Digital Commons Network^™

Sexual Abuse Of Female Inmates In Federal Prisons, Brenda Smith

Congressional and Other Testimony

This Article discusses the modest aspirations of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (“PREA”) that passed unanimously in the United States Congress in 2003. The Article posits that PREA created opportunities for holding correctional authorities accountable by creating a baseline for safety and setting more transparent expectations for agencies’ practices for protecting prisoners from sexual abuse. Additionally, the Article posits that PREA enhanced the evolving standards of decency for the Eighth Amendment and articulated clear expectations of correctional authorities to provide sexual safety for people in custody.

In Ny’S Prisons, People Have Started Programs To Wrestle With Their Crimes, Wyatt L. Stayner

Capstones

People inside New York prisons have started rehabilitative programs to grapple with the crimes that sent them to prison in the first place. The state doesn't create or emphasize these programs, but incarcerated people have taken the initiative to the programs and take hold of their rehabilitation.

https://www.wyattlstayner.com/programs-in-prison

Obstacles To Proving 24-Hour Lighting Is Cruel And Unusual Under Eighth Amendment Jurisprudence, Lauren Jaech

Washington Law Review

Twenty-four-hour lighting causes sleep deprivation, depression, and other serious disorders for incarcerated individuals, yet courts often do not consider it to be cruel and unusual. To decide if prison conditions violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, courts follow a two-part inquiry that requires examining the intent of prison officials (known as the subjective prong) as well as the degree of seriousness of the alleged cruel or unusual condition (the objective prong). Incarcerated individuals often file complaints challenging 24-hour lighting conditions. Whether they succeed on these claims may depend on the circuit in which they reside. Judges …

Expanding Judicial Discretion To Grant Compassionate Release During Covid-19, Deborah Wang

Washington Law Review

In the 1980s, Congress introduced compassionate release to counteract the increased rigidity of our federal sentencing system. This mechanism allowed courts, through a motion filed by the Bureau of Prison’s director, to reduce a prisoner’s sentence if “extraordinary and compelling” circumstances warrant such a reduction. However, because the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) seldom brought these motions, few people were released early via compassionate release. At the same time, public discourse and concerns regarding mass incarceration have continued to grow, causing lawmakers to revisit and revise compassionate release through the First Step Act of 2018 to ensure that this mechanism’s potential …

Mindset Theory Relates To Attitudes About Prison And Parole Among College Students, Cassandra R. Petersen

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The maintenance of prosocial relationships has been strongly connected to criminal desistance among past offenders. The opinions held by the community shape the prejudice often encountered by those with a criminal record. To promote desistance, we must understand how criminals and their abilities are considered by the public. In this study, 69 college students were surveyed about the United States prison and parole system in conjunction with Dweck’s mindset theory. Along with explicit questions, an Implicit Associations Test (IAT) was employed to measure unconscious associations between mentality and punishment preference. The IAT revealed that traits of a growth mindset were …

'To Empower And Amplify Lgbtq+ Voices' 09-16-2022, Michelle Choate

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Trauma Exposures Across The Life Course For Individuals Who Experience Incarceration, Maria Morrison

Brown School Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. incarcerates more people than any other country in the world, with 2.2 million people currently behind bars, 60% of whom are people of color. At the same time, there is an unprecedented political consensus to develop strategies for reducing the incarcerated population and safely returning the majority of incarcerated individuals to society. While there has been a substantial research focus on the potential of this population to commit acts of violence post-release, this tells only half the story. This dissertation hopes to provide a more complete picture of the role of violence in the lives of individuals released …

Brief Of Professor Brandon Hasbrouck As Amicus Curiae In Support Of Appellant: Bell V. Streeval, Brandon Hasbrouck

Scholarly Articles

The core question raised by this case is whether a federal prisoner serving an unconstitutional sentence can be foreclosed from post-conviction habeas relief by the gatekeeping provisions of § 2255. The Constitution answers that question in the negative through the Suspension Clause. “[F]reedom from unlawful restraint [i]s a fundamental precept of liberty,” and the writ of habeas corpus “a vital instrument to secure that freedom.” Boumediene, 553 U.S. at 739. The importance of the common law writ was such that the Framers specified that it could be suspended only in the most exigent circumstances. U.S. Const. art. I, § …

