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Running Header: Midterm Essays
Unit 5 Midterm Essay Questions
Elizabeth Hall
Kaplan University
CJ130-02 Introduction to Corrections
Amy Ng
9.28.2010

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Midterm Essay Questions
Social Contexts and Philosophy of Crime and Punishment Essay #1
Beginning in the early middle ages, and continuing through modern eras, Bartollas (2002)
notes that the concept of punishment has been validated and rationalized in many different social
contexts. The concepts of justification change when society’s beliefs change, and vary from
criminals serving punishments as natural revenge, social control, deterrence, forced labor, exile
and banishment, or even moral justice. The range of variance in punishment follows the change
in social contexts, social order, and philosophies on crime, and moves from vengeance to reform.
The transition between clan and tribal laws ruling the land to state ruled punishments
required a formal system of government. As this system of government, progressed, written law
was required to establish rule of law to establish state punishment guidelines. The Code of
Hammurabi is the first known written rule of law and is based on the biblical concept of an eye
for an eye. The next code of laws, established around 1200 B.C.E. would be the Mosaic Code of
the Israelites.
This Code holds that “God entered into a Covenant (Siegel, 2010)” which is a pact or
contract, with the Israelites, which entailed an exchange of God’s special protection for the
obedience of obeying all 613 rules of the Old Testament. This was the basis of Judaic Christian
law (Siegel, 2010). According to Bartollas (2002), in the times of Draco (621 B.C.E.), before the
Common Era, the inevitable punishment for every crime committed was death in his area of rule.
In 594 BCE, the Laws of Solon reversed all of the Draconian laws, excluding the murder
penalties, and either gave a lesser sentence of imprisonment, or fines and banishment for other
crimes.

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In Rome, the Twelve Tables are devised around 421 B.C.E. These tables accounted for
Roman law, until the fall of the Roman Empire, and composed with cruel Draconian style
punishments. Punishment by death was common. In 527 C.E., The Justinian Code replaced the
Twelve Tables. It did not reform the Twelve Tables, this was the Roman written law, and was
the law of the land for much of Europe, and still influences lawmaking policy today.
By the Middle Ages, roughly 1200 A.D.-1600 A.D. (New World Encyclopedia, 2009),
social context was deeply religion based, noted Siegel (2008). If a person broke the law by
breaking a religious custom or perhaps violating the social norms of the times, people believed
and feared God, and that person would be viewed by others as possessed by the devil, demons or
was a witch. Punishments were cruel, torturous tactics were used to obtain confessions, and
kings, prophets and priests still ruled the land. The Common Law was the system in place
during all of this.
Punishment moved from an individual vengeance issue to of punishment by the state. As
kings, prophets, and priests gave way to formalized written law, the way criminals received
punishment grew along with the growth of civilized society (Siegel, 2010). The validation of
penalty as natural revenge was an attempt to preserve public order by the ruling classes of the
day. The line between acceptable behavior and punishable behavior was harshly drawn. People
were not accepting of anything against the faith of the times. (Bartollas, 2002)
Penalty as social control began in the times of feudalism. Punishment was only imposed
when the perpetrator was of a lower class than the punisher. Social control punishment was used
during this time as a method of keeping the serfs controlled and contained during the period of

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unrest, when the feudal system was failing. Religious pressures and systems of beliefs during
these times contributed to the success of social control punishment. (Bartollas, 2002)
Punishment as a deterrence has gone back and forth through the ages. Used for its ability
to keep people from committing crime, penalties are swift, severe, and often public. Penalty and
punishment as a labor source, has been going on for centuries and dates back to the sixteenth
century and gallery service. This form has been used off and on in the history of crime and
punishment, such as the chain gangs of the south, and in modern times, Angola and tent city
require heavy workloads of their inmates. (Bartollas, 2002)
Exile and banishment are used as punishment in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Offenders are sent to America as indentured servants with severe punishment for escape. After
the American Revolution, England could no longer ship them to America. From 1787-1857 they
sent offenders to exile in Australia to serve their sentences. The worst place was banishment to
Norfolk Island where there was no hope of return. (Bartollas, 2002)
Moral Justice is another justification of social context shaping punishment. John Calvin,
a Protestant Reformist holds that people are wicked and need punishment to curb their wicked
desires. Thomas Hobbs, according to Bartollas (2002), notes that the flawed character of
humans requires suppressive social control in order to prevent extensive societal disorder. This
view is still discussed three-hundred years later as James Q. Wilson comments, “wicked people
exist” and “nothing avails but to set them apart from innocent people. (Bartollas, 2002)”

