“Life in Prison: Conditions and Consequences of Incarceration

Outline of Topics• Inmate Society & Adaptations to prison

• Prisoners’ Rights

• Getting Out of Prison

“Life in Prison:

• The conditions of imprisonment shape prison life

– Prison = a “Total Institution”• The attendant problem of “institutionalization”

– Deprivation of common everyday experiences– Pervasive presence of violence– Adaptation to prison “Prisonization”

• Personal adaptations to prison• Collective adaptations to prison = “inmate

society” & “inmate social codes”• Privation vs. Importation as explanations

“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– Fits with Shawshank Redemption depiction

• 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

“Life in Prison: (continued)• Changes in 1980s and 1990s

– Changes in prison administration– Changes in professionalization– Prison = more tightly run with greater oversight and

accountability– Privatization provided competition

• Currently prison life does not look like that depicted in Shawshank Redemption

“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?

Security Levels in Prisons:• See the description in the book of levels

• Levels & inmates in state prisons (2004):– Minimum Security 34.4%– Medium Security 37.1%– Maximum Security 21.5%– Super-Max 0.5%– Unclassified 6.5%

• Note wide variation in use of security levels across states

II. Prisoners’ Rights:

• What are legal rights of convicted offenders?1) While serving their sentences: conditions of

custody and confinement

2) After serving their sentences: legal status after “paying their debt” (i.e., sex offenders; loss of civil rights)

1) Two constitutional provisions have had wide relevance for how convicted offenders treated

8th Amendment & 13th Amendment

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?

II. Prisoners’ Rights:

1) 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”

– Corrections viewed as an executive (not judicial) function

– The 8th amendment applies only generally

Prisoners’ Rights: (cont.)• The Due Process revolution in the 1960s

changed this recognizing inmates’ legal rights 1) Period of social activism & challenges to the law2) Politically aware and connected prisoners3) Activist Supreme Court

• Due Process revolution affected two distinct areas

1) Rights of persons accused of crimes (but not yet convicted)

2) Rights of persons convicted of crimes (and in state custody)

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

– Applied the basic “due process” guarantees of constitution even to convicted prisoners• Suggests that the “civil death” under the 13th

Amendment is not absolute• Assigns Courts a greater oversight role in corrections

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

• Subsequent substantive legal rights of inmates:– 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

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 person’s status rather than action”

Prisoners’ Rights: (cont.)• What are the major debates or disputes?

1) 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)

2) 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

restricts litigation by prison inmates– Recent court decisions suggest a partial return to the

“Hands Off Doctrine”

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:a)How do convicted offenders get released?

b)What happens to them after they are released?

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%)

– Conditional Release – Supervised release into community 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

A. How Offenders get Released

• Most common form of release = Parole – (74% in 2003 vs. 78% in 1977)

1) Mandatory Parole Release – unserved portion of sentence equals earned good time

– 6% in 1977– 52% in 2003

2) Discretionary Parole Release – release on the discretionary judgment of parole board

– 72% in 1977– 22% in 2003

Release on Parole: (cont.)• Parole boards

– Reduced roles of parole boards & offices with mandatory release

– Conflicting roles of parole officers• Conditions of Parole• Revocation of Parole

– Causes of revocation • Technical violations (about 50%)• New crimes (arrests or convictions) (about 50%)

– Revocation hearings

• Intensive Parole Supervision

Release on Parole: (cont.)• Effectiveness of Parole: (2 senses)

1) Successful completion of parole period2) Staying crime-free after parole period

• Parole Failure Rate = – about 65 % are rearrested within 3 years– About 50% are returned to prison

• 1/2 for technical violations & 1/2 for new crimes

– Highest rearrest rates = property crime offenders (about 75%) & drug offenders

– Lowest rearrest rates = violent crime offenders (40-45%) & sex offenders

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

– Loss of opportunities for reintegration

– Loss of civil rights?

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