Tablets As A Vehicle For Imprisoned People’S Digital Connection With Loved Ones, Andrea Mufarreh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The intersection between criminal justice and technology is fairly understudied, despite increasing technological advancements in the world and within the criminal justice system. A rather recent addition to the technological landscape of prison is the adoption of tablets used by imprisoned people for communication and connection with loved ones and other activities, which is particularly important given the context of COVID-19, a virus which caused a global pandemic from 2020-2022. While the use of tablets by imprisoned people appears to be a new trend, the use of tablets in prison both prior to and during the pandemic has remained an …

The Role Of Dance/Movement Therapy On Inmates After Restrictive Housing – A Literature Review, Savannah Melo

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The aim of this literature review is to highlight the impact dance/movement therapy has on individuals who have experienced segregated housing in a correctional facility and the mental health effects segregation may cause. The negative effects this housing may cause will be explored. This exploration will include related applications of dance/movement therapy (DMT), demonstrating how in past research it has been shown to improve different mental health symptoms. Though dance/movement therapy is not as readily available to the prison population, the intention of this thesis is to investigate expressive arts, specifically DMT, as a treatment modality for inmate mental health. …

Implementing A Presumption Against Imprisonment: How Scandinavian Sentencing Policies Could Be The Key To Ending Mass Incarceration In The United States, Cydney Carter

Lincoln Memorial University Law Review Archive

With the largest prison population in the world, the United States relies on incarceration more than most when it comes to sanctioning criminal offenders, but there must be another way. This paper will examine the sentencing policies and practices in the United States, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway. It will also compare these sentencing policies and their impact on incarceration rates suggest ways in which the Scandinavian sentencing practices could influence changes to the current Federal Sentencing Guidelines in order to combat mass incarceration in the United States.

“That’S The Hate They’Re Giving Us, Baby, A System Designed Against Us.” The Restorative Justice Solution To The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Amanda Iocono

University of Massachusetts Law Review

The school-to-prison pipeline is one of the nation’s biggest challenges as students of color, LGBTQIA+ students, and students with disabilities are being funneled into prisons. Thousands of articles have been written on the existence of the school-to prison pipeline and potential solutions. Federal and state policies have shifted to combat the pipeline, but there is still a large proportion of our nation’s students being criminalized on account of their looks and behaviors. This Note argues that the school-to-prison pipeline is a systemic practice of the American education system, and the education system is functioning exactly as designed. The continued use …

Wgss Queer Theories And Politics: A Blog Post, Cassidy Vogel

Feminist & Queer Praxis

"Political education is the practice of using knowledge for action, whether its serving and educating the community or taking personal action. This is central Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, but in Dr. Klinker’s Queer Theories and Politics (WGSS 374) students were able to engage in political education beyond the class." Winona State University (WSU) student Cassidy Vogel blog post discusses and shared their experiences engaging in political education beyond the classroom.

This blog post was intended for the WSU Academic Blog which showcases the exciting and challenging work that WSU Student do.

Punishment Vs. Rehabilitation: A Discourse On American Prison Reform & Comparative Analysis To Swedish Incarceration, Lauren Hipplewitz

Honors Scholar Theses

The infrastructure of the United States prison system continues to evolve through a series of policy changes and reforms. Throughout these developments, however, the institution continues to remain rooted in the philosophy of harsh penalization. This thesis incorporates a comparative analysis between the concept of perpetrator punishment within the American federal prison system to the concept of rehabilitative justice found in the Swedish system. I conceptualize the underlying “goals” of imprisonment within the United States and Sweden and examine how they serve as an operational foundation for both institutions. I analyze American prison reform that took place during the “War …

Prison And Jail Civil Rights/Conditions Cases: Longitudinal Statistics, 1970-2021, Margo Schlanger

Law & Economics Working Papers

These tables relating to prison and jail civil rights litigation in federal court update prior-published versions, using data available as of April 6, 2022.

