Corrections Final Study Guide The Death Penalty Large increase of death Row inmates but large decrease if executions 38 States and Fed Govt had capital statutes Death Row in FL Furman V Georgia in 1972 spared 95 death row inmates converted them to life sentences began the questioning of the death penalty Costs Aprox 7 000 more to house a death row inmate than a reg inmate Electric chair was used from 1923 2000 Evidence of a Broken System Higher state and Def Courts have overturned majority of death sentences allocated them to life 2 governors placed a moratorium on the death penalty until a commission could decide how fair they were During the last 25 years 69 people have been exonerated through DNA evidence Signed confessions aren t always reliable Guided discretion for Capital Cases Bifurcated Trial Trial to determine guilt then a trial to determine punishment if necessary offender to death Statutorily enumerated circumstances guided the discretion whether to sentence the Appellate Review mandatory review of death sentence convictions to determine consistency and fairness Death is different Doctrine death sentence is qualitatively different then other sentences Majority of Death Row inmates lawyers were more likely to have been disbarred suspended or disciplined court appointed attorneys LWOP Public supports the death penalty over LWOP public wants murderers condemned Deterrence Death penalty deters others from committing murder Incapacitation murderer cant murder again if theyre killed Moral necessity morally appropriate to kill a killer Local Jails Increase in number of indiv entered into jail sysyem Majority are males 37 already convicted 63 still waiting trial 4 types of Inmates Those waiting for trial Those who were sentenced to jail misdemeanors and those convicted of less serious felonies Convicted felons awaiting transfer to prison Material witnesses held for safety and assurance comprise small Rabbles those affected by societies most pressing problems Majority of Jails are run by the local govts particularly the local Sheriffs Office 3 Categories of Jail Designs ideal 1 Traditional First Gen long linear hallways with cells lining the hallway typical jail 2 Remote supervision Second Gen Indirect surveillance of inmates through CCTV staff doesn t leave the control booth minimal interaction with inmates 3 Direct Supervision third gen attempts to normalize the jail environment small units called pods single occupancy rooms that surround day room Direct supervision jails allow for ease in classification and programming of inmates studies show both inmates and staff like Direct supervision more Disadvantages of Direct Supervision Jails Costly to build more services for fewer inmates not cost efficient Important issues affecting Jails Local Politics jails compete with other local entities like schools for local funding unlike prisons Overcrowding Lack of written standards in jails leads to quicker deterioration of jails Alternatives to Jail at Pre Trial Stage Police Lock ups police hold offenders until they can be questioned processed Penal Farms used for misdemeanants and felons serving longer jail terms used in the field for agriculture Special Populations in Prison 4 special Types Females Elderly Mentally Ill Diseased Female Inmates prison Increasing at a much faster rate than males Most growth due to the result of more non violent and drug offenders being sentenced to Most 75 are moms caring for young children Scarcity of Womens facilities leads to many being far from their homes so they don t get to see their families only 50 see their children while incarcerated HIV infection more prevalent in females than males Female inmates pose a minimal security risk compared to males but have a higher cost to maintain and have a higher chance of physical psychological issues Elderly graying Inmate Population Biggest issue for the elderly Healthcare Mentally Ill inmates Increase in elderly inmate population due to the get tough on crime policies elimination of parole 85 law 3 strikes law etc Closures of mental hospitals decrease in their size leads to increases in prison inmates Transinstitutionalization as the Mental Health centers Decrease in availability the number of people going to prison will increase Inability of correctional facilities to be able to successfully transition these individuals for release leads to them recidivating Biggest problem is establishing community ties Diseased Inmates HIV AIDS TB are the majority of health issues in prisons TB rate amongst inmates is higher than in general free US population NY FL account for the largest number of HIV inmates and together equal of all HIV inmates in prison in US AIDS prevalence in prison is 5 5 x more than US population EM as An Effective Corrections Strategy EM Boom Jessica Lunsford Act made punishments for sex offenders more severe created mandatory EM provisions for certain offenders and created more funding for EM Shift from Radio Frequency RF to GPS 18 year offender with a victim 15 or under leads to mandatory EM RF cheapest at 2 a day GPS costs 9 daily Housing 1 inmate for 1 year in prison costs as much as 6 offenders on EM and 28 offenders on RF EM reduces the likelihood of failure coupled with strong community ties EM within family Courts Social Life Overall consensus is that EM hinders the offenders family life Job opportunities and Many Supervising officers believe more needs to be done to educate the judiciary prosecution so that EM becomes a more acceptable way to punish individuals Visitation and Recidivism 2 3rds of offenders are likely to be rearrested in the 3 years following their initial release Hypothesis 1 Inmates who are visited in the 12 months prior to release will be less likely to recidivate Outcome visited inmates were less likely to recidivate Hypothesis 2 Inmates who are visited in the 12 months prior to release will be less likely to recidivate due to the more is better principle stronger family and community ties with influential people in their lives will lead to less recidivism Outcome the more the inmates were visited by influential community leaders and family members the less likely they were to recidivate Hypothesis 3 Onset of recidivism will be delayed relative to inmates who weren t visited Outcome being visited does delay prevent recidivism Hypothesis 4 inmates visited in the months closer to time of release will be less likely to recidivate as compared to those visited when