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Reconciled To Leisure: The Relationship Between Christianity, Leisure And Restorative Justice, Hannah Janzen, Paul Heintzman

Movement and Being: The Journal of the Christian Society for Kinesiology, Leisure and Sports Studies

This paper seeks to explain the mutually reinforcing relationship between leisure and reconciliation from a Christian perspective. The paper begins by briefly defining the holistic approach to leisure from a Christian perspective, which will be the definition of leisure that is used throughout the paper. Christian teachings on reconciliation will then be outlined, both between the individual and God and between individuals. Restorative justice, the specific example of reconciliation that will be used in this paper, is defined as a process of justice that seeks to repair the harm that was caused through a crime.The paper then describes how leisure …

Healthcare In Carceral Settings: Providing Alternatives For The Medically Vulnerable Incarcerated Person, Sydney Manning

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Strengthening U.S. Jail Systems’ Response To Infectious Diseases: An Evaluation Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Erinn Bacchus

Dissertations and Theses

Jails across the United States were struck with increased infections and deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies have shown the structural make up of jails, lack of preparedness plans, and overcrowding contributed to health risks and poor health outcomes both inside jails and local communities. Yet little research has been dedicated to strengthening jail responses to infectious disease outbreaks spanning prevention measures, data collection, and reentry planning. Gaps include information on the (1) myriad infectious disease mitigation strategies used in jails and adherence to CDC prevention guidelines, (2) development of a standardized epidemiologic surveillance system, and (3) experiences working at …

Incarceration Vs Treatment: Is One More Effective Than The Other In Preventing Recidivism For Drug Abuse?, Scott G. Kang

Student Theses

This study aims to determine the most effective approach for reducing recidivism among drug offenders, comparing incarceration with treatment. Two hypotheses were formulated for this research: 1) Drug offenders undergoing residential treatment will experience lower recidivism rates compared to those sentenced to incarceration. 2) Extended therapeutic treatment is more likely to positively influence behavior change among drug abusers compared to longer prison sentences. These hypotheses were tested using data from 263 participants in the Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison (DTAP) program, analyzed through logistic regression in SPSS. The results indicate that therapeutic interventions, specifically rehabilitative treatment, are more effective than incarceration in …

Recidivism In Mississippi: Causes, Impacts, And Solutions, Grace E. Brian

Honors Theses

Because the United States is home to the largest prison population in the world, finding solutions to reduce the rate at which prisoners return to prison is paramount to helping reduce crime. Assessments of how Mississippi, the state with the highest incarceration rate, engages with access to prison education, barriers to employment, and youth incarceration compared to the national, Southern, and non-southern averages will be explored to direct recidivism reduction solutions. Results showed that Mississippi had a slightly higher recidivism rate than the national average, had fewer barriers to employment, and a lower youth incarceration rate than the national average …

Visit The Imprisoned: A Heuristic Inquiry Into The Experiences Of Catholic Detention Ministry Volunteers, Christopher Tran

Education (PhD) Dissertations

There exists a wide breadth of literature in regards to the harmful and dehumanizing impact of incarceration on human development and dignity. Through my years as a volunteer in detention ministry, I have witnessed firsthand these effects particularly on youths who have been incarcerated. My experiences have led me to wonder then, “Why does the prison system still exist to harm people despite the array of research condemning its practices?” Through this pondering, I critiqued the larger systems at play: the prison-industrial complex, the sociopolitical rhetoric of “tough on crime,” and the overall demonization of this population. As a response …

Breaking Bonds: Effect Of The Loss Of Parental Rights On Prison Admission In The United States, 2000-2019, Audrey E. Erickson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This paper investigates the relationship between termination of parental rights (TPR) and prison admission rates in the United States over the period from 2000 to 2019. Grounded in social bond and labeling theories, the study explores how the loss of parental rights influences the likelihood of parents to offend or reoffend and whether such a relationship differs between men and women. Using state-level administrative data, fixed-effects regression models are employed to analyze the impact of TPR rates on prison admissions, while accounting for time-varying socioeconomic factors (poverty rate, unemployment, and TANF maximum benefit). Findings indicate a positive causal effect association …

