Assignment Details

The Prison Population

In this Assignment you will have an opportunity to examine the reasons for the increase in the United States prison population and what this means for the corrections system. You will look specifically at the intended and unintended consequences of sentencing laws in terms of incarceration rates.

Write a 1,350 – 1,600-word essay analyzing the increase in prison populations in the United States. Your essay should include an examination of how the following have affected the incarceration rate in the United States.

• Truth in sentencing
• Determinate sentencing
• States abolishing parole
• Sentencing guidelines

Web Resources

Go to the Library and locate the following article:

Kramer, J. H. & Ulmer, J. T. (2002). Downward departures for serious violent offenders: Local court ‘corrections’ to Pennsylvania’s sentencing guidelines. Criminology, 40(4), 897–903.

Read about elderly jail inmates

Kuhlmann, R., & Ruddell, R. (2005). Elderly Jail Inmates. Californian Journal of Health Promotion, 3(2), 49-60. Retrieved from https://journals.calstate.edu/cjhp/article/view/1763

Reading and Resources

Inmates bring different attributes to the prison subculture when entering a corrections institution. Adjusting to prison life can be frustrating for inmates after they enter the prison system.

Sentencing has been considered the most difficult decision in the criminal justice process. It involves choosing from a number of alternatives and involves an examination of public safety along with rehabilitation and retribution.

Read the following chapters in your text:

• Chapter 3: “Sentencing Trends and Incarceration”
• Chapter 4: “The Social World of the Prisoner”

Reading material for this assignment.