Prison Institutionalization

“institutionalization.” The idea that inmates that have spent so many years behind bars that they can no longer function in a free society. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to one day have to get yourself up out of bed, make yourself some food, and go to work in a society that has passed you by. After forty or fifty years of inmate life you become depended on the prison it becomes your world, your security. The example of this in the movie is

“Institutional confinement was not a major punishment in Europe until the 1600s and 1700s” (Bohm & Haley, 2011, p. 355). Prior to the 1600s, confinement was used to detain people before trial, hold prisoners awaiting other sanctions, coerce payment of debts or fines, hold and punish slaves, achieve religious doctrine or spiritual reformation, and quarantine disease (Bohm & Haley, 2011). Prior to the large-scale use of imprisonment, offenders were punished by fines, confiscation of property, and diverse methods of corporal and capital punishment (Bohm & Haley, 2011). Some popular methods of corporal and capital punishment include beheading, stoning, hanging, burning, and branding (Bohm & Haley, 2011). Reformers of the 1700s and 1800s described

Prisonization is a concept that breaks down the socialization process within prisons. The idea highlights what truly takes place during the process of adjusting to prison norms. These norms can include things such as values, customs,

‘Most of the participants said they had felt involved and committed. The research had felt "real" to them. One guard said, "I was surprised at myself. I made them call each other names and clean the toilets out with their bare hands. I practically considered the prisoners cattle and I kept thinking I had to watch out for them in case

The article talks about how a man named, Rodney Roberts was incarcerated for kidnapping and rape, which he said that he didn't commit. Roberts states, “Seventeen years I was gone. I had to understand and process the changes to society, the technology, the cultural changes, the geographical changes” (Roberts). Once you are free from jail, you have to realize that things in the community are not going to be the same anymore. You are going to come across things that you are not use to anymore, but think about if this would happen while in jail.

The Rehabilitative Era, spanning from 1960 to 1980, was a time in which self-improvement programs within prisons were used to reform prisoners rather than utilizing forms of punishment. Prisoners were still held accountable for their crimes, but their overall mental and psychical health was taken into account. Prisoners were seen as needing help in learning how to properly life within society. A clinical professor of psychiatry, James Gilligan (2012) writes, “The only rational purpose for a prison is to restrain those who are violent from inflicting harm on themselves or others, while we help them to change their behavior from that pattern to one that is nonviolent and even constructive, so that they can return to the community.” Imprisoning people to just teach them a lesson or inflict some type of revenge is inhumane. Acting violent towards already violent people only exasperates the problems they have. By giving them tools to better themselves, it would motivate them to change their lives for the better and be able to return to society as law-abiding citizens. While conducting research in San Francisco jails,

Prison is not meant to be a comfortable place. Prison, historically, is meant to be a punishment for crimes committed against society. Once an individual is convicted and sentenced, they are then taken into custody of the state or federal government. The term custody refers to an individual taken to a detention facility. This term also refers to the concept that the government is now responsible for the wellbeing of the inmate. The individual is being punished, but the government must take reasonable steps to protect those in their custody until they are released back into society. It is vitally important for the safety of these individuals that administrators become aware of the factors that may put certain inmates at a higher

A study conducted in California’s prison system from 1999 to 2004 determined that nearly half of all suicides committed by inmates were because they were in solitary confinement (Breslow, 2014). Although some inmates have failed at their suicide attempts, that does not mean that they have not attempted to end their lives. There is a higher rate of inmates self mutilating while being in solitary confinement than if they were in the general prison population (Breslow, 2014). This means that inmates that are isolated are more of a danger to themselves. Being in solitary confinement also attributes to personality disorders, Breslow mentioned that many inmates lose the ability to communicate with others after being in solitary confinement for a long period of time and thus do not want to leave their cells (2014). It can be argued that having inmates in solitary confinement is a human rights violation. When inmates are isolated, they are constantly being monitored through a camera. The inmates have no form of communication with people and even their food is passed through a slot on the door. Solitary confinement can be considered torture because it has been proven that by subjecting inmates to this they experience mental illnesses such as paranoia, hallucination, panic attacks, and suicidal attempts (Breslow, 2014).

