NCJ Number
132129
Journal
Social Problems Volume: 38 Issue: 2 Dated: (May 1991) Pages: 267-286
Date Published
1991
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the relationship between the political economy and the organization of punishment in the State of Georgia between 1868 and 1936.
Abstract
Punishment at this time was well-suited to an agricultural mode of production, characterized by chronic labor shortages. Punishment was decentralized, involved forced labor under harsh conditions, and reflected the existence of a labor market grounded in racist assumptions about the nature of black and white labor. Despite extended State control over convicts and expiration of the convict lease in 1909, punishment retained its decentralized and exploitative character. Nevertheless, the demand for convict labor shifted from the private to the public sector. This shift entailed significant changes in the type of labor performed by convicts, thereby broadening demand to encompass the labor of both white and black convicts. Time series analysis suggests that these race differences in labor demand and changes in demand over time found clear expression in the frequency with which blacks and whites were incarcerated. 4 figures, 3 tables, 10 notes, and 88 references (Author abstract)