The Tables show longitudinal statistics about case filings, features, and outcomes, for jail/prison civil rights and conditions cases and for the entire federal civil docket, grouped by case category.
List of tables:
Table A: Incarcerated Population and Prison/Jail Civil Rights Filings, FY1970–FY2021
Table B: Pro Se Litigation in U.S. District Courts by Case Type, Cases Terminated Fiscal Years 1996–2021
Table C: Outcomes in Prisoner Civil Rights Cases in Federal District Court, Fiscal Years 1988–2021
Table D: …

Protestant Prison Chaplaincy: Teaching Common Theology To Mature Inmates, John J. Caudle

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Recent literature and studies concerning prison ministry focus more on relationships, the overarching work, and the day-to-day mission. Even then, this study acknowledges that the impact of prison chaplaincy still needs further studying. Few studies focus on Protestant chaplains' theological boundaries, maintaining diverse denominations. While attempting to understand the value of chaplaincy in the prison setting, the predominant group involved in prison ministry are Protestant prison chaplains. Protestant prison chaplains come from a diverse background of core theological beliefs and denominationally tied doctrine. This thesis looks at the theological views of 15 Protestant prison chaplains who previously or currently serve …

How Do Arts Programs Facilitate Emotion Regulation In The Prison Setting?, Dana Parker

Senior Theses and Projects

Reentry and prison arts programs provide an opportunity for rehabilitation that facilitates healthier emotion regulation (ER), relationship building, and self-esteem. To measure the effects of arts-based interventions on ER, formerly incarcerated people completed a questionnaire that included three different measures: the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire Short-Form (CERQ-Short), the Emotion Regulation Strategies for Artistic Creative Activities (ERS-ACA), and the Self-expression and Emotion Regulation in Art Therapy Scale (SERATS). Results showed that there were significant differences between males and females on their scores on ER subscales, where women more often than men employed positive ER strategies. In support of my hypotheses, higher …

Inside The Black Box Of Prosecutor Discretion, Megan Wright, Shima Baradaran Baughman, Christopher Robertson

Faculty Scholarship

In their charging and bargaining decisions, prosecutors have unparalleled and nearly-unchecked discretion that leads to incarceration or freedom for millions of Americans each year. More than courts, legislators, or any other justice system player, in the aggregate prosecutors’ choices are the key drivers of outcomes, whether the rates of mass incarceration or the degree of racial disparities in justice. To date, there is precious little empirical research on how prosecutors exercise their breathtaking discretion. We do not know whether they consistently charge like cases alike or whether crime is in the eye of the beholder. We do not know what …

The Progressive Love Affair With The Carceral State, Kate Levine

Faculty Articles

A Review of The Feminist War on Crime: The Unexpected Role of Women’s Liberation in Mass Incarceration. By Aya Gruber.

Exploring The Effectiveness Of A Life-Skills Program In A Florida Prison Through A Social Bond And General Strain Theory Perspective, Danielle M. Thomas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prison programs have existed for decades; however, recent attention towards prison reform has raised awareness of the importance of correctional education. Research has shown that many of these programs are highly effective for incarcerated individuals in that program participation is likely to decrease recidivism and increase post-release employment success. Using in-depth interviews with 40 currently incarcerated men – 20 of whom participated in a 2-year prison program (the LIFERS program) and 20 who did not – and matched institutional records for visitation and disciplinary infractions, this study expands on the current research by assessing additional measures of program efficacy, including …

Music Therapy In Us Corrections: Philosophy, Practice, And Protocols Of Music Therapists Working With Incarcerated People In The Us, Lorna E. Segall, Olivia S. Yinger

Music Faculty Publications

Although the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and music therapy has existed in U.S. correctional facilities for almost a century, little is known about music therapists who provide services to people who are incarcerated. Exploration in this area is important as it could help inform clinical practice, music therapy curriculum, and potentially influence policy in the treatment of inmates. This study explores the philosophy, practices, and protocols of music therapists working in the U.S. corrections system. Board-certified music therapists ( N = 542) completed an online survey in which they indicated their reasons for working …

The Relationship Between Shame Proneness And Guilt Proneness, Counseling, And Recidivism In Incarcerated Individuals, Tristin Corrine Galvez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The growing rate of individuals being incarcerated is an ongoing concern within the United States, and more so with an increase in recidivism rates. Shame and guilt are two forms of emotions that can occur due to multiple factors that could influence recidivism. Each emotion can have a different effect on an individual depending on the incident that occurred. Jails and prisons have been seen as a lucrative business that fails to provide the necessary services to reduce recidivism. Counseling could be utilized as an intervention for individuals who are currently or previously incarcerated. Having counseling in place can help …

