Sociology

This essay entails reasons as to why the penitentiary was developed in this country. Penitentiary is a state prison or an institution where convicted offenders are held under hard labor and strict discipline so as to punish and help  them reform respectively.  The idea of a penitentiary came up in early eighteenth century and but it was authorized later by the Penitentiary Act.  It brought about the separation of offenders who used to stay all together in one room, reduction in capital punishments and positive impact on the offenders lifestyle.  On the other hand, this essay also covers the use of incarceration to penalize criminal. Incarceration is the locking up an offender in a jail without necessarily putting efforts to ensure they reform, rather it ensure one serves their jail term fully.  It further explains whether the use of incarceration in this country serves the four goals of criminal sanctions and how these goals are achieved.

In the eighteenth century, most of the prisons in this country were just large holding pens where people were kept in groups regardless of their age or crimes committed.  The prisoners were mistreated by the guards and overseers through mutilation and physical punishment. The penitentiary was developed due to the ambitions and aspirations to change public institutions of the Americans after the reforms following the American Revolution.  The prisons and other social institutions were revolutionized due to the humanistic principle of enlightenment.  There was also a strong believe that if the wrongdoers were exposed to silence and then given time to think about their behavior and the ugliness of the crimes  they had committed then they would genuinely become penitent a way to inspire change.  There was also the introduction of re-entry services programs to enable ex-offender to regain respect in the society. They were also aimed at making the offender productive members of the society by giving them life skills, getting them necessary identification, helping them prepare for job searching and getting ready to work.

Application of Penitentiary did not face out the use of incarceration in this country.  Our country has the highest rate of incarceration as penalty for criminal offenders in the world.  This is due to several reasons which entail.  Firstly, most of the offenders are convicted for violent crimes.  This is due to the availability of firearm like guns which one can easily have as long as they have a permit.  This has increased murder rates hence through incarceration it is believed that they can be reduced if not finished.  Secondly, there are harsher laws of sentencing whereby even petty and nonviolent crimes are treated with a lot of seriousness and the offenders can be jailed for a longer time than expected. Thirdly, the country is endeavoring to combat illegal drug trafficking and abuse by the citizen. The drug crimes have been increasing over time hence the government is doing all it can to reduce illegal drugs related crimes. They also need to reduce drug abuse and addiction which has affected many young citizens in the country, hence affecting the political, social and economic situation of the country.  For instance offenders arrested for cocaine use they receive longer sentences since they are involved in the most violent and serious offences in the country.  Fourthly, there is a legacy of racial turmoil where by the African Americans are much more likely to receive longer sentence than other people in the country.   Fifthly, the country lacks a net of social safety hence the rules and regulations are tightened to achieve social safety for everyone. Sixthly, the country feels that since she is one of the greatest then she should be a role model to other nations in the world by acting harshly on all criminals regardless of the crimes they commit and their social status.  This is intended to emphasis the fact that everyone must be accountable for their actions.  Finally, democracy is also a contributor for this since elected judges feel that they need self actualization as well as fame thus they demand for tough justice on the offenders. Therefore, the need to reduce crime forms the overall reason for this countrys locking up offenders for longer terms since the costs are offset by the benefits (Liptak, 2008).

There are four goals of criminal sanctions which include retribution, deterrence, incapacitation and rehabilitation. The use of incarceration serves the four goals, since it enhances the maintenance of social order through punishments which are given fairly and with justice hence one receives the punishment that they deserve.  Moreover, potential offenders consider the punishments they would receive if they commit purported crimes hence there are deterred from acting in an unlawful way.  Also, the sentences received by the offenders incapacitate them hence they cannot commit further crimes since they are detained for a specified period of time.  Lastly, while in detention the offenders could undergo some training and therapy which would make them more productive to the country and also to their families (Cole and Smith, 2007).