Essay On Incarceration Rates In America

Incarceration Rates in America Prison in America is something that is not new to our systems. Prisons tend to be a place where people are held waiting for their punishment. All types of people are sent to prison, men and women alike. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the hearings were public, which meant that anyone could see you die a horrible death. They did this to embarrass or shame the person. They used the ducking stool, the pillory, whipping, and branding. Most of the sentences were death. Earlier in time, prisons weren 't needed as much. Prisons were not maintained properly and were controlled by prison guards that were negligent. In these prisons, many died young due to the unsanitary conditions. Diseases swept throughout the jail columns, many never made it out. In this time period, the first “prototype” of a house of corrections was built. It was named the London Bridewell. Houses of Correction in this time made hard labor a daily deed. The 18th century, a.k.a. “Bloody Code”, happened to be the most obstruct time in history. Many were opposed to the death penalty for anything but the most serious of crimes like murder. Also in this century, imprisonment meant hard, physical labor. Prisoners were shipped to different places in the world like America (“until the end of the American War of Independence in …show more content…
Many ask, is it our government to blame or are we an unruley society? Some would claim to say our government pays “hardball” and our society is too rigid. The United Sates have the highest incarceration and the most people in prison in the world. Over the past three decades, the rate has more than tripled. Some say the rates are due to America 's war on drugs. The rates for violent, property damages and other crimes have increased the most over the years. Our unemployment rate is getting higher which means more people are out looking for things to