The facility I have chosen to visit for this assignment is the United States Penitentiary Atlanta. At the time of writing this essay, the institution does not allow visits due to the coronavirus pandemic, and there is no information as to when the restrictions will be lifted (USP Atlanta, n.d.). Since risking the health and wellbeing of thousands of people did not seem like a sensible option, I have decided to gain the required information from other sources. The facility is classified as a medium-security prison, which means that it houses people who have committed relatively major crimes and are mostly serving 10-30 year sentences. It also has a minimum-security satellite camp for less dangerous inmates, as well as a detention center; these units will not be the focus of the paper.
The purpose of this paper is to observe the inner workings of a correctional facility and compare the information to what is presented in the course materials. Imprisonment has always been a controversial topic, and the federal bureau of prisons has generated many contrasting opinions. On the one hand, some people think that the life of inmates should not be easy or comfortable, as they are being punished. On the other hand, those who have been to prison describe the living conditions as gruesome and consider the treatment of convicted felons inhumane (Lawton, 2020). The paper will use the extensively documented experience of such people to compare the current state of USP Atlanta to general information about it.
The inmates’ views on the correctional process differ, but there are some issues that many seem to agree on. First, the living conditions are harsh at best, with the bare minimum comforts available at limited times. Personal and overall hygiene is maintained relatively well, and supplies are available for inmates to clean their cells and bodies (Lawton, 2020). The food is severely affected by budget constraints, and as a consequence, its quality is far from what most people would consider good. The issues of spending priorities are affecting both state-owned and private prisons in the US, and food seems to be one of the major areas where these institutions try to minimize costs. Another important part of the prison system is healthcare, which also does not seem to be of the highest quality (Rothschild, 2019). Healthcare services for inmates are usually provided by third parties, which is not always a reliable way to get people the help they need. Due to this system being flawed, there have been cases of people developing severe medical conditions or even dying in prison (Lawton & Golenbock, 2012). This problem has been addressed on multiple occasions, but the results remain ambiguous and vary in different institutions.
United States Penitentiary Atlanta, like other prisons, is a correctional institution that is supposed to prevent perpetrators from committing a crime again. There are several possible ways to achieve this effect, and the results may vary for different inmates, with some changing their life after being discharged, and others becoming repeat offenders and returning to prison. Education is a great and cost-effective option to help criminals learn to live differently, and many inmates appreciate having access to libraries (Lawton & Golenbock, 2012). Another factor that has a substantial effect on the rehabilitation of convicted felons is maintaining connections with close friends and loved ones. Unfortunately, the US prison system does not provide many opportunities for that, which puts an enormous strain on families that become separated for extremely long periods of time. Conjugal visits that allow inmates to spend several days with their family could resolve this issue, but they are currently only permitted in four states (Caldwell, 2016). This means that for most incarcerated, having their wives and kids help them become functioning members of society is hardly an option.
Although being excluded from the lives of their families is a harsh punishment, it may have some positive consequences in the end. Some criminals have stated that missing their children growing up made then not want to return to prison again, more than any other correctional efforts would (Lawton & Golenbock, 2012). There are other ways prisons try to prevent recidivism; the most prominent one is making the inmates’ lives so difficult they will not risk getting caught again. This has a set of negative consequences, as many people become involved in gangs, use drugs, and commit violent crimes while incarcerated (Lawton, 2020). Overall, the correctional process depends on whether a specific person is willing to change their ways and make use of the available facilities to do so.
Moving on to the pros and cons of different types of prisons in the United states, two comparison can be made to answer this question: the one between state and private prisons, and the one between different security levels. The existence of private prisons has long been a topic of debate among members of American society. On the one hand, it presents numerous potential cost-saving opportunities for the taxpayer, while maintaining control of other important factors, such as prison population and number repeat offenders. On the other hand, these institutions can be poorly run, violent, and not always economically feasible.
