So, you’ve committed a crime.
Save the reasons for your next appeal, because
you’ve already been tried, convicted, and
sentenced to a term in prison.
The question now is which prison you’ll
be sentenced to – state or federal prison.
Aren’t all prisons created equal, you wonder?
Well, there I’m afraid, you’d be terribly
wrong.
We’re going to tell you about all the differences
between state and federal prisons.
What they are, what gets you admitted, what
the general experience is like inside, and
which one you’d prefer to serve your sentence
in.
First, let’s take a look at state prisons.
These are, as the name suggests, government
prisons run by the state in which they’re
located.
Referred to as “State Penitentiaries”
in Pennsylvania and most Southern states,
these jails are intended for criminals who
committed minor to major crimes within a single
state.
They’re tried by state judges, in state
courts.
And the care of state prisoners and the maintenance
of the prisons themselves are funded by taxpayers
within the given state.
State prisons also make up the grand majority
of prison facilities in the United States,
as state crimes are significantly more common
than federal.
To give you some perspective, there are 122
federal prisons operated by the Bureau of
Prisons in the United States.
For comparison, there are 1,719 state prisons.
Between them, they manage 1,518,559 inmates.
1,328,599 of these are state prison inmates.
State prisons also more commonly offer the
possibility of parole, and – on average
– have lower sentences than their federal
counterparts.
The exact workings of a state prison can sometimes
vary from state to state, and these prisons
are significantly more likely to admit violent
criminals – such as murderers, sex criminals,
and people found guilty of most gun-related
offenses.
In spite of this, state prisons generally
have a lower standard of security than federal
prisons.
Some state prisons are even run by private
companies contracted by the state authorities,
because the problem of overcrowding in state
prisons has required the intervention of outside
help.
There are three different types of state prison
facility: Minor, Medium, and Maximum-security
prisons.
Some of these prisons even have the facilities
to execute prisoners, in states that still
practice Capital Punishment like Texas and
North Carolina.
Due to their overpopulation problems, these
prisons are often underfunded, understaffed,
and pretty dangerous.
Getting hundreds or even thousands of violent
offenders together in poor living conditions
is a recipe for disaster.
Prison mortality rates and suicides have been
on the uptick since 2010, and prison riots
are also a constant risk.
Recently, tensions boiled over at the Mississippi
State Penitentiary in Parchman, Mississippi.
Brutal gang violence broke out, killing five
inmates and allowing a further two to escape.
Conditions in these state jails are often
shoddy – with filthy cells and low-quality
cafeteria meals.
The ACLU has even presented lawsuits against
state prisons on the grounds of inhumane treatment,
physical and sexual violence, and racial discrimination.
Because 20% of all US prison inmates are convicted
for drug offences – and the grand majority
of these inmates end up in state prisons – state
prison populations are often disproportionately
made up of minorities.
This, in turn, is because mass drug incarceration
disproportionately targets minorities to begin
with.
Non-violent drug offenders end up shoulder
to shoulder with violent criminals, creating
huge risks to their safety.
This is only the tip of the iceberg in terms
of the horrific conditions faced in a lot
of state prisons, particularly in the South.
The civil rights division of the Justice Department
investigated a number of state prisons in
Alabama and their findings were deeply disturbing:
Prisoners left face-down, dead in their cells,
for so long that their faces rotted and flattened.
There was other evidence that prisoners had
been tied up and tortured for days on end.
Attacks included a prisoner being doused with
shaving cream so dangerously hot that it left
the prisoner with second-degree chemical burns.
And a prisoner having industrial bleach poured
onto their skin, before being beaten senseless
with a broom handle.
According to Justice Department reports, some
Alabama state prisons have murder rates at
eight times the national average.
The lack of funding also means that security
standards have slipped, with prisoners sneaking
in contraband like drugs and improvised weapons.
These same Justice Department reports have
reported rudimentary improvised knives, guns,
hammers, and even small swords.