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Institutional Settings Essay #2
As punishment moved from personal vengeance to governed and meted out by local,
state, and federal entities, the problem of what to do with these prisoners also became a problem
of local, state, and federal governments. The penitentiary, devised as a method to both provide a
more humane punishment to reflect the reformist views of the time and as a way to keep
offenders away from the public was the solution. This was modernization in both architectural
and conceptual design. There were many models developed over the years.
The first model created was the Pennsylvania Penitence model that emphasized
reformation of the prisoner. It is believed at the time that they would benefit from forced
isolation. Eastern State Penitentiary, finished in 1829, built in a radial design that allowed for
total solitude of the criminal. Because of the complete isolation of the prisoners, this model
would be considered maximum security by today’s social context standards, this model proved
costly to run, prisoners were developing mental issues from total isolation, and overcrowding
caused the justice system to adopt the New York Model. (McCarthy, 2001)
The New York Model changed the legislation to restrict capital punishment to first-
degree murder and treason cases. Newgate Prison, built in 1797 was built as a way to establish a
more humane prison system due to efforts of reformists of the day such as Thomas Eddy. They
believed that all humans have the ability for their own redemption. In light of Bartollas’ (2002)
description of state medium security prisons, it seems that this is the first one. (McCarthy, 2001)
In 1816 (Bartollas, 2002), Newgate Prison was replaced with the Auburn Prison because
it was no longer big enough. The Auburn Silent System became a model for maximum-security
prisons. The Auburn Cellblock, in the center of the prison sits an atoll of cells built five levels

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high, twenty feet long, and vacant for eleven feet on every side. These cells, designed for long-
term solitary confinement, were used under the social pretext that in order to preserve the
penitentiary system, inmates were to endure great mental and physical suffering. The system
insisted on total silence at all times and was the main concept in penology until the middle of the
twentieth century. (Bartollas, 2002)
When the prison in Auburn reached capacity, the Warden of the Auburn penitentiary
Elam Lynds, and convict labor built Sing Sing. He then took over as warden there. Elam later
resigned during charges of prisoner abuse, which he was later cleared of, and his deputy warden
Robert Wiltse took over keeping the same strict convict rules as Elam. The model here at Sing
Sing took the lead in capital punishment and created the example for modern capital punishment.
The attention gained from the media, shaped public opinion on crime and punishment. Wiltse
ousted due to charges surrounding two inmate deaths, is replaced with David Seymour. Seymour
was told to rehabilitate the prisoners instead of punishing them. (Christianson, 2000)
This was the beginning of the reform, beliefs, and practices, which shape our modern
corrections systems into what we have today. On the local level today, there are jails, lockups,
workhouses, and houses of corrections. The main differences between local institutions such as
jails, is the amount of time that offenders are held, and that they house pre-convicted offenders.
Jails usually house short-term offenders (less than a year), those waiting to be tried, and those
waiting to move on to prisons after sentencing. Lockups are usually facilities at a local police
station, and hold prisoners less than 48 hours generally. Often people who belong on welfare,
public health services, and social service agencies end up in jail as a last resort to receive help.
Often, local institutions are the place where indigent people, the mentally ill, misdemeanants,
and drunkards end up. (Bartollas, 2002)

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Modern prison architecture still has four major forms of design: the radial design, the
telephone design, the courtyard style prison, and the campus style. The radial design is a central
hub, with spoke-like corridors, shaped like a wheel. This design is rarely used in new prison
construction; however, there is still some of this type in use today such as the Federal
Penitentiary at Leavenworth, KS. The telephone model is the design best used for housing
prisoners by their classifications but is also the easiest type for prisoners to take over in a riot
situation. This prison model has a long central hallway, and the extensions resemble cross arms
holding schools, workshops, and housing for inmates. This design is the one used the most in
maximum-security prisons. (Bartollas, 2002)
The courtyard style prison is a newer prison design. This model has a courtyard
surrounded by a corridor. Facing the courtyard are educational facilities, housing facilities,
vocational areas, recreational areas, dining areas, and prison industrial areas. The Women’s
Treatment Center at Purdy is a courtyard-designed women’s prison in Washington. The campus
style prison is usually used for minimum and medium security prison facilities. This design is
open with small housing units among the educational, dining, recreational, and vocational areas.
(Bartollas, 2002)
Other than design differences, there are differences in the levels of security at different
types of federal, private, and state prisons. These prisons are classified as; women’s prisons,
minimum-security, medium-security, maximum-security, and super max facilities. Women’s
prisons house female offenders, and have programs and facilities designed to help women in
prison. They are usually not as sinister looking as male prisons, and may have cottage style

