Correctional Perspectives

Foreword

Lucien X. Lombardo

Preface

xiii

About the Editors

About the Contributors

xvi

Part One: Effects of Sentencing Changes

Institutional Crowding

Introduction

(3)

Academic Perspective

Challenging Beliefs About Prison Crowding

(5)

Gerald G. Gaes

Gaes suggests that prison crowding is rarely the sole cause of serious problems related to prisoner health, violence, recidivism, and prison riots

Practitioner Perspective

A National Study of Correctional Administrators' Views on Prison Crowding

(7)

Michael S. Vaughn

Vaughn identifies the factors that correctional administrators believe have contributed to prison crowding and suggests how institutional overpopulation can be reduced

Prisoner Perspective

Report From an Overcrowded Maze

(7)

Dannie M. Martin

Peter Y. Sussman

Martin and Sussman link crowding with increased institutional stress, which encourages a climate of increased violence, secretiveness, clique mentality, violence, and deceit

Discussion

(1)

Growth in the Number of Women Prisoners

Introduction

(2)

Academic Perspective

Examining Trends in Female Incarceration

(9)

Meda Chesney-Lind

Chesney-Lind considers whether the cause for the large increase in female prisoners is a change in the nature of female offending or whether it arises from a shift in the criminal justice response to women offenders

Practitioner Perspective

A Prison Superintendent's Perspective on Women in Prison

(6)

Elaine Lord

Lord provides details on issues that women face during incarceration and shows how the criminal justice system is responding differently to women offenders, often in misguided ways

Ex-Prisoner Perspective

The War on Drugs and Women Prisoners

(14)

Susan Dearing

Dearing shares perspectives from women prisoners and former prisoners to explain how changes in laws and law enforcement have affected the growth of women in prison, and she details the incarceration experience, including the lack of services available in prison

Discussion

(3)

Part Two: Treatment of Offenders

Elements of Correctional Rehabilitation

Introduction

(3)

Academic Perspective

The Principles of Effective Intervention With Offenders

(9)

Paul Gendreau

By analyzing commonalities of effective and ineffective intervention programs, Gendreau examines how far researchers have come since the Martinson study in determining what works in the treatment of prisoners

Practitional Perspective

Essential Elements of the Effective Therapeutic Community in the Correctional Institution: A Director's Perspective

(9)

Steven F. Singer

Singer provides a deeper understanding of what has worked at Doin' Time Gettin' Straight, a 9-to-12 month prison-based therapeutic community at Marion Correctional Institution

Prisoner Perspective

Through the Narrow Gate

(14)

Calbraith MacLeod

MacLeod discusses the concept of free will by providing details about his past irresponsible and destructive behavior that led to his current prison sentence

Discussion

(1)

Medical Treatment: HIV/AIDS in Corrections

Introduction

(3)

Academic Perspective

HIV/AIDS and the Correctional System

(10)

Douglas S. Lipton

Lipton reviews the concerns about the increasing prevalence and transmission rates of HIV/AIDS within correctional settings

Practitioner Perspective

Women Prisoners With HIV: A Letter From a Prison Doctor

(4)

Anne S. De Groot

De Groot shares her experiences working with women prisoners in Massachusetts who are infected with HIV

Prisoner Perspective

`Til Death Do Us Part: The Deadly Game of AIDS in Prison

100

(11)

Antonio A. Gilbreath

Joshua D. M. Rogers IV

Gilbreath and Rogers describe the devastating effects of playing ``The Game.''

Discussion

106

(3)

Part Three: Prison Security Issues

Prison Gangs

Introduction

109

(2)

Academic Perspective

Changes in Prison Culture: Prison, Gangs and the Case of the `Pepsi Generation'

111

(10)

Geoffrey Hunt

Stephanie Riegel

Tomas Morales

Dan Waldorf

Using in-depth interviews of ex-prisoners in California, this selection measures changes in prison life due to the infiltration of prison gangs

Practitioner Perspective

The Meaning of Prison Gang Tattoos

121

(8)

Michael P. Phelan

Scott A. Hunt

Phelan and Hunt examine the meaning of tattoos belonging to La Nuestra Familia, a Latino prison gang with roots in California

Prisoner Perspective

Prison Gangs: Racial Separatism as a Form of Social Control

129

(8)

Victor Hassine

Hassine demonstrates how the existence of prison gangs and racial separatism can actually be beneficial to prison administrators

Discussion

133

(1)

Prison Violence

Introduction

134

(3)

Academic Perspective

The Reproduction of Violence in U.S. Prisons

137

(10)

Michael Welch

Welch introduces various causes and levels of prison violence throughout history

Practitioner Perspective

Violence and Incarceration: A Personal Observation

147

(3)

JoAnne Page

On the basis of 25 years of experience working in prisons and jails, Page concludes that correctional institutions breed anger, violence, and destructiveness

Prison Perspective

Realities of Fear

150

(11)

Mike Rolland

Rolland provides a firsthand account of what the Santa Fe, New Mexico prison riot was like

