Home Truths about Prison Overcrowding

In: The annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Band 478, Heft 1, S. 73-85

Abstract

The majority of prisoners the author has spoken with are not very concerned about prison overcrowding; they are concerned only with benefiting their own immediate conditions. They only talk about overcrowding and leave a minority of inmates to file the petitions and writs to get rid of overcrowded conditions. In this article, the physical conditions of overcrowded prisons are detailed and strategies are outlined whereby litigious prisoners may protect their own possessions vis-à-vis the prison authorities. For their part, some prison administrators prefer the status quo and are not too keen about inmates meddling in internal affairs. The federal courts in Georgia have mandated that overcrowded prisons come up to minimum standards. Such court action motivates prisoners to work for more humane prisons.