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housing. Minimum-security prisons for men have much less perimeter security than the rest of
the prison types. The openness promotes a more humane idea of prison. Inmates in these
facilities receive more visiting privileges, safer environments, and better treatment programs
establish these facilities as different from other prison types. Medium-security prisons have
fencing around the perimeter, television monitoring, and security systems for each zone.
Program access is tightly controlled. Prisoners can be locked down rather quickly in
emergencies. (Bartollas, 2002)
The main function of a maximum-security prison is that at any time, staff can put any or
all prisoners on lockdown immediately. Complete control of inmates at all times is the main
principle behind the maximum-security facility. Many of these still resemble the fortress like
imposing prisons of the past, and are quite old themselves. They badly need to be rebuilt, but
large numbers of offenders, budget cuts, and the expense of building new prisons keep this from
happening. These facilities, considered large physical plants, usually cover many acres of land.
(Bartollas, 2002)
Super max facilities are designed to house the worst of the worst offenders in total
solitary confinement. These prisoners do not have contact with others during meals, recreation,
or even in the few in cell vocational programs they may or may not have. Those inmates that are
gang leaders, repeatedly disruptive, or unmanageable end up in super max. Those who support
this type of incarceration claim that we need these facilities to manage the unmanageable. Those
who protest these harsh facilities cite the inhumane side of solitary confinement, claiming that
they are making the offenders worse by driving them insane. (Bartollas, 2002)

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Comparative Corrections Florida and Georgia Essay #3
After examining both the Departments of Corrections (DOC) for Florida (Florida
Department of Corrections n.d.) and Georgia (Georgia Department of Corrections n.d.), one
could say that upon looking at accommodations provided neither side looked less foreboding
than the other in the equal classification type cells such as the secure cells, the cell housing units,
and the open dorm area housing units. Florida’s corrections however have an extra classification
cell, the death row cell, which is quite forbearing when one considers spending 23 hours a day in
one, and the rest of your life in solitude. When examining statistics for the corrections systems,
as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (2010), shows in the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
Tables 5 Crime in the United States 2009 and Table 69 Arrests by State, 2009, clearly both the
percentage of crime and arrest per 100,000 are lower in Georgia, the smaller state. It seems as
though Florida has more programs to offer while in prison, and Georgia has more programs to
offer during re-entry. There should be adequate numbers of both kinds in each departments
arsenal against recidivism.
When looking at the virtual tour of Florida’s prisons (Florida Department of Corrections
n.d.), one sees an ominous looking environment looking down the corridor of the cell housing
unit. Even with the yellow paint, it still looks like a dismal place. It appears to have both secure
and open barred cells in the same floor. Then moving on to the secure cell, there really is not
much space to move around, one can see how hostility can be aggravated by such close quarters.
The open area beds look like they are the only part of the prison that allows any human contact.
From those views, not much is different in the Georgia Correctional virtual Tour of the cells
(Georgia Department of Corrections n.d.). It is the next tour that is of a nature not to be found in
Georgia, the maximum-security cell. This is the most dismal view of all of the images. To sit in

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these cells, knowing that you will only be released to attend your own state sanctioned death has
to be the cruelest punishment we inflict these days. The average stay on Death Row is 15-20
years.
Both Florida and Georgia have the classifications of minimum security, medium security,
and close security, but Florida expands their classifications beyond these three. They have
maximum security, which is for offenders who have received the death penalty. They also have
classifications defining the lesser crimes as well. These are IM 3, which means Institutional
Grounds Only, IM 2, which makes an offender eligible for a DOC supervised squad, and IM 1,
which allows an offender to be eligible for a non-DOC supervised squad. (Florida Department
of Corrections n.d. & Georgia Department of Corrections n.d)
The section of the Florida Department of Corrections (n.d.) that discusses the
misconceptions about Florida prisons, and this exercise did clear up a few preconceived notions.
In studying the data from the UCR by analyzing the arrest and crime tables it seems that a larger
state population not only denotes higher numbers of crimes because of more people, but is
indicative of a higher crime rate as well. The data clearly points to both the lower number of
crimes, and the number of arrests falling in the state of Georgia. (Federal Bureau of
Investigation 2010)

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References:
Bartollas, C. (2002). Invitation to Corrections. Boston. Allyn and Bacon
Christianson, S. (2000). Condemned: Inside the Sing Sing Death House. New York, London.
New York University Press.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2010) Crime in the United States 2009: State. Retrieved from:
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/arrests/state.html
Arrests by State, 2009. Retrieved from:
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/data/table_69.html
Florida Department of Corrections. (n.d.). Virtual Prison Tours & Misconceptions About
Florida Prisons. Retrieved from: http://www.dc.state.fl.us/oth/vtour/index.html &
http://www.dc.state.fl.us/oth/myths.html
Georgia Department of Corrections. (n.d.). About Georgia Department of Corrections.
Retrieved from: http://www.dcor.state.ga.us/AboutGDC/About.html
McCarthy, T.C. (2001) Penitentiary Origins in the City of New York. Retrieved from:
http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/nycdoc/html/penitentiary2.html
New World Encyclopedia (2009). Middle Ages. Retrieved from:
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Middle_Ages#Crusades
Siegel, L. J. (2008). Criminology: The Core. Third Edition. Belmont, Ca. Cengage Learning
Siegel, L.J. (2010). Criminology: Theories, Patterns, and Typologies. Tenth Edition. Belmont:

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Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2010). State and County Quick Facts. Florida. Georgia. Retrieved from:
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12000.html