Discussion

157

(1)

Security Housing Units: Supermax Prisons

Introduction

158

(3)

Academic Perspective

Infamous Punishment: The Psychological Consequences of Isolation

161

(10)

Craig Haney

Haney argues that long periods of social deprivation in security housing units are psychologically harmful

Practitioner Perspective

Attitudes of Prison Wardens Toward Administrative Segregation and Supermax Prisons

171

(10)

Terry L. Wells

W. Wesley Johnson

Rodney J. Henningsen

Wells, Johnson, and Henningsen use responses from a national survey of state prison wardens to report what wardens think about supermax cells and what amenities are provided to prisoners in secure housing units

Prisoner Perspective

It's a Form of Warfare: A Description of Pelican Bay State Prison

181

(7)

John H. Morris III

Morris describes what doing time is like inside Pelican Bay Prison, a supermax facility

Discussion

184

(2)

Women Guarding Men

Introduction

186

(2)

Academic Perspective

Women Corrections Officers in Men's Prisons: Acceptance and Perceived Job Performance

188

(9)

Richard Lawrence

Sue Mahan

Lawrence and Mahan look at officer acceptance, safety, and perceived job performance of women correctional officers working in men's prisons

Practitioner Perspective

Working in a Male-Dominated World: Aggression and Women Correctional Officers

197

(10)

Denise L. Jenne

Robert C. Kersting

Jenne and Kersting discuss the strategies women correctional officers utilize when they respond to volatile situations involving male prisoners

Ex-Prisoner Perspective

Lady Hacks and Gentleman Convicts

207

(16)

Stephen C. Richards

Charles M. Terry

Daniel S. Murphy

Richards, Terry, and Murphy express their view of female correctional officers and other female staff who work in the hyper-masculine environment of the prison

Discussion

217

(4)

Part Four: Special Issues Facing Corrections

Correctional Privatization

Introduction

221

(2)

Academic Perspective

Issues Concerning Private Prisons

223

(10)

David Shichor

Shichor reviews the history of privatization as well as the legal, economic, and management issues, concluding that increases in incarceration will likely encourage the expansion of private prisons

Practitioner Perspective

A Comparison of Job Satisfaction Among Private and Public Prison Employees

233

(7)

Emmitt L. Sparkman

Kevin I. Minor

James B. Wells

Sparkman, Minor, and Wells measure job satisfaction of security and nonsecurity staff employed at both public, state-run facilities and private prisons

Ex-Prisoner Perspective

Six of One, Half-Dozen of the Other: Private Prisons and the Conditions of Confinement Debate

240

(11)

Alan C. Mobley

Mobley considers the unintended consequences of confinement in private prisons

Discussion

247

(1)

Juveniles in Adult Corrections

Introduction

248

(3)

Academic Perspective

The Risks Juveniles Face in Adult Prisons

251

(4)

Jason Ziedenberg

Vincent Schiraldi

Ziedenberg and Schiraldi argue that prison is a dangerous place for juveniles because of the threat of violence through rape, assault, and suicide

Practitioner Perspective

Juveniles in Adult Prisons: Problems and Prospects

255

(7)

Frances P. Reddington

Allen D. Sapp

Reddington and Sapp survey correctional administrators on their concerns regarding the placement of youth into adult correctional facilities

Prisoner Perspective

Maximum-Security Offenders' Attitudes Toward Placing Juveniles in Adult Prisons

262

(10)

Martha L. Henderson

Henderson found that adult prisoners generally did not support placing juvenile offenders in adult prisons

Discussion

268

(1)

On Death Row

Introduction

269

(3)

Academic Perspective

Death Work: A Modern Execution Team

272

(15)

Robert Johnson

Johnson describes the responsibilities and bonds of solidarity of deathwatch team members, an elite group of correctional officers responsible for carrying out prison executions

Practitioner Perspective

Managing Death Row: A Tough Assignment

287

(2)

Morris L. Thigpen

Thigpen explains his personal thoughts and feelings as a witness to eight executions during his position as commissioner of the Alabama Department of Corrections

Prisoner Perspective

Walker's Requiem

289

(15)

Anthony Ross

Ross provides his perspective on what a prisoner might typically experience on his last day just before being put to death in the gas chamber

Discussion

297

(4)

Part Five: Getting Out

Release From Prison: Parole

Introduction

301

(3)

Academic Perspective

The Current State of Parole in America

304

(9)

Norman Holt

Holt considers how parole has changed over the years with the decrease of discretionary release and the change to determinate sentencing

Practitioner Perspective

Perspectives on Parole: The Board Members' Viewpoint

313

(8)

Ronald Burns

Patrick Kinkade

Matthew C. Leone

Scott Phillips

Burns and his colleagues review parole board members' perceptions about serious problems parole boards face, rationale they use when determining whether to release, and improvements over the present parole system that could be made

Prisoner Perspective

Making It in the `Free World': Women in Transition From Prison

321

Patricia O'Brien

O'Brien provides examples of hurdles women prisoners face while on parole

Discussion

329