Prison Comparison Paper

Prison System Comparison Paper

CJA 234

Prison System Comparison Paper

Nothing is more interesting than observing families, especially the children. How can the children, created by the same mother and father, be vastly from one another? The same question is asked with regard to America’s correction system. The United States has two types of systems: state prisons and federal prisons. Even though both systems can house people for identical crimes, the state and federal prison systems are alike, but they are quite different. This paper will review the history of the state and federal prison systems; it will provide a comparison and contrast the differing levels of security in state and federal prisons as well as the growth in state prisons.

History of Federal and State Prisons

From the early 1800s the state prison system has been in existence. The first state prison is Sing Sing located in Ossining, New York. Foster (2006) stated, “The state prison systems of today were founded on the nineteenth-century penitentiary, which was itself based on the legal reforms of the eighteenth century Age of Enlightenment “ (p. 121). When a convict serves a sentence longer than one year, they serve the sentence in a state prison.

A person will find themselves in a state prison when they break a law of the state they live. State prisons are often linked with blue-collar crimes. According to Mojo Law (2007-2011), “Blue-collar crime is a term given to criminal acts more likely to be committed by citizens of lower social class in society, such as those which inflict direct harm on the person or property of others” (Blue-Collar Crime, para. 1).

Unlike the state prison system, the federal prison system found its start in the late 1800s. However, in 1930 the United States established the Federal Bureau of Prisons when President Hoover signed a bill creating a federal prison system that would build federal facilities. Up until that time, the government relied on...