Notes Documentary Angola Prison
Hope support and belief in redemption of the warden of Americas toughest prison challenges popular thinking about prisoners as incapable of positive personal change o The will to survive and the resilience of the human spirit o Self-driven education o Leadership and mentoring o Deepened spiritual faith o Deepened sense of personal responsibility for criminal behavior Angola as the only family one has ever known ( the elderly prisoner who chooses to be buried at Angola) The fact of prison as a primary social support highlights: o The grim legacy of racism and poverty in the South o Gross over representation of blacks, poor men o Lack of policies that address persistence poverty and racial segregation Post Civil War Prisons: The South Penitentiary system was wiped out by war new slaves states tried to compensate by leasing out prisoners to companies souths agrarian economy exploited cheap labor large portion of prisoners were from the plantations with little influence or resources prison farms were an outgrowth of the plantation The 20th century the and rise of the Industrial Prison the industrial prisons were based upon the extension of early factory workshops industries became an important factor in prisoner rehabilitation from 1900-1940, inmate population increased 174% Prison Industry v. Organized Labor 2 federal acts to eliminate prison industry o Hawes Cooper Act sale of prison made goods o Amherst Summers Act of 1935 o 1940 Amherst Summers Act amended to prohibit all interstate shipment of prison goods Great Depression led to 33 states passing laws that prohibited sale of goods o Needed jobs for good citizens not criminals The Enduring Impact of the Great Depression (1935-1960) Depression and criminal excesses hardened the public to rehabilitation J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI, and the cream puff school of criminology Alcatraz = 1st supermax prison built Modern Era 1960 Forward Turbulent 60s civil rights movement, women o Assassinations of JFK, MLK, and RFK o Supreme court = primary agent of change
Politicians and media nurtured inaccurate stereotypes of offenders Since 1980, prisoner numbers have climbed