Folsom Prison History

Have you ever wondered what the worst prison would be like. Alcatraz was the worst prison ever it had the most baddest criminals ever. Alcatraz was nicknamed "the rock" because it was out in the middle of San Francisco Bay. It was also thought that no one could escape the prison because of all the dangers. Alcatraz opened on August 11, 1934 and closed on March 21, 1963. Alcatraz had some of the worst criminals some of the key moments were when Al Capone the worst bad guy came to Alcatraz, it also effects the people today because they see how bad it was for the prisoners to escape and have to stay there.

Close the prison is the California State Prison in Sacramento also known as “New Folsom” which houses about 3,000 level 4 inmates. Level 4 inmates are gang members, violent predators, and the prisoners that are unable to adjust to other facilities or obey the rules. Unlike the other Folsom, there is no wall surrounding them, instead, they are surrounded by an electric fence surrounding the prison. Most of the prisons in California are overcrowded and the inmates will most likely be a source of profit. Inmates will be a source of profit because some companies can buy the prison and the more prisoners there are the more money they make. Although in order to understand the prison complex you also need to understand capitalism and capitalism is an economic and political system when a country’s trade and industry are run by private owners for profit rather than the

The Confederacy established Andersonville, that most infamous of Civil War prisons, in late February, 1864. It built a stockade in west central Georgia to accommodate approximately 10,000 prisoners of war. As the fighting moved ever deeper into the South in the last year of the war, the expanded stockade at one point held nearly 33,000 Union soldiers. The termination by the North of the prisoner of war exchanges which had existed previously and the continually depleting resources of the Confederacy left these prisoners stranded in miserable conditions.

Folsom is one of California's oldest prison. Engulfed with rich history Folsom is one of the first maximum-security prisons in our nation.Construction began in 1878, near a mining camp along the American River. The prison finally opened in 1880 with a capacity of around 1,500 inmates. The inmates spent most of the time in the dark,with no heating or plumbing, in cells with solid iron doors. After many deaths from suffocation, air holes were drilled into the cell doors and those doors are still used today.

American prison system incarceration was not officially used as the main form of punishment in United States (U.S.) until around the 1800’s. Before that time criminals were mainly punished by public shaming, which involved punishments such as being whipped, or branded (HL, 2015). In fact, President Lincoln codified the prison incarceration system in the Emancipation Proclamation that indicated no slavery would take place in America unless a person was duly convicted of a crime (paraphrased) (White, 2015). In this era prisons were used more as a place where criminals could be detained until their trial date if afforded such an opportunity. However, one of the main problems with this idea was the fact that the prisons were badly maintained, which resulted in many people contracting fatal diseases. Yet, according to White (2015) unethical and immoral medical experiments were also conducted on inmates’ leading to health failures. Moreover, because everyone was detained in the same prisons, adolescent offenders would have to share the same living space with adult felons, which became another serious problem in that adolescent were less mature and could not protect themselves in such environments

The United States Supreme Court ruled that prison overcrowding in California was equivalent to cruel and unusual punishment. This decision recharged a long-standing disagreement among scholars and politicians as to whether or not courts should intervene to protect make changes. Some believe this is a matter or the well-being of those unable to make decisions for themselves. Others believe this is not a top priority and by forcing states to improve state institutions, the already costly industry will have cost increase. The journal also discusses the economic effects reform has had. Concluding that they have made positive changes at a slightly higher expense. The changes made by the state made the facilities closer to “humane” by court standards. (7)

The California prison system was created in response to the increased amount of criminal activity that sparked during the Gold Rush years. Prior to the Gold Rush, California had prided itself on being a land of health, beauty, and opportunity (Bookspan, xviii). However, immigration and population growth surged, especially amongst foreign convicts and “aliens”, resulting in increased crime. At first, it was decided that punishment for small crimes would be a beating by whip while punishment for serious crimes, like robbery or murder, would be hanging (Kidport).After becoming a state in 1850, the California governor John McDougal reacted to this method of punishment by beginning what is known as the California Prison System. The first prison within California was San Quentin, which began to receive inmates in 1854, next was Folsom State Prison in 1880, then California Correctional Institution in 1933, California Institution for Men in 1941, and California Institute for Women in 1952 as well as multiple California state prisons that have opened since then in cities such as San Diego, Sacramento, Chowchilla, Avenal, Corcoran, Susanville, Vacaville, Crescent City, and many more (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation). The early California prison systems were very much influenced by the Auburn prison system, from the Auburn Correctional Facility in Auburn, New York. This system imposed solitary confinement to silence prisoners and promote meditations, but still

