ATTICA PRISON RIOT.   Term Paper ID:28171 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Discusses the 1971 riot in terms of prison policies & reforms instituted after riot.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Discusses the 1971 riot in terms of prison policies & reforms instituted after riot. Paper Introduction: The Attica prison riot took place in September, 1971 at the Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, New York and lasted four days. It ended when 1,500 State Police and National Guardsmen stormed the complex, leaving 42 people dead, including 10 hostages ("Attica Prison Riot"). At the end of the riot, there were conflicting calls for tougher prisons on the one hand, and for prison reform to correct the abuses that had contributed to the riot on the other. In the immediate aftermath of the riot, a number of reforms were instituted. However, in the years since, politicians and administrators have responded to calls to be tougher on crime by incarcerating many more people, thus overcrowding many facilities; reducing any service that might be seen as "coddling" prisoners; reducing or eliminating prison education programs; and generally creating a Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Eighty percent are persons ofcolor, and most are members of what social critic Tony Judt has called "theexcluded." The latter is defined as a global capitalist surplus populationnumbering in the tens of millions, people who remain outside the legitimateeconomy and national community. California is removing weight-lifting equipment from prison. This is the classical explanation of crime and holds that crime isthe result of choice or free will by which the offender considers the costsand benefits of the behavior before committing the act. This model rests on thebelief that people have the ability to control their behavior, andindividual responsibility is emphasized in the resulting correctionalphilosophy. "The Prison Population Bomb." American Demographics (1 Feb 1996), 36-42.Torres, Sam. "Should Corrections Treat or Punish Substance-abusing Criminals?." Federal Probation (1 Sept 1996), 18-23.Weiss, Robert P. One shift that has come about because of the size of the problem is thecreation of a privately run prison system. One consequence has been more massive expenditures for correctionsand an explosion in the prison population, with the result that virtuallyevery prison system in the United States is seriously overcrowded: "Thesepunitive crime control strategies enjoy wide public support and thereforeare promoted as well by politicians" (Torres 19). In 1994, there were one million people living inAmerica's federal and state prisons, an another 3.7 million were onprobation or parole. Most of these prisoners are confined to statefacilities because they have broken state laws, while only about ninepercent are in federal institutions. A sociologist who worked with many of the inmates from the Atticariot discussed the question of reform with one and asked what the riotaccomplished in the way of positive change. Texas even withheld fans from inmates as punishment in the middle of a historic heat wave (Cannon). The Attica prison riot took place in September, 1971 at the AtticaCorrectional Facility near Buffalo, New York and lasted four days. Atthe end of the riot, there were conflicting calls for tougher prisons onthe one hand, and for prison reform to correct the abuses that hadcontributed to the riot on the other. More prisons administrators are operating prisons as total lock-downfacilities and abolishing prison programs such as recreation, education,religious services, and drug treatment. Works Cited"Attica Prison Riot." The Nation Company (1971). Fifty-four percent had been sentenced for violent crimes, and just nine percenthad been sentenced for drug crimes. The population has changed greatlysince then, and today, New York has over 7 , male prisoners, over one-third of whom are sentenced for drug crimes. The growth in private prisons hasbeen problematic because such facilities are often not as particular aboutwhom they hire, about professional standards, and are also not accountablein the way public institutions are (Mergenhagen and Dickenson, 36-4 ). "Power, Influence, and the Development of Correctional Policy." Federal Probation (1 June 1996), 43-48. However, in the years since,politicians and administrators have responded to calls to be tougher oncrime by incarcerating many more people, thus overcrowding many facilities;reducing any service that might be seen as "coddling" prisoners; reducingor eliminating prison education programs; and generally creating asituation that some see as dangerous and short-sighted. Maryland has banned inmates from smoking in their cells. Itended when 1,5 State Police and National Guardsmen stormed the complex,leaving 42 people dead, including 1 hostages ("Attica Prison Riot"). Congress has cut educational opportunities in prison by eliminating Pell Grants for inmates. In 1971, Attica's population was typical in composition, with justunder 55 percent black, 12 percent Hispanic, and 33 percent white. Most of these policies arebeing established with the blessing of, or at the direction of, electedofficials and their constituents (Wittenberg 43-44). The current trends seem likely to continue for some time unless thereis a shift in public attitudes or until the pressures develop for anotherriot or some other attention-getting action. "Reflections on Social Justice and the Prisoner Struggle." Social Justice (Summer 1999), 175.Wittenberg, Peter M. Half a million were confined to locally run jails.The number of state and federal prisoners has more than tripled since 198 . Prison crowding is seen as largely the result of the increase in drug-related arrests. Prison policy is based in part on the prevailing theory ofcriminality, which for the last two decades has been the rational choicemodel. They are requiring prisoners towork on chain gangs and similar work programs. Under this view,the appropriate crime control strategy is a punishment suited to theseverity of the offense, with the major objectives being retribution,incapacitation, and deterrence through punishment. Today, some companies manageentire prisons, and others specialize in particular operations such ashealth or food services. www.thenation.com.Cannon, Carl M. He found that many of the"reforms," both legal and administrative, were short-lived, such as "inmateself-government." Other changes included the lifting of censorshiprestrictions on prisoner correspondence, conjugal visits, and regulartelephone access, and these continue and help ease the "pains ofimprisonment." Still other reforms have disappeared only recently underrecent political assault, such as New York's Prisoners' Legal Services.The reforms are seen as double-edged, however, softening many young felons,especially drug offenders, while introducing even more sophisticated meansof state repression, such as the newer control units and maxi-maxi prisonslike New York's Southport prison and California's Pelican Bay (Weiss 81-83). The model is expressed in public policy through crime controlstrategies such as determinate sentencing and sentencing guidelines,abolishment of parole, tougher penalties, and expanded use of the deathpenalty. In the immediate aftermath of theriot, a number of reforms were instituted. Current retributive policies denyprisoners the education and training necessary to enter the new economy,and instead, this population is being warehoused (Weiss 174-175).Retribution is the order of the day, and rehabilitation is being largelyignored in a new climate: The Supreme Court recently decided that states don't need to provide law books to prisoners. The overcrowding that contributed to the riot at Attica was addressedfor a time by the courts which forced administrators to reduce the prisonpopulation in some areas, but more recently, the prison population hassoared. "Punishment, Not Rehabilitation." National Journal (15 Aug 1998).Mergenhagen, Paula and Rachel Dickenson. It was not too long agothat penal experts thought such ideas were obsolete and unsuitable in aprofessional correctional facility, but this attitude has changed in thecorrectional community itself as many agencies are now establishing workand punishment programs that not long ago were considered draconian and outof step with modern correctional practices. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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