NCJ Number
105205
Date Published
1987
Length
159 pages
Annotation
This book discusses the history of penology in America, justification for the state's punishment of its citizens, the debate over the justice versus the rehabilitation model of corrections, the uses and abuses of imprisonment, and reliance on capital punishment.
Abstract
Following a definition of corrections and the rationale for studying penology, this book reviews the nature of crime and punishment, with attention to how penologists, philosophers, and others have justified the state's right to punish its citizens. The retributive, utilitarian, and rehabilitative perspectives of punishment are considered. An overview of the origins, historical development, and present status of penology in the United States presents figures on the volume of crimes in the United States and addresses the selective movement of cases through the criminal justice system, the number and characteristics of those currently under corrections supervision, and the resources used by corrections practitioners. A chapter reviews and critically assesses the debate between advocates of the justice and rehabilitative models of corrections. An examination of the purpose and effect of imprisonment concludes that prisons have a minimal effect in changing the attitudes, values, and behavior of inmates. The discussion of the death penalty aims at providing an objective assessment of the history, utility, and current legal status of capital punishment in the United States. Chapter discussion questions, notes, table of cases, subject index, and 174 references.