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Human Sacrifice, Capital Punishment, Prisons & Justice: The Function and Failure of Punishment and Search for Alternatives
Menschenopfer, Todesstrafe, Gefängnisse und Justiz: Funktion und Scheitern des Strafens und die Suche nach Alternativen
[journal article]
Abstract The history of prisons and methods of incarceration has been a subject of interest and popular distraction since the great European reform movement in the 19th century. Critics (e.g., Foucault 1977) have concentrated their efforts on demonstrating that the ends achieved in the design of prisons and ... view more
The history of prisons and methods of incarceration has been a subject of interest and popular distraction since the great European reform movement in the 19th century. Critics (e.g., Foucault 1977) have concentrated their efforts on demonstrating that the ends achieved in the design of prisons and methods of correction have had effects outside of the prison walls in the daily lives of free and innocent citizens, both in the loss of privacy due to increased police surveillance and in the creation of a population of criminals and personnel of the criminal justice system in an integrated culture. Whether we view a society regimented by a uniform ideology like the Soviet Union or one with a less systematic one like the USA, the effects are clear. This paper examines the practice and ideology of prisons, in historical context and in cross-cultural analysis. Worldwide incarceration of people takes up an increasing amount of state budgets and targets in many cases minorities or ethnic groups. This has economic effects on society at large and specifically those minorities as well as repressing the incomes of sectors of cities. Public health is impacted as is education and inequality enhanced. Prisons and punishment differ historically in the same culture and between cultures. The goal of punishment and discipline in society has many forms, to control certain populations, to enrich others and to define certain behaviors and people as dangerous. Inevitably we want to know, can we do without prisons in complex society? Is our system of punishment accelerating the collapse of social capital in America and social cohesion?... view less
Keywords
imprisonment; judiciary; penalty; correctional institution; criminality; intercultural comparison; historical development; prosecution; criminal law; death penalty; penalty assessment; violence; drug-related crime; political prisoner; deviant behavior; nineteenth century
Classification
Social History, Historical Social Research
Criminal Sociology, Sociology of Law
Free Keywords
human sacrifice
Document language
English
Publication Year
2016
Page/Pages
p. 322-346
Journal
Historical Social Research, 41 (2016) 4
DOI
https://doi.org/10.12759/hsr.41.2016.4.322-346
ISSN
0172-6404
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed