The criminal situation in the world has changed greatly. The violence, murders and other criminal actions are committed every day, and police is doing everything to catch criminals and to take them in jail. There are a lot of jails on the territory of the United States of America which are aimed to hold criminals under the guard. Shawangunk Prison is considered to be one of the most secured places for male criminals. This prison is almost impossible to escape from, and the most dangerous criminals are staying there.
The prison is situated in the peaceful rural valley of Wallkill in New York. More than half of the prisoners, that is 56%, are serving life sentences. The jail has its own government, which consists of approximately 10 – 14 people, who are called the Men’s Council of Shawangunk. The leader of this group is Harris Breiman, 40 years old. His strong consideration is that criminals in jails should not just be bodies in the warehouse, but should come through the rehabilitation, what is happening in his prison right now. The prison is aimed to help people to understand the badness of their actions and to improve (Sabo et al 2001).
The prison was created in 1983 and was ready for exploitation in 1986. The prison is situated close to the Wallkill Correctional Facility in order to share the services and with this aim to reduce the expenses. The prison is full of murders, violent criminals and others, who committed terrible crimes. Minor burglars, dunkers, drag sellers do not appear in the malls of Shawangunk Prison, as their actions are too small to keep them in the prison of such destination. Only the most severe and cruel crimes are punished by Shawangunk Prison.
As it was already mentioned, the prison is impossible to escape from, in spite of the fact that there were some incidents. The New York Times from November 8, 1994 announces that four men were trying to escape. They managed to avoid the high level of security and leave the walls of Shawangunk Prison. Fortunately, they were caught that very night (Steinberg, 1994). That situation was the first since the prison existing, when criminals managed to leave the prison themselves, but still their escape did not any success. Since that last attempt to escape has passed 15 years and no other same cases appeared, that says about real high level of the security in the prison.
Considering the situation about the programs, which are provided in the prison, and the Harris Breiman’s way of rehabilitation of criminals, it necessary to mention that criminals in prison do not stay without work. They are busy with plumbing, electricity, carpentry or any other facilities which may help them in future life if they are sentenced for some time, or just to occupy them with any job if they are sentenced for life. Work ennobles, so it is crucial for prisoners to work as idleness leads to brain inactivity and people may want to provide some criminal actions.
So, Shawangunk Prison is one of the most secured prisons in the United States of America and people are really scared when they see it. In spite of the very strong discipline and severe rules, the Shawangunk Prison has an aim to rehabilitate people who appeared there, to shift their way of thinking and to make them feel sorry for their wrong life conduction. Any prison is an awful place and as one writer said that prison is a place where “you hear about friend’s divorce and you did not know that he was married” (Christianson 2006-49).
Works Cited
- Christianson, Scott. Innocent: Inside Wrongful Conviction Cases. NYU Press, 2006
- Sabo, Donald F., Kupers, Terry Allen, and London, Willie James. Prison masculinities. Temple University Press, 2001
- Steinberg, Jacques. 4 Men Caught After Fleeing State Prison Tuesday. New York Times. 1994