Prison Comparison Contrast Paper
Kelvin Hunter
University of Phoenix
Introduction to Corrections
CJA/234
Ms. Johnson
January 26, 2011
Prison Comparison Contrast Paper
The American prison systems have changed since the 1800s. There are new developments and advanced technologies that help contribute to a better prison/penitentiary system as well as run it effectively. The subject of this will define and examine the theory and ideal of a penitentiary. It will explore historical factors while comparing and contrasting the prison systems during and after World War II. Finally, it will take a look at the impact and involvement of prison labor during this time period as well as focus the attention of the trend of prison labor since then.
The Ideal of Penitentiary Teachers and other scholarly intellectuals have used the terms “penitentiary” for more than twenty years. “The penitentiary was more of an idea or set of principles than a physical institution with shape and form”(Foster, 2006, p. 21). It wasn’t really a building for ex cons, it was more of a concept. The purposes of a penitentiary were both secular and spiritual. In Western societies, penitentiary was supposed to be a place of humane punishment rather than physical punishment. This place was created to keep prisoners separated from each other as much as possible; isolation, as opposed to regular prisons. It was also created for prisoners to express their feelings of regret of their wrongdoing. “As a secular institution, the penitentiary was meeting the religious need for expressing contrition for sin. The principal goal of the penitentiary was to achieve the kind of spiritual transformation in a criminal being that was associated with the religious beings of the medieval monastery”(Foster, p. 22).
Prison Systems in World War II The World War II had many affects on the prisons. “Prison populations declined as many young men in trouble
References: Foster, B. (2006). Prisons in Crisis. In Corrections: The Fundamentals (p. 50). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Foster, B. (2006). The Penitentiary and the 1800s. In Corrections: The Fundamentals (p. 21). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prencitice-Hall. Prison Comparison Contrast 1 Prison Comparison Contrast 2 Prison Comparison Contrast 3 Prison Comparison Contrast 4 Prison Comparison Contrast 5