"The United States imprisons more people than any other country in the world, and a disproportionate number of those prisoners are Black. What are the origins of the U.S. criminal justice system and how did racism shape it? From the creation of the first penitentiaries in the 1800s to the "tough-on-crime" prosecutors of the 1990s, how America created a culture of mass incarceration."
Timeline Outline
The creation of the modern penitentiary in America
1829 - Eastern State Penitentiary open till 1971
When built - progressive - sink, flushable toilet - before the Whitehouse
Part of movement - created conditions for mass incarceration problem later - saw criminality as something that imprisonment solved
More humane prison - individual cells
Time alone to “find God”
Alexis Detocksville Visited in 1831 for the French Government
Interviewed - “It’s so lonely…” - Isolated
Not successful - not reformed, instead, complete isolation
“It does not reform. It kills.”
Extremely influential
People were criminals - this system would bring them back to normal citizenry
By the 1870’s it was not the system that it was originally
A vessel for dealing with social issues
Slaves of the State
1915 silent film - Birth of a Nation
After civil war - in favor of KKK
Blackface -- portrayed black people as violent, criminals, rapists, etc.
Cemented stereotypes
Blacks were more likely to be in prison
13th Amendment - Formally ended slavery, but! no person could be enslaved except punishment for crime
“Reconstruction” - states passed laws that targeted formerly enslaved
1866 - KKK born
Then, the 14th amendment for citizenship, the 15th for equal right to vote
Blacks flourished under these laws
The end of reconstruction in the late 1870s - dark cloud in the south for blacks
Criminalized black people again - silly crimes that targeted
Alabama 1870’s - 75% black people in jails - a huge jump from the last 5 years
Forced black men to labor in camps
“One dies, get another.”
Those convicted of crimes could be used by the state in whatever way. They could be “slaves of the state”...
The law allowed mass criminalization
The 1890s - Most whites saw the fact that more black people were in prison as evidence against them
Instead of being stupid, blacks are considered unsafe and violent in media, books, etc.
Social science - explanation for why whites are superior - black men are more prone to violence and have a crime problem - take away racist label
1880ish - Stats of black inferiority - book - blacks were more prone to criminality
Search for black inferiority - thought book was groundbreaking
Thinking the system is a bad place for bad people
But always been apart of the machinery of politics, machery and culture
The American Prosecutor
Justice system depiction on TV today
Missing important parts - people are not represented by police and prosecutors
The most powerful person is the prosecutor
Federal prison vs state facilities
As, in the 90’s to 2000s serious crime rate goes down by app. 25, the number of people being sent to prison, goes up.
By 1990’s, a ‘tough on crime’ culture makes prosecutor number goes up - 10,000
Always someone you can charge
More prosecutors, more prisoners
How did they become so powerful, and how did they get this role in justice system?
Beginning of country
They were not elected, they were generally private.
Then most states appointed public prosecutors
Around 1830s, they became full time - and more accountable to local voters in state
By the beginning of the 20th century, most states elected prosecutors
Their power grew as the criminal justice system played a more important role in states
States started controlling their own crime
Prosecutors can rise to higher political roles (around 1940s)
Most Americans experience crime second hand (through media, etc) because of its concentration in certain areas
Fear of crime affects policy changes, make prosecutors want to be harsher and tougher on crime
Progressive prosecutors wanting to end mass incarceration - bring light to, and change a problem that they created within system
Overall prison population dropped since 2010, but still worse in the world, and that percentage drop is not that large
There will not be a change without reconciling deep rooted biases and racism in America.