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?Life in Prison:. The conditions of imprisonmentPrison as Total InstitutionPervasive presence of violenceAdaptation to prison ? ?Prisonization"Distinct modes of individual adaptations to prison? A common typology is:JailingGleaningdoing timeSnitchingfreaking out. ?Life in Prison: the ?Inma
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1. Life in Prison: Conditions and Consequences of Incarceration Outline of Topics
Inmate Society & Adaptations to prison
Prisoners Rights
Getting Out of Prison
2. Life in Prison: The conditions of imprisonment
Prison as Total Institution
Pervasive presence of violence
Adaptation to prison ? Prisonization
Distinct modes of individual adaptations to prison? A common typology is:
Jailing
Gleaning
doing time
Snitching
freaking out
3. Life in Prison: the Inmate Society Reflect distinct social structure & value code
Documented by studies in the 1950s
Klemmer (1951) The Prison Community
Sykes (1958) The Society of Captives
Situation changed in the 1960s & 1970s
Broader social changes in society
Racial divisions became more sharply drawn
Prison riots and disorders
More political organization
Growth in prison gangs
Legal decisions and recognition of Prisoner Rights
Greater heterogeneity & multiple subcultures
4. Life in Prison: Variations Importance of Security Levels
Different levels in deprivation & control
Different levels in violence and threat
Total institutions become Partial institutions at lower security levels
Differences among the security levels?
Physical facilities
Social organization and management
Resident population compositions
How many levels and how distinct are they?
5. II. Prisoners Rights: What are legal rights of convicted offenders?
While serving their sentences: conditions of custody and confinement
After serving their sentences: legal status after paying their debt (i.e., sex offenders; loss of civil rights)
Two constitutional provisions have had wide relevance for how convicted offenders treated
8th Amendment & 13th Amendment
6. Constitutional Provisions: 13th Amendment, Section 1: Neither slavery nor servitude, except as a punishment for crime where of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
8th Amendment: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted
Other constitutional provisions?
7. II. Prisoners Rights: Conditions of confinement and custody
Before 1960, little legal attention to treatment of prison inmates reflecting:
Common law perception that Conviction = Civil Death (13th Amendment)
Judicial practice = Hands Off Doctrine
Held that corrections should be viewed as an executive (not judicial) function
The 8th amendment applies only generally
8. Prisoners Rights: (cont.) The Due Process revolution in the 1960s changed this by recognizing legal rights of prisoners
Period of social activism & challenges to the law
Politically aware and connected prisoners
Activist Supreme Court
Note the Due Process revolution affected two distinct legal areas
Rights of persons accused of crimes (but not yet convicted)
Rights of persons convicted of crimes (and in state custody)
9. Prisoners Rights: (cont.) Landmark decision: Cooper v. Pate (1964)
Cooper v. Pate established the right of prisoners to sue for civil rights violations (Black Muslims at Stateville)
Concerned right to religion & worship
Brought under Civil Rights Act of 1871
Applies the basic due process guarantees of constitution even to convicted prisoners
Suggests that the civil death under the 13th Amendment is not absolute
Assigns to the Courts a greater oversight role
10. Prisoners Rights: (cont.) Cooper v. Pate (1964) was decided in limited, case-specific grounds
But it opened door for many other cases to follow on other issues
And it initiated the Prisoners Rights movement
Substantive legal rights
Access to legal process and resources
1st Amendment rights (i.e., speech & religion)
Medical rights
Procedural Due Process for prison discipline
Brutality & use of force
Conditions of confinement
Methods of execution
11. Prisoners Rights: (cont.) Most prisoners rights suits have invoked either Civil Rights acts (1871)(1963) or the 8th Amendment
Cruel & unusual punishment (8th Amend.)
Not initially defined in the amendment
Has been defined through many court decisions
shocks the conscience
degrades the dignity of human beings
fundamentally unfair
deliberate indifference to personal safety & well-being
flagrant disregard for due process
disproportionate to the offense for which sentenced
punishes according to persons status rather than action
12. Prisoners Rights: (cont.) What are the major debates or disputes?
Prisoners Rights vs. Prison Security
Prisoners rights may be infringed when there is compelling public or correctional interest
Prisons are expected to make reasonable accommodation (considering costs & security)
Prisoners Rights vs. Victims Rights
Sense of justice for victims
Security of potential victims
Prisoner litigation prompted a political backlash
Federal passage of Prison Litigation Reform Act in 1996 to restrict litigation by prison inmates
Recent court decisions suggest a partial return to the Hands Off Doctrine
13. III. Exiting Prison: Getting Out Prison is generally intended to be a limited period of confinement, not a permanent state
93% of inmates are eventually released into society
Need to consider two general questions:
How do convicted offenders get released?
What happens to them after they are released?
14. A. How Do Offenders get Released? Several ways that inmates are released from incarceration:
Unconditional Release after they have served the full length of their sentence in prison (15%)
Parole Conditional release into community under supervision prior to end of full sentence (74%)
Commutation lessening or suspension of the remainder of the sentence without overturning conviction
Pardon suspension of the remainder of sentence by overturning the conviction
Furlough temporary or periodic release into community for special purposes
15. A. How Offenders get Released Most common form of release = Parole (74% in 2003 vs. 78% in 1977)
Mandatory Release release when unserved portion of sentence equals earned good time
52% in 2003
6% in 1977
Discretionary Release release on the discretionary judgment of parole board
22% in 2003
72% in 1977
16. Release on Parole: (cont.) Parole boards
Reduced roles of parole offices with mandatory release
Conflicting roles of parole officers
Conditions of Parole
Revocation of Parole
Causes of revocation
Technical violations (about )
New crimes (arrests or convictions) (about )
Revocation hearings
Intensive Parole Supervision
17. Release on Parole: (cont.) Effectiveness of Parole: (2 senses)
Successful completion of parole period
Staying crime-free after parole period
Parole Failure Rate =
about 65 % are rearrested within 3 years
About 50% are returned to prison
25% fortechnical violations & 25% for new crimes
Highest rearrest rates = property crime offenders (about 75%)
Lowest rearrest rates = violent crime offenders (40-45%)
18. Release on Parole: (cont.) Why do released offenders fail?
Personal characteristics
Impact of prison and readjustment problems
Lingering effect of a criminal record
Permanent effect of being a convict
Enduring stigma of criminal record
Expungement?
Loss of civil rights
19. Rights lost upon conviction? 14 states permanently deny felons the right to vote
18 states suspend right to vote until sentence completed
19 states terminate parental rights
29 states consider felony conviction legal grounds for divorce
6 states deny felons the opportunity for public employment
31 states disallow convicted felons right to serve on juries
29 states prevent convicted felons from holding public office
Federal law prohibits ex-convicts from owning guns & all states (except Vermont) have additional limitations on gun ownership
46 states require that felons register with police agencies (note that in 1986 only 8 states had this requirement)
4 states still practice full civil death (or loss of all civil rights) for ex-convicts