The main benefit of private prisons is said to be their lowered cost compared to government facilities. The increased flexibility of a private business structure is the main factor that grants these institutions the ability to save resources. As noted above, extensive cost-saving measures do have the potential to affect some crucial aspects of incarceration, such as food quality and healthcare availability. Still, from an economic standpoint, private prisons tend to be beneficial as they reduce government spending while creating jobs for local workers, thus strengthening the economy. However, private prisons can only operate and generate profit if they have a sufficient inmate population, which is not always the case. Although the US incarcerated population is large, there is no guarantee that the facilities that are built today will be needed in the future. If they lose their contracts and cannot be repurposed for detention or housing immigrants, private prisons become an economic burned for the people who have paid for its construction. To ensure sustainable income, private prisons may want to influence the judicial system to give longer sentences to more people, which creates the potential for corruption.
As for public prisons, their main upside is the more rigid standards and budget structure. Their costs tend to be higher than those of private prisons, but this results in higher wages and better benefits for employees. The significantly larger and more evenly spread network of correctional institutions allows inmates to be housed closer to their home then private prisons. This is a significant factor in rehabilitation, as it enables people to remain connected with their families and close friends, which makes it easier to reintegrate into society after discharge. Another benefit for inmates is the substantially lower violence rates, as the government keeps its facilities staffed with a sufficient number of guards to maximize security. However, the inmate population in public prisons is also relatively high, and they can become overcrowded. Although long-term prisoners are unlikely to experience the effects of this issue, holdover inmates might have to share a cell designed for two men with four other people (Lawton & Golenbock, 2012). The healthcare in public prisons also does not exhibit any significant improvements, as it is often provided by private parties.
Considering the pros and cons of different security level prisons is more straightforward, as most of the crucial factors are predictable. The taxpayer costs increase with the security requirements, as housing more dangerous criminals requires more trained personnel, robust construction, and diligent maintenance. Lower security prisons and camps can hold more inmates with less staff and other costs. These facilities also have more opportunities for rehabilitation, whereas penitentiaries often house people who never intend to become functional members of society. Inmates in maximum security prisons see violence, gang disputes, and other problematic and dangerous incidents daily, and the best way for them to protect themselves is by transferring to a medium-security facility. Although these institutions are not entirely devoid of such occurrences, they tend to be less volatile overall.
As for the changes to the correctional institution, there are not many of them that happened in the last ten years, as USP Atlanta is over 100 years old, and has most of its practices already established. Still, there have been some noteworthy events in the relatively recent history of the facility. First, the prison used to be a maximum-security facility but has been transformed into a medium-security correctional institution. This should have lowered the level of violence and volatility inside, but inmates report that safety is still questionable in USP Atlanta (Santos, 2017). This is likely due to the fact that the facility still contains a substantial number of gang members and people involved in organized crime.
On the positive side, the prison has been modernized and equipped with air conditioning and hot water. However, it is still located in the original building and surrounded by solid concrete 40-foot walls that extend 20 feet below the ground (Lawton, 2020). This would put more psychological pressure on the inmates and hinder rehabilitation to some degree. The improvements made to the quality of the food in USP Atlanta might be enough to compensate for its grim appearance. In addition, the institution allows former criminals to receive higher education, and long term inmates can be discharged with several degrees from reputable universities (Santos, 2017). This allows the incarcerated to improve their qualifications while they serve time, instead of losing them and struggling to adapt later. The institution does have enough space for sports as well as sufficient equipment for those who want to maintain a good physical form. However, there are no weights for people to exercise with (Santos, 2017). Overall, Atlanta seems to be a standard example of a public prison in the united states, without many exceptional features or critical flaws in its design and operation, and it coincides with the information provided in the course materials.
References
Caldwell, N. (2016). A Corrections Officer on What Really Happens During Conjugal Visits. Thrillist. Web.
Lawton, L. (2020). Life In A Maximum Security Prison – Chapter 9: Episode 10. YouTube. Web.
Lawton, L., & Golenbock, P. (2012). Gangster Redemption: How America’s Most Notorious Jewel Robber Got Rich, Got Caught, and Got His Life Back on Track. Web.
Rothschild, M. (2019). Cruel and Unusual Prison Healthcare: A Look at the Arizona Class Action Litigation of Parsons v. Ryan and Systemic Deficiencies of Private Health Services in Prison. Arizona Law Review, 61. Web.
Santos, M. (2017). Atlanta Federal Prison USP. Prison Professors. Web.
USP Atlanta. (n.d.). Federan Bureau of Prisons. 2020. Web.