This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
This Website Uses Cookies
By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn More
This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
Architectural Record
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Subscribe
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Architectural Record
  • NEWS
    • Latest News
    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Technology
    • Interviews
    • Commentary
    • Reviews
    • Editorials
  • PROJECTS
    • Building Types
    • Adaptive Reuse
    • Museums & Arts Centers
    • Colleges & Universities
    • Interior Design
    • Lighting
    • Kitchen & Bath
  • HOUSES
    • Record Houses
    • House of the Month
    • Featured Houses
  • PRODUCTS
    • Material World Newsletter
    • Categories
    • Products of the Year
    • Sponsored Products
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
      • Sponsored Podcasts
      • Design:ED Podcast
    • Historic Archive
    • Design Vanguard
    • Record Interiors
    • Top 300 Firms
    • Products of the Year
    • Best Architecture Schools
  • SUBMIT WORK
    • Record Products 2022
    • Guess the Architect
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Editorial Calendar
  • CONTINUING ED
    • Editorial Continuing Ed
    • CE Center
    • CE Topic Academies
  • EVENTS
    • Record on the Road
    • Innovation Conference
    • Women In Architecture
    • Webinars
    • Ad Excellence Awards
    • Submit an Event
  • MORE
    • CONTACT
      • Masthead
      • Customer Service
      • Subscribe
      • Custom Content Marketing
    • Advertise
    • Newsletters
    • Store
    • Custom Content Marketing
    • Research
    • Sponsor Insights
    • Sponsored eBooks
  • MAGAZINE
    • Digital Edition
    • Historic Archive
    • Subscribe
    • Customer Service
    • My Account
    • Current Issue
Home » Architecture and Prison Reform

You have 0 Articles Left This Month. Join RECORD Premium for Unlimited Access.

Commentary & Criticism

Architecture and Prison Reform

March 4, 2019
Jerry Adler
KEYWORDS prisons
Order Reprints
One Comment

"No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails,” Nelson Mandela once said—and who should know better?—except perhaps Dostoevsky, who said the same thing a century earlier. By that standard, the justice system of the United States, with more people behind bars than any other country in the world, doesn’t even measure up to the society under which Mandela lived, which in 1993 locked up its citizens at a rate of 368 per 100,000, compared to 655 in the U.S. as of 2016. The U.S. even imprisons black men at a higher rate than South Africa did under apartheid.

But the number of Americans in jails and prisons—around 2.2 million—is now at a 20-year low and still falling, as crime declines and the FIRST STEP Act, signed by President Trump in December, has cracked open the door to parole for victims of the mandatory minimum sentencing laws passed in the 1990s. But the law only benefits people convicted of federal crimes; 90 percent of American prisoners are held in state prisons and local jails. Parallel efforts are under way in many states, including New York, where a report by a commission headed by former chief judge Jonathan Lippman has recommended reforms, including as a “top priority” ending cash bail. “Almost a third of the people admitted to jail are released within four days, suggesting that many should not have been jailed at all,” Lippman wrote.

You have 0 complimentary articles remaining.

Architectural Record Logo.

Unlimited access + premium benefits
for as low as $2/month.

Already a subscriber?Login Now or Register Your Email

What does an Architectural Record subscription include?

Privacy Policy

Related Articles

Westchester Reform Temple, Rogers Marvel Architects

How Isamu Noguchi Tried to Change a Japanese Prison Camp

Musical Chairs

Related Products

Ribbon Architecture Light, Shadow, and Reflection in Architecture

The Experience of Architecture

Movable Architecture: A Design Guide to Container Reuse

Subscription Center
  • Join Record Premium
  • My Account
  • Create Account
  • eNewsletter Subscriptions
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • Connect with AR

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Architectural Record audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep.

close
  • Marathon Oil Tower's ceiling.
    Sponsored byTamlyn

    Simple but Significant Detailing with Acoustical Trim

  • Union Square Station.
    Sponsored bySAFTI FIRST Fire Rated Glazing Solutions

    Let There Be Light: Fire Rated Glass Floor Brings Vision and Transparency to Union Square Station

  • Sonoma Raceway.
    Sponsored byHumboldt Sawmill

    Using Natural Wood in Hospitality Applications

DESIGN:ED Podcast
Listen to Architectural Record’s DESIGN:ED Podcast

Events

May 19, 2022

The Collision of AGILE and MESSY

NOW ON DEMAND

Credits: 1 AIA LU/HSW; 1 AIBD P-CE; 0.1 IACET CEU
May qualify for learning hours through most Canadian architectural associations

This presentation will explore fresh, new innovative concepts for appropriate systematic solutions, as well as guidelines and recommendations for the housing of these resources.

July 7, 2022

Comfort Meets Creativity: Designing for Wellness and Longevity with Sustainable Products and Cool Color Trend

Credits: 1 AIA LU/HSW; 1 AIBD P-CE; 0.1 IACET CEU
May qualify for learning hours through most Canadian architectural associations

This live webinar will explore the impact our interior surroundings have on wellness, longevity, and happiness.

View All Submit An Event

Popular Stories

LEAD Serra Glenstone.jpg

Thomas Phifer Designs Pavilion for Richard Serra at the Glenstone Museum

Obama lead.jpg

At the 2022 AIA Conference, Obama Offers Timely Advice for Architects

Amagansett Dune House.

Ryall Sheridan Architects Crafts a Seaside Retreat on Long Island

Keynote speakers

AIA Holds 2022 Conference in Chicago

RIBA.jpg

The UK's RIBA Must Become an "Activist Organization"

Tall Buildings Symposium - Free Webinar - June 15, 2022 - 1:00 PM and 2:30 PM EDT

The latest news and information

#1 Source for Architectural Design, News and Products

JOIN NOW
  • Contact
    • Survey And Sample
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Industry Jobs
  • Call for Entries
  • Subscribe
    • Subscribe
    • Renew
    • Create Account
    • Change Address
    • Pay My Bill
    • Free eNewsletters
    • Customer Care
  • Advertise
    • Architectural Record
    • Advertising Awards
  • Privacy
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2022. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing