Corrections_Essay

Corrections Essay In this essay I will attempt to explore the differences between colonial and Jacksonain views on punishment, crime, and incarceration and the social, historical and economic factors that contributed to the shift in ideological thinking. Colonials felt that crime and religion went directly hand and hand. The colonial thought was that you were born a criminal and a crime or sin was a sure sign of the devil. Colonials felt the offender was deemed evil by the devil and therefore could not be treated or rehabilitated. Colonists believed in a self policing strategy, therefore everyone were on look out for a sinner or a criminal. Punishments in the colonial time included fines, whippings, mechanisms of shame, banishment, and for gallows. Often colonists were very narrow minded and cruel. Many colonists felt expulsion was a good means of deterrence “out of sight out of mind”. There were a large amount of capital offenses and courts were not reluctant to inflict the penalty. Jails did scarcely exist in the colonial period but had only limited functions. They held persons about to be tried or awaiting sentence or unable to discharge contracted debts. Colonist jails closely resembled the household structure and inmates wore no felt, punishment, colonial, crime, colonist, became, therefore, out, offender, enlightenment, criminal, colonists, very, self, rehabilitated, rehabilitate, punishments, policing, penalty, offenses, men, limited, jacksonians, inmates, incarceration, humane, hand, forms, family, directly, devil, deterrence, community, colonials, born, jacksonians