Substance Use Treatment Within The Us Prison System, Timothy Hicks

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study examines the challenges and effectiveness of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment within US prisons, focusing on treatment availability, accessibility, and outcomes. Through a literature review spanning PsycINFO, Academic Search Premier, Criminal Justice Abstracts, JSTOR, and PubMed, it addresses the literature gap and healthcare needs for incarcerated individuals. The research identifies limited SUD treatment availability and explores the impact of medication-assisted treatments (MATs) and therapeutic interventions. It highlights barriers such as systemic stigma and inconsistencies in treatment access and quality. Findings advocate for evidence-based treatment's role in reducing recidivism and call for policy reform and enhanced collaborative efforts to …

Childhood Neglect And Incarceration As A Adult, Marissa Mejia, Diana Gallegos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research project aims to explain the relationship between experiencing childhood neglect and being incarcerated as an adult, and to see if childhood neglect is a contributing factor to incarceration as an adult. This systematic literature review will identify prior research and analyze it in order to answer the formulated research question. Does Childhood Neglect lead an adult to incarceration? This specific research method also identifies trends, gaps in knowledge, and areas for future research. The results from this study have provided empirically supported information that could be used in the field of social work, in schools, and in the …

“It’S Your Fault”: The Overcriminalization And Self-Fulfilling Prophecy In The Imprisonment Of African American Males In America, Jonnishae Bennett

University Honors College

African American men have been subjected to the abuse and neglect of America’s Criminal Justice System for centuries. Such subjection has made them victims of systematic racism and prejudice; however, they have been depicted as everything other than victims. Societies’ continuous rejection of them as anything other than criminal, has forced them into the confines of imprisonment. The basis of their imprisonment can be directly connected to history’s congestion of the African American community. The utilization of the prison system has become a new-found version of enslavement. Labels attached to African American men have remained consistent with America’s overcriminalization of …

Risk, Protection And Mental Health Among Incarcerated People, Cecilie Froulund Jensen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 40 percent of incarcerated adults experience some history of mental illness, whereas prevalence in the general population is less than 20 percent (Criss & John, 2023). The Survey of Prison Inmates (SPI) is a self-reported survey, examining numerous aspects of prisoners’ life. It has been used to quantify the prevalence of both physical and mental health problems, however, little or no examination regarding the underlying health determinants has been done. The current study assessed state prisoners in the United States and examined both risk and protective factors (historical and current) and their relationships to mental health. The results showed …

Considering Caretakers: An Explicit Argument For Downward Departures During Federal Sentencing Mitigation For Caretakers Of Children, Danielle Sparber Bukacheski

University of Miami Law Review

The sentencing stage of the federal legal system provides defendants with an opportunity to articulate why the sentencing judge is justified in imposing less severe sentences. Yet, under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, sentencing judges have been restricted in the characteristics and background information that can be utilized when imposing a downward departure from the recommended Guidelines sentence. More specifically, there is great variability regarding the extent to which family-related circumstances can be utilized as justification for a downward departure due to the Sentencing Commission’s ambiguous language. Considering the damaging effects of incarceration on children when a caretaker is physically removed …

Juvenile Justice & Diminished Criminal Culpability, Mitchell F. Crusto

University of Miami Law Review

When regulating the bad, albeit illegal, choices made by minors, the law is conflicted. On the one hand, we have a clear national policy to ensure the safety of and to promote the positive development of our young people, yet we simultaneously criminalize minors who make bad choices. This conundrum raises a quintessential jurisprudential flaw in our legal system: We lack a unifying, overarching principle that guides the law’s relationship with minors. In a companion piece, I pose and explore such a unifying principle, which I coin as the “best interest of the minor” standard (“BIMS”). Consequently, this Article applies …

Sex Differences In Adult Incarceration After Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury, Anurag Modak, Kyle E. Zappi, Alexander J. Catoya, Mehdi S. Lemdani, Gretchen M. Koller, Laurel Seltzer, Ryan E. Radwanski, Susan C. Pannullo

Student Publications

Pediatric traumatic brain injury (pTBI) is a major risk factor associated with adulthood incarceration. Most research into the link between pTBI and adulthood incarceration has focused on incarcerated males, who comprise the vast majority of incarcerated adults, particularly in industrialized nations. In this review, we sought to identify sex-related differences in the incidence and pathophysiology of pTBI and subsequent risk of adulthood incarceration. A scoping review was undertaken using PubMed, Scopus, Ovid, and the Cochrane Library. Articles analyzing sex-related differences in pTBI and adult incarceration rates, studies conducted on an incarcerated population, and cohort studies, cross-sectional studies, clinical trials, systematic …

America’S Prison Systems: Beginning The Switch From Punitive To Rehabilitative, Sydney R. Clair

