Question 1

One way that criminals were punished in the American colonies was through _____, which included being placed into stocks.

Accepted Answer

Public shaming was a common form of punishment in the American colonies, and being placed in stocks was one method used to achieve this. It was intended to humiliate the offender in front of the community.

Question 2

It was not until the _____ that prisons began to reflect the influence of medicine and social sciences.

Accepted Answer

In the 1900s, the influence of medicine and social sciences began to shape the approach to prisons, focusing more on rehabilitation and understanding criminal behavior.

Question 3

In the middle of the 20th century, with _____ as the chief justice of the Supreme Court, civil liberties were expanded to include society's least powerful groups: prison inmates, racial minorities, women, and children.

Accepted Answer

Earl Warren served as the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1953 to 1969. His tenure is noted for landmark decisions that expanded civil rights and liberties, including those for marginalized groups.

Question 4

Several major studies have determined that about 14% of the prison population suffer from a serious mental illness. Whether a prisoner receives treatment for a mental disorder is at the discretion of:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Several major studies have determined that about...

Question 5

Since the early 1990s, the United States has experienced a dramatic drop in both violent and property crimes. Despite this drop:

Accepted Answer

The United States maintains a high rate of incarceration despite the significant decrease in crime rates since the early 1990s. This is due to various factors, including long sentences and policies that do not necessarily adjust dynamically to the changing crime rates.

Question 6

The prison population is highly racially disproportionate to the general population. _____ males have a 29% chance of serving at least 1 year in prison or jail during their lifetime, whereas the same chance for white males is about 5%. The prison population is also highly disproportionate to the general population in terms of gender distribution. Nearly 93% of prisoners in state and federal prisons are _____.

Accepted Answer

Black males have a significantly higher likelihood of serving time in prison compared to white males, and the vast majority of the prison population consists of men, not women.

Question 7

Several factors have been boosting prison populations across the United States. Which one of the following factors is not among them?

Accepted Answer

Increased use of alternatives to incarceration, such as probation, community service, and electronic monitoring, is aimed at reducing prison populations, not boosting them.

Question 8

The most future-oriented goal of imprisonment is _____ since almost all prisoners will be released back into free society and will need help becoming law-abiding citizens.

Accepted Answer

Rehabilitation is the most future-oriented goal of imprisonment, focusing on preparing inmates to reintegrate into society as law-abiding citizens after their release.

Question 9

After the American Revolution, a movement to change how criminals were punished began, in an attempt to move away from laws that had been established in England. Instead of beating and killing, the new country decided to rely on:

Accepted Answer

After the American Revolution, there was a significant shift in the penal system of the United States towards incarceration. This movement aimed to reform the criminal justice system by focusing on imprisonment as a means of punishment and rehabilitation, moving away from the more brutal and public forms of punishment that had been prevalent under British rule.

Question 10

Prisons were formed to change criminals into productive members of society. However, this goal is at odds with the other goals of imprisonment, such as retribution and incapacitation. According to the text, failure to improve the social skills of criminals, as well as the generally unpleasant nature of prisons, often leaves ex-convicts:

Accepted Answer

The text suggests that the failure to improve social skills and the unpleasant nature of prisons often result in ex-convicts becoming angrier and more aggressive, indicating that the rehabilitative goal of prisons is not being met effectively.

Question 11

Sam has been in prison before and, after his release, he promised to himself that he would never do anything that can land him in prison again. This illustrates one of the goals of imprisonment called:

Accepted Answer

Specific deterrence aims to prevent an individual who has already committed an offense from committing further offenses in the future. Sam's decision to avoid actions that could lead him back to prison after his release is an example of specific deterrence, as his previous experience with imprisonment has deterred him from engaging in criminal behavior again.

Question 12

Several U.S. states have very high incarceration rates. Which one is not among them?

Accepted Answer

New York is not among the U.S. states with the very high incarceration rates when compared to states like Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, which have some of the highest incarceration rates in the country.

Question 13

Early in the history of America, crimes ran the gamut in terms of transgressions. In addition to the more serious crimes of assault, rape, and murder, certain moral transgressions used to be punishable by law. The criminalized moral transgressions included all of the following, EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Laziness, while frowned upon, was not criminalized in the same way as witchcraft, adultery, and blasphemy were during various periods in early American history. Witchcraft, adultery, and blasphemy were considered serious moral transgressions and were punishable by law, reflecting the strong influence of religious and moral beliefs on legal codes at the time.

Question 14

Since the 1980s, the United States has incarcerated people at a rate approximately _____ than that of other industrialized nations.

Accepted Answer

Since the 1980s, the United States has incarcerated people at a rate that is significantly higher than that of other industrialized nations, with figures often cited as being five times higher.

Question 15

The United States currently incarcerates a _____ for a _____ any other industrialized democracy in the world.

Accepted Answer

The United States incarcerates a larger percentage of its population for longer periods of time than any other industrialized democracy in the world.

Question 16

During the 1820s, prisons in Pennsylvania and New York were designed to be rehabilitative in nature. Rehabilitation was supposed to be achieved by _____ and _____.

Accepted Answer

During the 1820s, the Pennsylvania and New York prison systems focused on rehabilitation through isolation and strict routines. The idea was that solitude and a regimented schedule would encourage reflection and moral reform, differing significantly from group activities or social interactions.

Question 17

In the early 1800s, a move away from attributing a religious cause to criminal behavior, such as individuals _____, occurred. The more secular approach recognized that the cause might _____.

Accepted Answer

In the early 1800s, there was a shift from attributing criminal behavior to religious or innate evilness to considering societal influences as potential causes.

Question 18

It has been estimated that approximately _____ of prisoners have at least one other family member who has been incarcerated. More than _____ of prisoners have not completed high school.

Accepted Answer

Studies indicate that about 40% of prisoners have at least one other family member who has been incarcerated, and more than half of prisoners have not completed high school.

Question 19

One of the main problems with the new prisons in the United States in the mid-1800s was that, in addition to being expensive and impractical, the extreme isolation often caused prisoners to become:

Accepted Answer

The extreme isolation in new prisons during the mid-1800s in the United States often led to mental health issues among prisoners, with insanity being a notable consequence.

Question 20

In the mid-1800s, U.S. prisons were holding a large number of recent immigrants. Among them, there was a disproportionate number of _____ immigrants. One reason that these inmates did not have much sympathy from the general population was the common bigotry, or a belief that these immigrants were _____.

Accepted Answer

In the mid-1800s, Irish immigrants faced significant prejudice and were often viewed as morally and intellectually inferior by the broader American society. This bigotry contributed to their disproportionate representation in prisons and a lack of sympathy from the general population.

Quiz 16: Corrections: Sentencing, Imprisonment, and Alternatives