security prisons hold about 40 percent of the prisoner population in the United
States. Most of the prisoners committed less serious crimes than those housed in maximumsecurity prisons. And are typically levels 3-2. The prisoners in medium security prisons are not at
a high risk for escaping or causing harm. Prisoners are not confined to their cells and
surveillance is much lower. This prison is not as harshly controlled as maximum security prisons
and as a byproduct has a less stressful and more “laid back” prison. Rehabilitation, educational
and treatment programs are a focus this system, with interaction with fellow inmates a large
focus. Medium security prisons hardly ever have the classic wall surrounding them, and instead
have high fences.
Most of the inmates in minimum security prisons are first-time offenders of less serious
crimes and are way more nonviolent and well behaved. Most inmates are white-collar criminals
usually in jail thanks to insider trading or some sort of fraud. Inmates are often transferred from
other prisons to minimum to. Minimum-security prisons do not have armed guards. Prisoners are
provided with amenities such as television sets and computers in their rooms. They are allowed
to move around freely, and are allowed off prison grounds for educational or employment
purposes. To run the 4 kinds of prisons above in not without its challenges. Because of this
prisons have a very structured and strict hierarchy.
At a prison, what the warden says is law. The warden in is charge of the entire prison
operation. It is their goal to have the prison be as structured as possible. With the help of his/hers
employees they manage the prison with a chain of command from the warden at top, his/hers
assistants underneath and each is in charge of its own group of prison staff. Together they control
the prison and keep on watchful eye on inmates so the prison can be run smoothly. They help
maintain order. They do this by stopping riots and watching as well as protecting prisoners. They
make it so life is as bearable by providing as little amenities as possible. This helps to keep the
inmate’s violence and disorder at bay. They oversee prison programs that are more or less based
on the Rehabilitation model of prisons. And together they make backbone to the whole system
The history of the United State Prison system was filled with trial and error but over the
course of this paper we can see it has come a long way since 1776, and that it will remain to be a
crucial part of the criminal justice system. With the warden’s strict organization and
containment, some of society’s worst offenders are kept at bay and out of the general populace.
It’s a scary thought to sit down and ponder, what our society would be like without them.
Works Cited
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Christian Henrichson and Ruth Delaney, The Price of Prisons: What Incarceration. Costs
Taxpayers. New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2012.
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Cengage Advantage Books: Criminal Justice in Action [Larry K. Gaines, Roger LeRoy
Miller] 496 pages; Publisher: Cengage Learning; 7 edition (January 1, 2013)
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Alfred C. Schnur, The New Penology: Fact or Fiction, 49 J. Crim. L. Criminology &
Police Sci. 331 (1958-1959)
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Coley, Richard J., and Paul E. Barton. Locked up and Locked Out: An Educational
Perspective on the U.S. Prison Population. Princeton, NJ: Policy Evaluation and
Research Center, Policy Information Center, Educational Testing Service,
2006.Files.eric.gov. Education Testing Services, 01 Feb. 2006. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
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"Utah Department of Corrections - Public Website." Utah Department of Corrections -
Public Website. UDC, 01 Apr. 2014. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.
<http://corrections.utah.gov/index.php/services/frequently-asked-questions.html>