companies from accepting prison-made products for transportation into any state in violation of the laws of that state. This legislation, the Ashurst-Sumners Act(1935) effectively closed the market to goods made by prisoners, and most states then terminated prison industry. The American prison began to use the idea of rehabilitation again as the principal goal of incarceration because thousands of prisoners were left idle. They began to classify prisoners according to the likelihood of rehabilitation. A wide variety of institutions, including reformatories, work camps, and minimum-security prisons were established. The idea of rehabilitation led to probation and parole. Even a separate system of procedures and courts for dealing with juvenile offenders was established. By the 1960's work-release centers, community correctional centers, and halfway houses were established. Programs such as vocational training, guidance counseling, and psychotherapy were begun also. In 1975 a study of more than 240 such programs revealed that they were not successful. Rehabilitation is no longer the only objective of correction agencies. Today, the American prison system consists of a variety of institutions. More than 50 percent of all prisoners continue to be housed in maximum-security facilities. Only 11 percent of the prison population is housed in minimum-security institutions. Maximum-security institutions are massive building, with high masonry walls or electric fences. The primary concern is security. Prisoners are under constant surveillance, their movements are severely restricted, and many are required to stay in their cells almost the entire day. Outdoor recreation is minimal. Visits, when allowed, are often conducted by telephone with a glass partition between the prisoner and the visitor. Minimum-security prisons, on the other hand, are often built on a campus like arrangement, which allows...