Sexual violence also runs rife in many state
prisons, with guards underqualified or simply
unwilling to intervene and help.
In order to make up for being understaffed,
state prisons often force guards to work gruelling
hours for very little pay.
Fusing exhausted, understaffed prison guards
with frustrated, overcrowded and often violent
prisoners creates a dangerous powder keg.
Federal investigators described the violations
of prisoners Eighth Amendment Rights as “severe,
systemic, and exacerbated.”
Even the most well-staffed prisons often only
operate with seventy-five percent of the staff
necessary to properly run the facilities and
attend to the prisoners.
Many state prisons are basically an accident
waiting to happen, and the staff of these
prisons are rarely able to contain the results
of these accidents.
Even worse, with very little state government
oversight, corrupt and poorly-trained prison
guards are often responsible for the violence
and abuse.
State prisons are often criticised for their
collaboration with private prison companies,
such as the Corrections Corporation of America
and the GEO Group, Inc.
The stated objective of State Prisons is to
rehabilitate inmates and reintroduce them
into society.
However, through prison violence and gang
activity, prisoners admitted for non-violent
offences often end up being transformed into
hardcore crooks.
While this could easily seem like an accidental
result of the previously mentioned understaffing
and mismanagement issues, there have been
accusations of a profit motivation.
Because these private prison companies receive
government subsidies based on the number of
inmates housed, these companies benefit from
large inmate populations and high recidivism
rates.
So, if you’re unlucky enough to get sent
to a state prison, you better hope it’s
a short term and that you’ve got an excellent
attorney.
Because you’re at risk of experiencing dehumanising
and unsanitary conditions, violence from both
other prisoners and the guards, and the damaging
effects of gang activity.
Government oversight bodies like the Department
of Justice and activist groups like the Equal
Justice Initiatives have campaigned for state
prison reform, in order to end mass incarceration
and improve the treatment of prisoners.
But until these groups win their hard-fought
battles for justice, state prisons are probably
going to remain horrible places to be.
This brings us to the other subject of today’s
video: Federal prisons.
What exactly is a federal prison?
Well, the clue is in the name.
Established under the Hoover administration
in the 1930s, Federal prisons are reserved
for criminals who’ve broken federal laws
– such as one or more of the following examples.
Crimes taking place on federal land or crimes
committed against federal officers.
A crime involving the crossing of state lines.
Immigrations and customs violations.
And a grand majority of financial crimes,
like fraud, embezzlement, and identity theft.
Violations of federal law tend to be less
violent than state crimes, and this difference
is also often reflected in the facilities
themselves.
Federal prisons are run by the Federal Bureau
of Prisons (or BOP), a government body under
the Department of Justice.
The BOP is typically allocated a yearly budget
of around $6.5 billion.
Divided between the Bureau’s fewer than
200 facilities, this results in far better
funding for each facility than their state-run
counterparts.
This often results in better-quality buildings,
living conditions, training programs, and
food.
Despite having fewer inmates to process than
state prisons, there are five main types of
federal prison facility rather than three,
mostly divided by the level of security.
There are minimum security federal prisons,
referred to by the BOP as Federal Prison Camps.
These are for prisoners judged to pose no
risk of escape or danger to public safety.
These are the facilities often referred to
as “Club Fed” – as prison goes, these
are about as easy-going as you get.
Larry Levine, director of the Wall Street
Prison Consultants – an organisation that
helps future inmates from the financial industry
adjust to their impending imprisonment – compared
the experience to junior college.
Prisoners are hosted in dormitories rather
than cells, and the ratio of guards to inmates
is low.
While it isn’t exactly a day spa, it’s
far from the terrifying environment of an
Alabama State Prison.
For Federal Prison Camp inmates, the biggest
threat is the soul-crushing boredom of the
daily routine.
Low security federal prisons are similar,
but with slightly stronger security precautions
– such as double-fenced perimeters.
Prisoners are still housed in dormitories
and cubicles rather than cells.
