Federal Prison Comparison

Introduction

Prisons are institutions that are specially set aside for the confinement of people in legal detentions, especially those who have been convicted for crimes. There are different types of prisons in various countries around the globe, but in the United States, there are at least seven types of prisons which include, federal prisons, state prisons, jails, rehabilitation prisons, minimum security, medium security and maximum security prisons. This document will, however, focus on federal prisons to give an elaborate view of the various types of this category of prisons. Additionally, the document will make a close examination of some individuals of the federal crimes and sent to federal prisons. At the very end of the document, a brief description of prisons for women and a comparison of women’s prisons to those for juveniles and men will be provided.

Prison types

The Federal Bureau of Prisons, which operates federal prisons, does so at five different security levels with an aim of confining offenders in the most appropriate manner. To start with, minimum security institutes are characterized by dormitory housing, somewhat a lesser number of staff as compared to that of the inmates, and a partial or absolutely no fencing (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2011). They are program and work oriented and they are normally located right adjacent to other bigger institutions or sometimes on military bases where the prisoners assist in serving the labor needs of those institutions. The Low security institutions are double-fenced perimeters, cubicle or dormitory housing, as well as a strong work and program constituents. As contrasted to the minimum security levels, the staff-to-inmate ratio is normally higher. The third type of the federal prisons is the medium security which has more reinforced perimeters, higher staff-to-inmate ratio as compared to the low security, increased internal controls, and a widespread variety of work, as well as treatment programs.

The forth type of federal prisons include the high security institutions. These have highly secured walls and reinforced perimeters, have the maximum staff-to-inmate ratio, close regulation of prison movement, and numerous as well as occupant, cell housing. The fifth type of federal prisons is the correctional complexes. These are institutions with diverse missions and protection levels and are located close to one another. One of the major advantages of these correction complexes is that they share offices, hence increasing efficiency. Other additional advantages are: they encourage vigilance awareness by making available extra resources within close proximity and there is enough security from different security branches.

Greatest Federal Criminals

Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart emerged to be an international magazine and television superstar through her renowned show, “Martha Stewart Living”, and a magazine of hers published under the same name. She was imprisoned in 2002 after being convicted of insincerity to researchers into insider operational charges (Woopidoo.com, 2011). She held a considerate share in a drug company, but committed a blunder of selling them before a certain bad announcement was made, that a certain drug had failed to be certified. These federal offences made the Judge order her to serve a five-month imprisonment and two years’ trial Friday. After her release, she was to serve another five months home confinement and gave a fine of $30,000. This was the minimal sentence that the judge would have been imposed, as per the federal sentencing guidelines.

Ivan Boesky

Ivan Boesky is an American stock dealer renowned for his position in a Wall Street insider trading outrage which took place in the United States amid 1980s. He worked as a financier who developed successful businesses through trading stock in organizations which were faced by financial difficulties (eNotes.com, 2011). Boesky, however, got involved in a financial fiddle by the use of the insider trading accumulating to billions of dollars. Following this scam, he was caught and put on trial. For these crimes, he was forced to pay fines of US $100 million and a prison sentence of three and a half years. Despite the fact that he was released after two years, he was completely banned from working with securities. His sentence was served at Lompoc Federal Prison camp located near Vandenberg Air Force Base that is in California.

Michael Milken

Michael Milken born, in 1964, is an American philanthropist and financier renowned for his responsibility in developing the market for junk bonds in the 1970s and 1980s, for his blameworthy appeal to multiply crime charges that had violated the US security laws for funding of the medical research. He was counted on the 98 counts of securities and racketeering scandal in 1989 following investigation by the insider trading (Woopidoo.com, 2011). He was sentenced to ten years imprisonment and several years of community service. Additionally, he got completely barred from the industry of securities, as well as the exchange commission. Afterwards, his sentence was reduced to less than two years after the leading judge reduced his term in connection to the confirmations against his previous social group and desirable manners.

