Sentencing and Correctional Reform, Research Paper Example

The state of Pennsylvania is known for its correctional reform and sentencing in the early history of America. It later became the pillar of prison reforms worldwide. Severe punishments were used for even minor crimes. The punishments involved torture of the victims and public humiliation. Other punishment options included public shamming, branding, chopping of ears, and hanging people on pillories. The revised penal code forbade torture and other forms of cruel punishment and replaced these with prisons (Colvin, 2000).

The leaders of a religious society known as the Quakers contributed greatly towards reforming the criminal justice system in Pennsylvania. A Quaker named William Penn founded Pennsylvania in 1681. The Quakers opposed war and were more tolerant to people of different faiths and opinions. It led to an increased crime rate drop in Pennsylvania. Their goal was to improve the prison conditions and humanizing the treatment of inmates (Colvin, 2000). They incorporated their religious beliefs while appealing for reforms. They argued that convicts should seek reparation for their sins through reading the bible and contemplating of their sins. The Quaker helped abolish the death penalty for other crimes except murder. Imprisonment and labor were encouraged. The society managed to promote the use of separate and solitary confines as a new penal method for achieving their philosophic goals. Living in large congregations was viewed as a thriving environment for learning crimes that are more sophisticated and recruiting others. It could also lead to creativity on new exploits and opportunities to commit crime. The Philadelphia Quakers believed that solitary confinement would give one better time to contemplate of God and would lead to genuine reformation. As a result, today’s Pennsylvania prison society advocates for programs that assist inmates and their family during their period of confinement. This is to help them re-integrate back into the community. The prison system also operates a series educational program for the community in an attempt to depoliticize the criminal justice debate. In 1783, a group of prominent citizens under the leadership of Benjamin Franklin organized a movement to reform the penal code. Under The new law, severe punishments were replaced with public labor. Another group, the Pennsylvania prison society, did not like the public display of convicts working on the streets. They also recommended solitary confinement and hard labor as a reformative strategy. The Walnut prison in question then was the first prison in Pennsylvania. It had different types of inmates who were given useful trade instructions. The system comprised of 24-hour separation of each prisoner, in-cell feeding, work, and vocational training. It became the template of most prisons worldwide (Mcwilliams, 2002).

In the early 19^th century, another organization raised concern over the practice of holding children in prisons and jails and in adult work-houses. A non-governmental organization called the society for the prevention of pauperism aimed at transforming the justice system. The NGO was renamed as the society for prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (SPJD). The society argued that poverty often led to delinquent behavior. It advocated for the removal of children from irresponsible parents or in the streets by placing them in houses of refuge. The house of refuge combines both school and jail. The daily timetable emphasized on worship, discipline, and work. This is in part because religious leaders led SPJD (Mcwilliams, 2002). This approach was not a 100% success back then. Many of the inmates ran away, and the facilities were plagued with riots, violence, and a large number of absconders. However, it has informed in the decision making of the today’s practice in prisons. Another society, the children’s aid offered a new direction. It pioneered the practice of placing out urban children to families living in the rural areas. They argued that farm families held all of the best virtues that could rehabilitate urban youngsters. It was also not very successful as there was concern of the children being abused by the rural families (Roberts, 1996).

The widening concern over scandals and abuses in prisons led to the establishment of the American Correctional Association, ACA. It sought to reform the correctional institutions by developing an ethical and professional standard in the field. It engaged in training and professional recognition. It is today the largest professional group concerned with correction and rehabilitation. Other groups participated in making criminal justice in Pennsylvania and the USA what it is today. Prisons shifted their focus from inflicting shame and physical suffering to rehabilitating offenders through education and skills. In addition, steps have been taken worldwide to rehabilitate the mentally and emotionally disturbed criminals to help them re-enter the society after completing their sentence. The contribution of these people informed the United States constitution as it guaranteed more freedoms that were never in place during the colonial days (Meranze, 1996).

Today, the United States has the largest number of inmates. The prisons in America are more humane as a result of these developments. The roots of today’s modes of correction can be traced to the efforts made by these groups towards improving the welfare of the inmates. The capital punishment has been abolished for petty crimes, inmates can appeal after a sentence, and the living conditions are more rehabilitative. Furthermore, human rights are recognized whether one is in custody or free. Outdoor arrests are also a new rehabilitative development for petty crimes that is aims at achieving the same goal without putting people in jails.

However, cases of torture and mysterious deaths are often heard in prisons. This is mostly to foreign inmates and prisoners who have been convicted for terrorism claims. It is still unclear if America still tortures victims of war and how un-hypocritical the United States or any other criminal justice and reform institution can be. The reform systems have not reduced crimes in poor neighborhoods especially those occupied by the non-white citizens. Cases of re-arrest and new arrests are common. New and more serious crimes from ex-convicts are often reported. This leaves us with the question whether these reform methods are too lenient. Is jail too good a treat for some offenders as compared to other seemingly harsh and uncivilized methods? Going back is not the solution but we need to come up with a way to reduce crimes and to cure criminals of their criminal behaviors. This is because it is always assumed that bad people are in jail, but innocent people are being killed by criminals’ every day. They include innocent passersby’s, children and every other person is unsecure (Cyndi, 2005). Criminals know that if they are still alive they stand a chance of being released again.

Nevertheless, great strides have been accomplished in comparison to the justice systems employed in the colonial and pre-colonial periods. People in custody have more rights hence more chances for reforming. Those that wish to reform might reform. The others will continue burdening taxpayers with their upkeep and the cost of re-tracing them (Cyndi, 2005). In my opinion, in addition to imprisonment one should also lose all their wealth in cases such as cold blood murder and raping especially of children.

References

Colvin, M. ( 2000). Penitentiaries, Reformatories, and Chain Gangs: Social theory and the History of Punishment in nineteenth century America. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Cyndi, P. (2005). Punishment in America: contemporary world issues. Carlifornia: ABC-CLIO

McWilliams, J.C. (2002). Two centuries of corrections in Pennsylvania: A commemorative history. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania History and Museum Commission.

Meranze, M. (1996). Laboratories of virtue: Punishment, Revolution, and Authority in Philadelphia, 1760-1835. Carolina. University of North Carolina press.

Roberts, J.W. (1996). Reform and retribution: an illustrated history of American prisons. New York: America correctional association.