Is A Rainbow Pink Or Blue? Creating Jail Policies For Transgender Inmates, Hunter Schultz

Master of Arts in Criminal Justice Leadership

The United States prison system functions on a binary of male and female inmates. Transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming, and intersex individuals challenge the limits of these systems and their policies. This paper addresses how to create policy for transgender individuals and what the policies should include. The best practice for creating policies involves basing them in solid ethics. Looking at different ethical theories will help solve ethical dilemmas involving housing, searching, and other policies for transgender and gender non-conforming inmates. To ensure that policies coincide with the law, an examination of case law provides the legal background for these policies. …

Can Covid-19 Teach Us How To End Mass Incarceration?, Amy Fettig

University of Miami Law Review

In this essay, the author argues that federal, state and local government response to the COVID-19 epidemic in prisons and jails was largely incompetent, inhumane, and contrary to sound public health policy, resulting in preventable death and suffering for both incarcerated people and corrections staff. However, the lessons learned from these failures provide a roadmap for policy priorities and legal reform in our ongoing need to decarcerate and end the era of mass incarceration, including: (1) rolling back extreme sentences, recalibrating sentences generally and providing for “second look” mechanisms to those currently serving sentences beyond 10 years; (2) ensuring that …

Ab 32 Is A Ban: California Takes The Right Approach But Must Still Take Further Action Against For-Profit Corporations In Our Prison System, Jonathan Barrera

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

No abstract provided.

Inside The Black Box Of Prosecutor Discretion, Megan S. Wright, Shima Baradaran Baughman, Christopher Robertson

Journal Articles

In their charging and bargaining decisions, prosecutors have unparalleled and nearly-unchecked discretion that leads to incarceration or freedom for millions of Americans each year. More than courts, legislators, or any other justice system player, in the aggregate prosecutors’ choices are the key drivers of outcomes, whether the rates of mass incarceration or the degree of racial disparities in justice. To date, there is precious little empirical research on how prosecutors exercise their breathtaking discretion. We do not know whether they consistently charge like cases alike or whether crime is in the eye of the beholder. We do not know what …

Reimagining Public Safety, Brandon Hasbrouck

Scholarly Articles

In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, abolitionists were repeatedly asked to explain what they meant by “abolish the police”—the idea so seemingly foreign that its literal meaning evaded interviewers. The narrative rapidly turned to the abolitionists’ secondary proposals, as interviewers quickly jettisoned the idea of literally abolishing the police. What the incredulous journalists failed to see was that abolishing police and prisons is not aimed merely at eliminating the collateral consequences of other social ills. Abolitionists seek to build a society in which policing and incarceration are unnecessary. Rather than a society without a means of protecting public safety, …

Parental Incarceration And Stigma: A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Children's Books, Samantha Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Children of parental incarceration are often forgotten victims and have been noted to experience collateral consequences such as stigma, poor mental health, and isolation. Since children are often forgotten, there is a lack of information regarding their experiences, what resources are available to them, and whether or not these resources intended to be beneficial. One of the resources that are available to children, caregivers, and other adults are children’s books regarding parental incarceration. To determine whether or not these children's books act as a guide, this study examined the content and illustrations of 19 children’s books on parental incarceration. The …

Changemakers: To Empower And Amplify Lgbtq+ Voices, Michelle Choate

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

When Jail & Prison Sentences Become Death Sentences: How Willfully Exposing Incarcerated Persons To Covid-19 Amounts To Cruel & Unusual Punishment, Arielle Aboulafia

Human Rights Brief

Eric Warner called his older brother Hank from San Quentin State Prison almost every Sunday. Though the prison only allowed the brothers to speak for fifteen minutes each week, the two spoke about their lives. In June 2021, Eric stopped calling, and Hank became worried. Hank tried to get in touch with the prison. However, his calls were met with a dead-end voicemail each time. He recalls that he “knew, by not hearing anything, that something was not good.” The following month, prison personnel returned Hank’s calls and told him that his brother Eric had been hospitalized. Later that month, …