Medium security federal prisons, on the other
hand, do have largely cell-based living facilities.
They also have higher security and a greater
number of guards.
High security federal prison institutions
– also referred to as United States Penitentiaries
– are the closest to state prisons in terms
of control over their inmates.
These prisons are reserved for the most violent
criminals, and criminals with the highest
probability of escape attempts.
Examples include violent political criminals,
murderers, and high-level members of organised
crime.
There are also some Federal Corrections Complexes,
wherein two different federal prison facilities
work closely together, despite having different
security levels.
These facilities pool resources in order to
better achieve their respective missions.
It’s a level of cooperation and coordination
not found in state prisons.
Lower-end security facilities also have smaller
facilities nearby, referred to as Satellite
Prison Camps, that use inmate labour and work
programs to support the main institution.
Despite state prison’s stated intention
to rehabilitate inmates and re-introduce them
into society, Federal prison seems a lot better
equipped for successfully rehabilitating its
inmates.
But the differences between these two institutions
don’t stop there.
On average, sentences served in federal prison
tend to be longer than their state counterparts.
This is both because federal prisoners tend
to have a narrower spectrum of crimes – most
of which are typically more severe – and
because these crimes tend to have higher mandatory
minimums.
People convicted for federal crimes are also
a lot less likely to be offered probation.
Compared to the disproportionate number of
minorities imprisoned in state prisons, the
populations of federal prisons are disproportionately
white.
Out of a total of around 190,000 inmates,
59% of the federal prison population is white
and only 38% is African-American.
Whereas, in state prisons, these stats are
a lot more even.
Almost 50% of the inmates in federal prisons
have been convicted of drug-related offenses,
such as production and trafficking.
The rest is largely white-collar crime.
Unlike criminals sentenced to state prisons,
federal criminals aren’t always admitted
to a prison in the state where they’re convicted.
People convicted of federal crimes can be
housed in any federal prison facility in the
country.
Federal criminals convicted of white-collar
crimes – if not judged to be a flight risk
– can even self-report to their prison facility
on the first day of their sentence.
People in state prisons are likely to spend
the duration of their trial in a local jail.
While federal prisons do have violent inmates,
violence within the prisons themselves is
a less frequent issue because these prisons
aren’t as overcrowded.
Unlike most state prisons, federal inmates
are often moved from facility to facility
as needed.
Federal facilities work closely with the US
Marshall service, who handle tracking and
transporting federal inmates across the country.
Federal inmates that become violent or repeatedly
break prison rules may be transferred to a
higher security federal prison.
Though the facility is more likely to put
a troublesome inmate in solitary confinement
before resorting to these costlier methods.
Compared to the overcrowded, brutal conditions
of state prisons, medium, lower, and minimum
security federal prisons also regularly offer
a wide range of recreational activities.
In the prison yard, inmates may have access
to sports like tennis, bocce ball, and volleyball
to maintain physical fitness.
Inside the building, there are often gymnasiums
with basketball, exercise, and wellness facilities.
Many federal prisons also offer arts and crafts
classes, allowing inmates to develop skills
like painting, crochet, and leather-craft.
If you’re lucky, you may also have access
to televisions and computers with closed-network
internet connection.
Federal prisons also offer rec rooms where
inmates can interact and let off steam.
While these facilities have been known to
help reduce prison violence – and keep inmates
in a more relaxed, cooperative mindset – this
must feel almost like a cruel joke to non-violent
drug offenders left for dead in overcrowded,
underfunded state prisons.
But hey, nobody ever said prison was fair.
So, if you plan on committing a major crime
sometime soon, you should probably do yourself
a favour and keep it federal.
Especially if you live in Alabama.
Thanks for watching this video.
We don’t think you should commit any crimes,
because when you’re in jail, you can’t
watch videos like “What Actually Happens
If You Get Beat Up In Prison?” and “How
To Survive In Prison?”
We’ve got your watch history on maximum-security
lockdown.