Twenty miles northeast of california's state capital sacramento, lays a castle like structure known as folsom prison. Folsom prison is the second oldest prison in california but Folsom was the first prison in the world to have electricity do to the first hydroelectric powerhouse in California. San quien was the first prison to open in california but after 6 years the prison became over populated and corrupted. After the gold rush the state decided it was time to open a new prison. In 1873 prisoners from san quien were shipped to folsom to help build the foundation of the prison. Folsoms construction of the cell blocks started in 1878 and the prison was opened in 1880.

San Quentin state prison is in San Francisco, California, which is the only prison in California that still executes prisoners. The prison has housed several famous prisoners over the years; however, it has a big problem with gangs inside the prison. I will discover the background of the warden that is in charge, the history of the prison, and the problems that circulate within the prison.

In 1790 The Walnut Street Jail became the first prison in the United States by converting a wing of the Walnut Street Jail for use in housing sentenced criminals for corporal punishment (Seiter, 2011). The philosophy or objective for the Walnut Street Jail was hard labor, strict discipline, solitary and silent confinement, and religious study, as a result prisoners were kept separate and silent. Prisoners were also masked as moved throughout the prison to avoid other prisoners identifying one another; they were given work, such as handicrafts during day and read the Bible and did penancing in the evenings (Seiter, 2011). When the state of Pennsylvania opened its’ first two prisons they adopted the Walnut Street Jail model of design and operations, which soon became known as the Pennsylvania system. As issues started resulting from the Pennsylvania system such as poor productivity of goods for resale; impossible to keep prisoners from seeing one another; too expensive to maintain as more staff were needed, and some prisoners becoming mentally ill; prison operators started searching for new ways to accommodate these issues. After acknowledging the doom of the Pennsylvania system, a new system that allowed prisoners to congregate during the day and remain separate and silent at other times known as the Auburn system.

Upon arriving to Fresno County Jail, I had few expectations of the environment. My initial thought was there was going to be a ton of screaming and disorderly conduct just to scare us. I did not see anyone screaming towards us or anyone trying to fight us. I did see lots of gang sign thrown at us and few remarks to the correctional officers, but it wasn’t bad. The facility was dirty and smelt bad. Our tour guide officer told us that they have mice and other pesticide problem due to inmates taking their food to their bunks and leaving it there for a few days. One thing that amazed me was the underground tunnel because I would have never thought a county jail would have one. The underground tunnel is used to transport inmates to court.

In the jail the jailers treat everybody different, because of the reason you are locked up. State prison is like a slap on the wrist because they give them the freedom to go out and work on the local highways for a small amount of money and to take time off of their sentencing, but they have to maintain good behavior while in and out on the work details. Federal prison is where they put inmates with violent felonies and murder, drugs, and

“Out of every 100,000 people around the world 168 are in prison with the averages climbing annually” (ChartsBin statistics collector team 1). Halden Prison located in Halden, Norway and the Supermax Prison located in Florence, Colorado are two maximum security prisons. Both prisons are home to some of the most dangerous and the most notorious criminals. Despite sharing similar types of security and prisoners one prison focuses on rehabilitating their inmates while the other focuses on simply holding the prisoners as a means to punishment. From 1789, when the first prison opened in England, to today guards have been a common site in prisons all over the world.

Folsom State Prison is located in Represa, California. It was opened in the late 1800s as one of the first maximum security prisons. It was originally

Alcatraz Island has quite a distinct history. Many people know that Alcatraz served as a federal prison, but most are reluctant to know that this island served as fort. Built before the Civil War, it served two main purposes. First, that it was to guard the San Francisco bay area from enemy ships against a foreign invasion, and second, to hold hostage prisoners of war or POW's as they were called. In this report, I'll show you how this fortress came to be a federal prison, why it is no longer in operation today, and most importantly, to show why it was built in the first place. When the great "Gold Rush" of 1849 first started, California grew from what would be considered a small, unpopulated state, into