Alexa Werstiuk
CJA/234
Introduction
State Prison History
The state prisons today were founded on the basis of the 1700s to 1800’s during the Age of Enlightenment. The English correctional facility referred to as a “gaol,” commonly known as a jail. They housed men, women, children, the mentally ill along with the civil and criminals. The individuals suffered from idleness, diseases, despair and malnutrition. The gaols were maintained by local authorities, classification did not exist, and the purpose of gaol was to detain or hold people for court.
The Department of Corrections houses all adult felons through out the state. The adult felons include those on probation as well as on parole, including juveniles who are on a work release program, halfway houses, group homes, training schools, or from a special facility.
Federal Prison History
Prisons today are maximum security prisons. Federal prisons confining individuals convicted of a federal offense such as drug smuggling across state lines or non-payment of taxes. These prisons are operated by the Department of Justice and with in the system are layers of correctional institutions for gender segregation and sentencing classification. For example penitentiaries are for male inmates with long-term sentences; low security correctional institutions are for males and female inmates with intermediate or short-term sentences, but there are never housed together. Male prisoners who need only minimum security are set up in camps and those who will be transitioned back into society and served their sentence will be set-up in a halfway house. The individuals awaiting trial are in a correctional center, also known as administrative security that includes illegal aliens awaiting deportation and medical cases. Individuals housed in the administrative maximum unit are the highest security threat to society who also transferred in from the Marion prison.
References: Foster, B, (2006). Corrections: The Fundamentals. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall