Warden Elbert v. Nash on Running Penitentiaries Essays

They were also arrested. (Auerbach 1688) That's all it took for this riot to come into play, a few people unhappy about the way the police handled the situation. The next thing you know its a few thousand unhappy people.

It was the Auburn jail that added a new system to imprisonment. It was solitary confinement. At the time many criminals had mental breakdowns being locked up in one room by themselves for years. It was then that a thirty five year rivalry between Pennsylvania and New York

In Scottsboro, Alabama, March 9, 1931 nine African american boys, Olen Montgomery, Clarence Norris, Haywood Patterson, Ozie Powell, Willie Roberson, Charles Weems, Eugene Williams, Andy Wright, and Roy Wright were incriminated of rapeing two white women on the subway. As they were accused of raping Ruby Bates and Victoria Price they were put on trial. This trail was long and unfair.

Prisoners obtained contraband cellphones and recorded the first riot. They subsequently uploaded the video to social media, allowing the world to see the terrible conditions that have become typical in Alabama’s state prisons. The prison had triples bunks in cells, which is extremely dangerous. Governor Bentley immediately responded to the situation with the idea to create four super max prisons to hold all of Alabama’s state prisoners. I do not think that shoving all of our prisoners into a fewer number of bigger facilities is going to fix the problem. If anything, the already small number of officers assigned to prisons will become even more overwhelmed if something like the Holman riots were to happen

Prisoners began by taking control of south-side Dormitory E-2; within minutes the prisoners had taken four more officers in the dorm hostage, a fleeing officer left keys behind which gave the inmates complete access to the main control center, inmate cells, doors and weapons. By midafternoon violent offenders from solitary confinement had been released and the violence had gotten out of control. The prisoners had a particular area they could not access, the protective custody area, this area held the mentally ill and vulnerable inmates it included those inmates convicted of sex crimes and yes, those labeled snitches. Armed with blowtorches left by a construction crew, the inmates cut through the bars of the cells and in the early morning of February 3 began so did the brutal slaughter several inmates.

      "They sentence you to death because you were at the wrong place at the wrong time, with no proof that you had anything at all to do with the crime other than being there when it happened. Yet six months later they come and unlock your cage and tell you, We, us, white folks all, have decided it’s time for you to die, because this is the convenient date and time" (158). Ernest J. Gaines shows the internal conflicts going through the mind of Mr. Wiggins in his novel A Lesson Before Dying (1933). Mr. Wiggins is struggling through life and can’t find his way until he is called upon against his own will to help an innocent man, Jefferson. The help is not that of freeing him at all.

Racial dynamics were influential in the process of the case. There was collision between judges and prosecutors about the venue for the trial. The trial was moved to Baldwin County, a white county where only one African American served as a juror. The makeup of this jury panel would not allow McMillian a fair trial, the community was known to have racial bias undertones (Stevenson, 2014). Not only would the jury not allow McMillian a fair case, but neither would the judge. Robert E. Lee Key did all that was in his power to sway the case in his favor. He tried to persuade Stevenson not to take the case and agreed to move the trial to another county that was much more conservative and had “made less progress leaving behind the racial politics of Jim Crow” (Stevenson, 62). With lack of evidence pinning McMillian

In prisons today, rehabilitation, deterrence, incapacitation, and retribution are all elements that provide a justice to society. Prisons effectively do their part in seeing that one if not more of these elements are met and successfully done. If it were not for these elements, than what would a prison be good for? It is highly debated upon whether or not these elements are done properly. It is a fact that these are and a fact that throughout the remainder of time these will be a successful part of prison life.

Ted Conover’s book, New Jack, is about the author's experiences as a rookie guard at Sing Sing prison, in New York, the most troubled maximum security prison. He comes to realize that being a correctional officer isn’t an easy task. This is shown from the beginning when he is required to attend a 7 week training program to become a correctional officer. He comes to realize what inmates have to endure on a daily basis. Throughout his experience into a harsh culture of prison and the exhausting and poor working conditions for officers, he begins to realize that the prison system brutalizes everyone connected to it. New Jack presents new ideas of prisons in the United States in the ways facilities, corrections officers, and inmates function with

Earley also discusses some of the important figures and official representatives of Leavenworth, including Warden Matthews, Eddie Geouge and Lieutenant Bill Slack to provide a different perspective of the prison. He explores prison dynamics

Prison reform was a viable aspect of the Reform Movements in the 1800s. Reformers wanted to evidently punish prisoners but they also wanted to make sure they maintained a sense of humanity. They did this by reconstructing prison systems, seeking ways to treat the mentally ill and more. Document A highlights the importance of good treatment to prisoners in order for them to be rescued and eventually work to become viable members of society. This document

The riots lasted for five days, beginning on July 13 until July 17 when Lincoln had to send extra police and regiments of soldiers from Pennsylvania to bring the mobs under control. McPherson describes, on the first day of the riot, “mobs of Irish workers roamed the streets, burned the draft office, sack and burned the homes of prominent Republicans and tried to unsuccessfully demolish the New York Tribune building.” As time went on the riots got worse, by the end of the first day they were attaching any black people on the street, anyone who tried to calm them and even white employers who hired black workers. As the mob moved through the city, intensifying their actions, they burned down the Colored Orphan Asylum. One account stated that,

Conover’s purpose in writing this book not only to share his experience as a correctional officer but to also help readers get beyond the stereotype of the brutal guard seen on television and rumors but to see correctional officers as individuals, offering us a chance to understand

At the time, prison cells were still operated by a turnkey system, which required each cell be opened individually by a guard with a key (The Ohio Penitentiary). There wasn’t any kind of central unlocking device. Thus, as flames, carbon monoxide, and toxic fumes spread through the cell block, inmates had nowhere to run, and many died of oxygen deprivation and smoke inhalation (The Ohio Penitentiary). There is much confusion surrounding what actually went on during the fire. While there are stories of guards purposely leaving inmates locked in their cells, there are also stories of heroism displayed by both the inmates and guards alike. Stories of both sides working together to free as many from the blaze as possible and stories of inmates going back in time and time again to rescue victims only to succumb to the blaze themselves as well. It is believed however, that Warden Preston E. Thomas refused to release prisoners until the Ohio National Guard responded in fear of a riot. By the time the Guard had arrived thirty minutes later, many had already perished (State Fire Marshal

A prison warden is the chief executive of the institution and oversees the entire operation within a prison system. A prison warden needs to possess an array of skills that is capable of managing “large groups of employees, and to operate facilities in a way that keeps inmates, staff, and society safe” (Clear et al., 2013, p. 321). Studies from Clear et al. (2013) further indicate that today’s prison warden must function effectively despite decreased autonomy and increased accountability” (p. 321). The role and responsibility of a prison warden are comparable to a police chief’s because it requires extensive knowledge in administration, and experience in various areas within the department or institution.