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness written by Michelle Alexander, presents the evidence of mass incarceration as a racial caste system. Alexander indicated that in the prison system, it is legal to discriminate against criminals practically in similar ways it was legal to discriminate against African Americans in the past. After being characterized as a felon, the previous ways of discrimination become legal, such as being denied numerous rights and are relegated to second-class status for the rest of their lives, permanently losing their right to vote, all the while, legally being denied work and not being able to engage in social programs in order to recover and restore what they have lost while in prison. In

I agree Tanya. Race is a major problem, but I don’t believe the system is unfairly targeting a specific race. Evidently, there are those people that are still conditioned to believe in racial stereotypes and may not even realize it. However, I believe the cause of a high incarceration rate is the result of people having a low socioeconomic status. The system as a whole fails as the incarceration rate increases. How are we going to fix that, Welfare? According to my libertarian point of view, welfare should be eliminated. The people who are struggling need to find alternatives such as charity, family, church or any community funded programs. We rely too much on Government. Eliminating welfare will increase community organizing. Welfare has been

In the essay "Prison "Reform" in America," Roger T. Pray points out the much attention that has been devoted to research to help prevent crimes. Showing criminals the errors of their ways not by brutal punishment, but by locking them up in the attempt to reform them. Robert Pray, who is a prison psychologist, is currently a researcher with the Utah Dept. of Corrections. He has seen what has become of our prison system and easily shows us that there is really no such thing as "Prison Reform"

There are numerous programs available for inmates who are incarcerated, and the individuals who capitalize on these programs show subsequent improvement after being released. However, these programs only help those prisoners who are willing to change. While incarcerated in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, or BOP, there are numerous programs inmates can take advantage of that will help them in a variety of fields such as, “Education and Vocational Training, English-as-a-Second Language Program, Drug Abuse Education, Sex Offender Treatment Programs – Nonresidential, Skills Programs,” and more (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2015). On the educational side, the BOP offers a program called the Bureau Literacy Program (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2015).

Question: Discuss the history of the prison system in the United States. Be sure to identify the various stages that the American prison system has gone through. Also identify what problems were present with each stage as you see them.

Imagine spending 23 hours a day locked in a tiny concrete cell, smaller than some closets. There is no human contact, no windows to look outside, and hardly anything to stimulate your senses. The other 1 hour you will spend in recreation, which is nothing more than a cage outside, barely larger than your room. There is no space to run, no view of the outside world. You’ll never even see a blade of grass during your stay. This is solitary confinement, something many say is a sentence worse than death. In the United States today, there are over 80,000 prisoners currently in solitary confinement. It was originally proposed as a rehabilitative means, however, it has been proven to cause more damage than anything, ultimately provoking more violence and causing mental deterioration. Some prisoners may even end up spending an entire life sentence in solitary confinement, which defeats the purpose of rehabilitation. It is often viewed as a mere act of torture. According to the Prison Policy Organization, “An estimated 56 percent of state prisoners, 45 percent of federal prisoners, and 64 percent of jail inmates have a mental health problem” (Mental). Most inmates need help, not to just be locked away and kept apart from the world. Many can, and will with the correct treatment, function as a safe member of the community. As a society, we have come a long way in the area of mental health and have become more humane in the way we deal with societal issues, such as crime, and should

Institutionalization is when an individual is so dependent on an institution that they cannot function outside of it. This is reinforced by the daily routines of the prison. Some characters in the Shawshank Redemption that demonstrate institutionalization is Brooks and Red. Brooks demonstrates institutionalization when he attacks Hayworth to remain in prison. Red followed in Brooks footsteps when he did not think that he could handle living on the outside and almost violated his parole.