Women in Prison. The Writer

¶ … women in prison. The writer explores the history of the prison system, past, present and future while explaining the history and the historical aspects of the system. There were two sources used to complete this paper.

For several years the American public has demanded prison reform by way of stronger sentences and longer terms. In addition to those changes the public has supported an increase in more females going to prison than ever before. Women in prison is not a new phenomona however until the mid 19th century it was rare to send a woman to a prison. Because it was such a rarity the females were housed with the males in a general prison as there were no female prisons to send them to.

At one time a woman could be sent to prison for having a love affair outside of her marriage, however, things have changed dramatically throughout history and today, women are sent to prison for the same offenses that men are sent to prison. In the effort to reform future prisons that will house women it is important to understand the history of women in prisons in America.

For one to fully understand the importance of changing the way women prison's are handled in the future it is important to understand how the prisons got started and what their history has been, for it is only through history can society learn from mistakes and make changes.

In many areas of the nation female prisons were incarcerated with male inmates. Primarily during the 19th century this was a common occurrence however, by the late 1890's most states had instituted separate inmate facilities for females who were sentenced to be incarcerated (Dodge, 1999).

For the most part society had less respect for female inmates and criminals than it did its male inmates and criminals according to records that were kept at various prisons around the country. The first Illinois female prisoner in the state system was in 1835,. Her name was Sally Jefferson and she was sentenced for arson. She was pardoned within six weeks however her stay alerted officials of a coming trend, women in prison.

In the ante-bellum years women constituted only 2.0% of those sentenced to the penitentiary, increasing slightly to 2.4% between 1860 and 1900. As their numbers grew, prison officials were increasingly confronted with the contradictory problems of providing for and managing their female charges within the confines of male prisons. It was not until 1896 that many states established separate women's prisons (Dodge, 1999)."

For the most part the female prisons are built nearby or next door to the men's prisons for ease of supervision and sharing of manpower and supplies.

History records the introduction of female prisons as a progressive move to reduce the incidences of corporal and capital punishment. In the early years of civilization and society women who were deemed criminals were often murdered by their own townspeople or beaten by husbands or court officials as their punishment. By the 19th century however, society had evolved to a point that such cruelty and unequal punishment for women who committed crimes was deemed unfair and women began getting sentenced to prison alongside the men.

Once females began entering the nation's prison system experts who studied their existence agreed that society viewed female prisoners with more contempt than any other population including male prisoners (Shatell, 2004).

Women in prison were often exposed to sexual abuse by their male supervisors. There were rapes, beatings and sexual favors for the return of food or clothing in many of the nation's female penitentiaries.

One prison chaplain who was visiting women in the New York prison system recorded in his diary the hardships of women in prisons during that period of American history (Dodge, 1999).

To be a male convict in this prison would be quite tolerable; but to be a female convict, for any protracted period, would be worse than death (Dodge, 1999)."

Prison officials routinely ignored any need of female prisoners and instead complained about the experiences they had supervising a female population.

As the female population of prisoners grew however, families and loved ones of those in prison began to demand change.

For the last century there have been many changes implemented in the female prison system.

Today, there are facilities for women prisoners who are expecting babies. There are educational tools so that female prisoners can achieve their GED status and begin training for a career to enter upon their release (Shatell, 2004).

Many prisons for women have different mental health protocol and therapies than the men prisons have to accommodate the unique needs of women.

Because children suffer when their mothers are taken from them and put in prison many facilities allow a woman who gives birth in a prison to keep the baby with her for the baby's first year. As the baby bonds with the mother is also being taught job and social skills so that when she is released she can become a productive member of society and be reunited with her children.

The trend in female prisons is to move toward a less clinical atmosphere and move toward a more caring and compassionate approach. While there will always be prisons that will house the most dangerous criminals that happen to be female for the most part the nurturing of females is a trend that will be seen more as time goes on (Shatell, 2004).