Controlling the Dangerous Classes : A History of Criminal Justice in America

Foreword by Michael Hallett ix Preface xiii 1 Perpetuating the Class System: The Development of Criminal Law 20 Introduction: Nature and Functions of Criminal Law 20 Criminal Law in Ancient Times 21 Emergence of Criminal Law in Athens 22 Criminal Law in Rome 22 Acephalous or Non-state Societies and Law 23 Criminal Law in Medieval Times 24 Emergence of Criminal Law in England 25 Criminal Law as an Ideological System of Legitimate Control 28 Emergence of the Concept of Crime 29 Two Case Studies: The Law of Theft and the Law of Vagrancy 30 Emergence of Criminal Law in America 34 Racism and the Law 36 An Illustrative Case: The Tramp Acts 41 Controlling the Dangerous Classes: Drug Laws as an Example 42 Crack versus Powder Cocaine 49 The Impact of the Drug Laws Passed in the 1980's 56 Whose Interest Does the Law Serve? 58 Notes 62 2 The Development of the Police Institution: Controlling the Dangerous Classes 66 Early Police Systems 66 The Emergence of the Police Institution in England 68 The Metropolitan Police of London 70 Sir Robert Peel 72 The Development of the Police Institution in the United States 74 An Illustrative Case: Buffalo, New York 76 The Rise and Growth of Private Policing 79 The Growth of the Police Institution in the 20th Century 81 The Progressive Era 82 Police Reforms During the Progressive Era 85 New Developments in Private Policing 86 Policing the Ghetto in the 1960's 88 Police Corruption: A Continuing Problem 89 Still Controlling the Dangerous Classes: The "War on Drugs" 98 Notes 201 3 Processing the Dangerous Classes: The American Court System 102 Introduction 102 The Development of the Modern Court System: The Colonial System 105 Elite Dominance of the Legal Profession in Colonial America 106 Processing Criminal Cases: The Justice of the Peace in Colonial America 107 Upholding Morality 108 Hunting for Witches and Religious Dissidents 109 After the Revolution: The Federal System and the Supreme Court 111 Post-Civil War Changes in the Court System 114 The Jail: Managing the Rabble 116 The 1960's: The Warren Court and the Reaffirmation of the Right to Counsel 118 Traditional vs. Radical-Criminal Trials 122 The Traditional Criminal Trial 122 Challenging the System: Radical-Criminal Trials 122 The St. Patrick's Four 126 The Modern Era: The War on Drugs and Racial Minorities 128 The Ultimate Sanction for the Dangerous Classes: The Death Penalty 138 Notes 143 4 Housing the Dangerous Classes: The Emergence and Growth of the Prison System 145 Part I: Early Developments of Imprisonment, 1600 to 1900 145 The Trafficking of Offenders: Forerunners of the Modern Prison Industrial Complex 147 Early Capitalism and the Emergence of the Workhouse 150 Late 18th Century Reforms and the Birth of the Prison System 152 The Development of the American Prison System 156 The Walnut Street Jail 156 The Pennsylvania and Auburn Systems of Penal Discipline 158 The Rise of the Reformatory 161 Convict Labor 163 Convict Leasing 164 Part II: Twentieth Century Developments in the American Prison System 168 Prison Reform During the Progressive Era 168 Inmate Self-Government 168 Classification, Diagnosis and Treatment: A New Prison Routine 169 The Decline in Prison Industries 171 The Big House 172 The Emergence of the Federal Prison System and the System of Corrections 173 The Federal Prison System 173 The System of Corrections 175 The Modern Era, 1980 to the Present: Warehousing and the New American Apartheid 177 The American Gulag 183 Some Concluding Thoughts 185 Notes 186 5 Controlling the Young: The Emergence and Growth of the Juvenile Justice System 188 Pre-19th Century Developments: The Invention of Childhood 189 A History of Childhood and Adolescence 190 Enter Childhood in the 17th Century 192 Parens Patriae and Stubborn Children 197 Defining a Juvenile Delinquent 199 The House of Refuge Movement 200 Conceptions of Delinquency: 1820 to 1860 202 The Fate of the Refuge Movement 203 Ex Parte Crouse: Court Decisions and Effects 204 The O'Connell Case 205 Mid-19th Century Reforms 206 The Fate of Mid-19th Century Reforms 211 The Child-Saving Movement and the Juvenile Court 212 Conceptions of Delinquency: 1860 to 1920 214 The Fate of the Child-Saving Movement 216 Twentieth-Century Developments in Juvenile Justice 218 Still Controlling Minorities and the Poor: Current Juvenile Justice Practices 219 Race, the War on Drugs and Referrals to Juvenile Court 220 Racial Composition of Juvenile Institutions 224 High Recidivism Rates and Scandals Persist 225 Notes 230 6 Perpetuating Patriarchy: Keeping Women in their Place 232 Women and the Law 232 Patriarchy and Images of Women 232 Punishing and Controlling Women 234 A History of Women's Prisons 236 The Emergence of Women's Reformatories 239 The Role of Racism 240 Controlling Women's Bodies and Sexuality 242 Girls and the Juvenile Justice System 244 Keeping Girls in their Place: The Development of Institutions for Girls 244 The Child-Saving Movement and the Juvenile Court 244 The Best Place to Conquer Girls 249 The Juvenile Court and the Double Standard of Juvenile Justice 250 Women and Criminal Justice Today 254 Sentencing Patterns, the War on Drugs and Women 255 An Outrageous Example: The Pregnancy Police 258 Women in Today's Prisons 261 Background Characteristics of Women in Prison 264 Notes 269 7 Crime Control in the New Millennium: New Mechanisms for Controlling the Dangerous Classes 270 The Crime Control Industry 272 Taking a Larger View: The Globalization of Crime Control 275 Millions Under Control of the State 276 The Prison-Industrial Complex: Cashing in on Crime 278 Prisons as a Market for Capitalism 278 Corporate Interests: The Role of ALEC 282 Reach Out and Touch Someone 283 Brother Can You Spare a Bed? 283 The California Correctional Officer's Union 284 Rural Prisons: Uplifting Rural Economies? 285 Some Downsides to Prison Expansion 289 Exploiting Prisoners to Enhance Rural Populations 292 Prison Labor: Auburn Plan Revisited 295 The Privatization of Prisons: More Profits for Private Industry 297 Some Serious Problems with Privatization 299 Private Security: Crime Is Good for Business 301 Other Components of the Crime Control Industry 303 Notes 304 8 Where Do We Go From Here? 306 The Importance of the Economy 307 American-Style Capitalism Is the Real Culprit 309 Downsizing and Outsourcing the American Dream and the Growing Surplus Population 313 The Growth and Perpetuation of the Surplus Population (Dangerous Classes) 318 So What Can I Do, You Ask? 323 Notes 325 References 327 Name Index 350 Subject Index 359