Suchergebnisse

This paper examines the dynamics of the use of unofficial force by prison guards in a Texas penitentiary. The findings suggest that rather than being idiosyncratic or sporadic, guard use of physical coercion was highly structured and deeply entrenched in the guard subculture Upperranking guards served as mentors and socialized younger nonmnking guards into the process of using physical coercion. These nonranking guards actually served as apprentices. Most importantly, guards who used physical force were rewarded for their behavior with improved duty posts or even promotions.

Prisoners file large numbers of civil rights lawsuits, although their success rate is low and recent court rulings have narrowed the scope of judicial intervention. The political community model for an effective, efficient, stable, and flexible community is a valuable tool for understanding inmate litigation. This study examines classification litigation through a national survey of state attorneys. Survey results are analyzed using the political community perspective to gain new insights into why prisoners litigate so often, why they challenge certain issues, and why they continue to litigate after several decades of penal reform.

The get tough on crime movement and the war on drugs have resulted in a changing inmate demographic in this country. More people are being incarcerated for longer periods of time. Many inmates are members of groups at high risk for AIDS, such as minorities, the young, and drug users. This article examines the current correctional AIDS policies of mandatory testing, segregation, and notification. In particular, the authors focus on inmate attitudes toward these policies and the impact of race/ethnicity and age on fear of AIDS in prison and support for AIDS policies.

A theme of the late modernity perspective as applied to prisons is maximizing safety and minimizing risk in the face of an uncertain work environment. Correctional officers in two states were surveyed about how their knowledge of HIV relates to their perceptions of risk. Officers who knew less about HIV, had less formal education, feared contact with prisoners known to be HIV positive, and who viewed prisoner tattooing, intravenous drug use, and sex as common at the unit in which they worked were more likely to perceive a higher risk of contracting HIV on the job.

After nearly three decades, there has been a revival of interest in the racial integration of inmates in prisons. In light of what has been done, the literature still questions whether racial integration policies, either forced or voluntary, can be implemented at the practical level. This article examines the process of achieving racial integration in the Texas prison system. This review focuses on the court's role in forcing racial integration, the organizational response to integration, the unit-level process of integration, and the general impact of an integration policy in Texas prisons. Ultimately, this article concludes that racial integration can be realized at the practical level in the contemporary prison.

In 1972, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty as administered constituted cruel and unusual punishment. This ruling also invalidated the death sentences of over 600 inmates in the United States, who subsequently had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. This article examines the institutional and postrelease behavior of the 47 Furman inmates in Texas from 1973 to 1986. Prior to the release of these inmates into the general prisoner population, prison officials and clinicians stated that they were dangerous and constituted a substantial threat to other inmates and to the security staff. The institutional and release behavior of the Furman inmates is compared with that of a cohort of like violent offenders. The Furman inmates committed few serious rule violations. They did not kill other inmates or staff. A minority of inmates in both groups committed the majority of prison rule violations. Of the 31 Furman inmates released on parole, 1 committed a new homicide. No cohort inmate killed again. The conclusion is that the execution of these 47 inmates would not have greatly protected society.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Determinate Sentencing and the Texas Youth Commission: A Timeline -- Chapter 1. Origins and Discoveries -- Chapter 2. The Determinate Sentencing Act in Texas -- Chapter 3. The Sheep That Got Lost -- Chapter 4. Doing Time in the Texas Youth Commission -- Chapter 5. Another Second Chance -- Chapter 6. The Burden of Second Chances -- Chapter 7. Three Decades Later -- Chapter 8. The Last Word -- Notes -- Index

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- From Segregation to Desegregation in Texas Prisons: A Timeline -- Part I. The Outside -- 1. Broken Barriers -- 2. An Institutional Fault Line -- 3. 18,000 Days -- Part II. The Inside -- 4. The Color Line Persists -- 5. Cracks in the Color Line -- 6. Full Assault on the Color Line -- 7. The Color Line Breaks -- 8. 7,000 Days Later -- 9. Life in the First Available Cell -- Part III. A Colorless Society? -- 10. The Most Unlikely Place -- Notes -- Select Bibliography -- Index