Prisons in America Essay Example

the fastest growing industries in the U.S (Pelaez par.4). The start of the prison industry began in the 18th century. First prisons in the U.S were established as “penitentiaries” (Sperry 1). Prisons were among the first public buildings built in the new world.

In the 18th century, people who couldn’t afford to pay their debts were used as force labor and the time spent working in prison was an alternative way to pay off their debt. Prisons also have been used to lock away political dissidents, the mentally ill, and prisoners of war. The eighteenth century is an interesting era in the history of capital punishment. Crime was much more

Pinzon 2 prevalent due to the development of early capitalism, the rise of trade, and the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution, which transformed the economy (Lynch par.5). By the late