Honors Thesis

America has one of the highest rates of incarceration in the world, along with many issues that keep its inmate population and recidivism rates high. The current inmate population faces unique challenges as it disproportionally consists of racial minorities, those with mental illnesses, and nonviolent drug offenders. Correctional rehabilitative programing, while implemented with good intentions, lacks effectiveness. This is due to factors including institutional staffing mindset and minimal development to expand inmate programs. There is also a lack of overall access to drug and educational courses that are so greatly needed for the incarcerated population. The reentry process for inmates …

Reflections Of A Non-Abolitionist Admirer Of The Police Abolition Movement, Corey Stoughton

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

To acknowledge that the abolition movement made reform better is not to reduce the movement to that purpose. For the non-abolitionist, the end of reform is better policing. For the abolitionist, reform is at best “a strategy or tactic toward transformation,” meaning contesting and ultimately eliminating policing. These are not compatible visions. But even if the collaboration between holders of these visions is just a tactical alliance, it is a tactical alliance that is producing good results. Perhaps those good results will lay a foundation for abolition, or perhaps they will seed in abolitionists’ fertile imaginations a positive vision of …

Northeast Reintegration Center Leisure Program, Jessica Mravec

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Student Capstone Posters

Occupational therapists have the opportunity to develop programming for inmates to increase skills and engagement in meaningful leisure activities, and to help inmates successfully reintegrate into the community. Through the collection of data from my needs assessment, I created a 12-leisure program outline to educate the women on types of leisure and how leisure participation can be impacted by different barriers, with the ability to participate in a variety of leisure activities. Also, I created a Community Resource Guide that will allow the women to have access to resources in their community upon release to become stable and independent.

What Is A Prison?, Grace Y. Li

Michigan Law Review

A review of The Idea of Prison Abolition. By Tommie Shelby.

When Words Fail: The Use And Misuse Of Narratives In The Prison Abolition Movement, Nora De Rege

Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities

Inspired in part by my experiences at that internship, and a newfound appreciation for the impact of stories, this paper explores the role of narratives in the way we talk and think about prisons. Narratives, or storytelling, are not neutral accounts of the way the world works but are rather informed by social structures of power and control, necessitating subjecting them to critique and analysis. When used for social movements, this becomes especially true. In this paper, I will analyze how narratives are written/spoken and disseminated as part of the abolition or criminal justice reform movement. In organizations and movements …

Filling Critical Gaps For College In Prison Programs: Strategies From Two Community Based Organizations, Sara Alpert, Rachel Zolensky, Shon Holman-Wheatley

Journal of Student Financial Aid

When the federal government banned incarcerated students from accessing Pell Grants in the mid-1990s, a new model for supporting Higher Education in Prison (HEP) programs emerged– utilizing Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) as third-party facilitators to fill the gaps left behind in the absence of federal financial aid. With the long-awaited reinstatement of Pell for incarcerated learners that went into effect in 2023, it is essential to consider the critical role that CBOs have played in supporting college programming in the absence of Pell and how they can continue to be leveraged to ensure quality and access for Prison Education Programs (PEPs) …

“I Don’T Even Know What That Is”: Deprivation, Censorship, And Responsibility In Administering The Pell Grant In Prison, Erin L. Castro, Cydney Y. Caradonna, Mary R. Gould

Journal of Student Financial Aid

The violence of incarceration creates greater responsibility for higher education administrators in supporting students who are in prison. Using focus group data with incarcerated students and formerly incarcerated alumni who participated in or are actively participating in Second Chance Pell, we explore their perceptions and understandings of the Pell Grant and eligibility for the Pell Grant, including lifetime eligibility used limits. Through a lens of Witnessing, we argue that deprivation and censorship of information negatively influence students’ access to accurate and timely information about federal student aid and their ability to fully participate in the process. Accordingly, college and university …

Hurt, Hungry, And Handcuffed: How The Prison System Fails Pregnant Women And Their Newborns, Sarah B. Bondar

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Over 200,000 women are incarcerated in the United States’ federal and state correctional institutions on any given day. In fact, more women are incarcerated now than ever before, and those rates of incarceration continue to grow at an exponential rate. Despite this large increase in the number of incarcerated women, jail policies, health-care protocols, and important interventions continue to focus primarily on incarcerated men and fail to consider the gender-specific needs of the increasing population of incarcerated females.

