Controlling
the Dangerous Classes
A History of CriminalJustice in America
SECOND EDITION
Randall G. Shelden
University ofNevada-Las Vegas
Foreword by Michael Hallett
Boston • New York • San Francisco
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Foreword by Michael Hallett ix Preface xiü
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
Emergenceof 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 1980s 56
Whose Interest Does the Law Serve? 58
Notes 62
2 The Development ofthe Police Institution:
Controlling the Dangerous Classes 66
Early Police Systems 66
The Emergence ofthe Police Institution in England 68
The Metropolitan Police of London 70 Sir Robert Peel 72
The Development ofthe Police Institution in the United States 74
An Illustrative Case: Buffalo, New York 76
The Rise and Growth of Private Policing 79
The Growth ofthe 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 1960s 88
Police Corruption: A Continuing Problem 89
Still Controlling the Dangerous Classes:
The "War on Drugs" 98
Notes 101
J Processing the Dangerous Classes:
The American Court System 102
Introduction 102
The Development ofthe Modern Court System:
The Colonial System 105
Elite Dominance of the Legal Profession in Colonial America 106 Processing Criminal Cases: The Justice ofthe 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 1960s: The Warren Court and the Reaffirmation ofthe
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 Sanctionfor the Dangerous Classes:
The Death Penalty 138
Notes 143
Housing the Dangerous Classes: The Emergence
and Growth ofthe Prison System 145
Part I: Early Developments of Imprisonment, 1600 to 1900 145
The Trafficking ofOffenders: Forerunners ofthe Modern
Prison Industrial Complex 147
Early Capitalism and the Emergence ofthe Workhouse 150
Late 18th Century Reforms and the Birth ofthe Prison
System 152
The Development ofthe 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 TheBigHouse 172
The Emergence ofthe 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
ofthe 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 ofRefuge 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
0 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
TheRoleofRacism 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
1 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 ofthe Crime Control Industry 303
Notes 304
8 Where Do We Go From Here? 306
The Importance ofthe Economy 30 7
American-Style Capitalism Is the Real Culprit 309
Downsizing and Outsourcing the American Dream and the Growing Surplus Population 313
The Growth and Perpetuation ofthe Surplus Population (Dangerous Classes) 318
So What Can I Do, You Ask? 323 Notes 325