Manuel Noriega

Born on February 11, 1934, Manuel Moreno is an ex-Panamanian soldier and politician from 1983 to 1989. During the invasion of Panama by the US in 1989, he was captured after being removed from power and detained as a prisoner of war. He was later tried on eight counts of racketeering, drug trafficking and cash laundering in 1992 (the Guardian, 2011). His sentence in the US ended in September 2007 and after that he was tried again in Paris and found guilty of murder in 1995, hence sentenced to an imprisonment of another seven years in July 2010. On September 23, 2011, a conditional release was given for Noriega to be imprisoned for 20 years in Panama. This sentence might have beeen served under the house arrest as per the Panama’s legal system and due to his age. In addition to this, US$3.6 million that has been long iced up in his French bank accounts were to be seized.

Timothy McVeigh

Timothy McVeigh was a US Army expert and security guard who exploded a truck bomb in the face of Alfred P. Murray Building in Oklahoma in April 1995. The left over 165 people dead and other over 800 individuals critically injured. The bombing was a sort of revenge against the federal government following the Waco Siege that had contributed to the deaths of 76 people. He was condemned of 11 federal crimes and a death sentence passed on him. The execution took place at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana on 11 June, 2001 (Fitzpatrick, 2011).

Terry Nichols, Al Capone and John Gotti

Terry Nichols was born on April 1, 1955 in Michigan. He is a convicted assassin, conspirator. While McVeigh was convicted for bombing Alfred P. Murray building and sentenced to death, Nichols was condemned of manslaughter and conspiring wit McVeigh. A life sentence was imposed on him for his horrific crimes (Bio.True Story, 2011). Al Capone, on the other hand, was an American criminal who led a crime syndicate. He led dangerous troops that committed many illegal activities such as prostitution, smuggling and breach of copyright, among others in 1920s. He was condemned of federal blames like tax evasion, and sentenced to federal imprisonment. He died on January 25, 1947 from cardiac complications after a long struggle with stroke (FBI, 2011).

John Gotti was an American gangster who became the leader of the Gambino crime family. Though being brought up in poverty, he had rose to prominence after engaging in a life of crime in his tender age. In 1992, he was convicted of racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder, five murders, illegal gambling, obstruction of justice, loan sharking, tax evasion and extortion. This earned him a life imprisonment exclusive of parole and was transferred to the US Penitentiary, Marion. He died of the throat cancer on June 10, 2002 (Bio-True story, 2011).

Women in Prisons

Various researches have been carried out to establish the status of women prisons. First, it is worth noting that the number of women in prisons in the United States is far less than the total population of people in prisons in the country. Out of a population of 2.5 million inmates, the number of women is less than 5 percent of the total value (Kravitz, 2010). However, due to the progressive rise in figures for women inmates over the past couple of years, this value is expected to rise significantly in the future. Therefore, authorities that are in charge have the responsibility of ensuring that these facilities are enough to avoid possible congestion in the future.

Women inmates are usually well looked after by the prison administrators. Nevertheless, they constitute majorly the young women and from minority groups in the society. It has been observed throughout history that women have been imprisoned for offenses that vary from those of their male counterparts. They are normally put in prison for property and drug offenses that are not violent (Kravitz, 2010). Women are more attached to their children and therefore, they remain a critical component of their lives, even if they are in prison. Since the inception of prisons, the idea was intended for punishing men and as a result, little attention was given to specific requirements of women. Despite the fact that the number of women prisoners continues to grow, little has been done to improve their wellbeing in the prisons (Kravitz, 2010). This encourages propagation of neglect that has all along been associated with prisons for women.

It has been established that women are more likely to harm themselves in prisons than men. Therefore, they need more attention than male inmates. Also, pregnant and HIV positive women in prisons require more care and attention. This implies that there is a need for improvement of quality of nutrition for female inmates (Kravitz, 2010). Additionally, higher standards of hygiene are essential for this vulnerable group in the prisons, especially pregnant women.