I. INTRODUCTION

In the past thirty years, the United States has moved into a "get tough on crime" era. This can be seen through many enactments and sentencing policies, that have been created since 1980. While crime rates overall have been going down, we have seen a massive increase in the U.S. prison populations, causing large financial and social burdens. This paper will analyze this increase, and the sentencing initiatives behind it.

II. HISTORY

Internationally, prison is the term used for the institutions that hold those who have been convicted of a serious offense. In the United States however, the term prison refers to the state and federal institutions where offenders are sent for a year or more, after sentencing. Most people use the terms ‘jail' and ‘prison' interchangeably, a jail however is a temporary holding cell where an offender is placed during trial. Below is a brief history of the development of the American penal system.

A. Solitary System

The......

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Title: Analysis Of The United States Prison System
Approximate Word Count: 1694
Approximate Pages: 7 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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