introduction to corrections

There are roughly 2.3 million people in jails and prisons in the United States today. Using all of the assigned readings from Weeks 1-7, tell a story: explain how US prisons and jails came to be in the first place, and why we have so many prisons and prisoners in the present day.

To receive full credit, you must reference each reading seriously, engaging with its strengths and weaknesses. This means using the strengths of one reading to offset the weaknesses of another. Explain why you make these decisions. You may also cite lectures. Write no less than 800 words. There’s not necessarily a right or wrong answer – only answers that are well-argued and backed up by using all these texts, and answers that are not.