This comment discusses ways the United States prison system fails the pregnant women in their care. It discusses four main points including: …

Energy Justice And Renewable Rikers, Rebecca Bratspies

University of Miami Law Review

Unsustainable energy practices generate the lion’s share of global carbon emissions as well as staggering levels of deadly particulate pollution. Replacing the current dirty, fossil fuel-based system with affordable, clean energy is both a human rights imperative and a climate change necessity. This transition, which has already begun, creates the opportunity to do things differently. By confronting the structural racism embedded in existing energy structures, we can build a just transition rather than just a transition. This Article uses New York City’s Renewable Rikers project as a case study to explore how we might take advantage of the intersections between …

Sentence Served And No Place To Go: An Eighth Amendment Analysis Of "Dead Time" Incarceration, Christopher B. Scheren

Northwestern University Law Review

Although the state typically releases incarcerated people to reintegrate into society after completing their terms, indigent people convicted of sex offenses in Illinois and New York have been forced to remain behind bars for months, or even years, past their scheduled release dates. A wide range of residency restrictions limit the ability of people convicted of sex offenses to live near schools and other public areas. Few addresses are available for them, especially in high-density cities such as Chicago or New York City, where schools and other public locations are especially difficult to avoid. At the intersection of sex offenses …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of African American Males' Challenges In Post Incarceration, Amber L. Scott

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This purpose of this phenomenological study is to understand the lived experiences of African American males in the state of Delaware post-incarceration. Incarceration disproportionately affects African American males leading to numerous difficulties during their transition back into the community. The research sought to comprehend the myriad of challenges and identify potential support systems to help facilitate successful reintegration. By utilizing a qualitative research approach, the study employs in-depth interviews to collect data from African American males who have experienced life post-incarceration. The analysis of the data incorporates elements of critical race theory and labeling theory to unravel the interplay of …

Unshielded: How The Police Can Become Touchable, Brandon Hasbrouck

Scholarly Articles

This Review proceeds in three Parts. First, Part I examines Shielded’s text, highlighting Schwartz’s analysis of the problem of unaccountable police, the many barriers to holding police accountable, and her proposed solutions. Part II then critically examines Schwartz’s work, examining pieces of the problem she left undiscussed and the relative shortcomings of her discussion of possible solutions. Finally, Part III takes an abolitionist approach, delving into potential nonreformist reforms and the solution of full abolition, as well as examining the most significant objection to abolitionist approaches: the problem of violence.

Toward A Better Criminal Legal System: Improving Prisons, Prosecution, And Criminal Defense, David A. Harris, Created And Presented Jointly By Students From State Correctional Institution - Greene, Waynesburg, Pa, And University Of Pittsburgh School Of Law, Chief Editor: David A. Harris

Articles

During the Fall 2023 semester, 15 law (Outside) students from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and 13 incarcerated (Inside) students from the State Correctional Institution – Greene, in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, took a full semester class together called Issues in Criminal Justice and Law. The class, occurring each week at the prison, utilized the Inside-Out Prison Exchange pedagogy, and was facilitated by Professor David Harris. Subjects include the purposes of prison, addressing crime, the criminal legal system and race, and issues surrounding victims and survivors of crime. The course culminated in a Group Project; under the heading “improving the …

A Second Chance At Success: Using “Second Look” Laws To Modify Sentences Of Juvenile Offenders, Sophia M. Adams

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

“Second look” sentencing laws allow incarcerated individuals to petition to have their sentences reexamined and potentially reduced after they have served a significant period of incarceration. This rehabilitative relief is conditioned upon an offender showing that they have made meaningful positive changes while incarcerated and would not pose a threat to their community if released. Implementing second look laws is particularly appropriate in the context of offenders who have committed crimes as juveniles. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that juvenile offenders are less culpable than their adult counterparts and psychological science supports this conclusion. This Comment examines and compares …

Exploring Forensic Psychologist, Psychiatrists And Lawyers Perceptions On Incorrigibility And Juvenile Resentencing, Tyeca Reviere

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The United States is one of the only countries in the world that sentences juveniles to life without parole. In the United States, over 2,500 juveniles as young as the age of 13 are serving life in prison sentences without the possibility of parole. In 2012, the Supreme Court case Miller v. Alabama determined that sentencing a juvenile to life without parole was unconstitutional. Forensic psychologists, psychiatrists, and lawyers assist in resentencing juveniles by determining if a juvenile is incorrigible (not rehabilitated). The method of determining incorrigibility regarding juvenile resentencing has not been standardized or well-defined amongst professionals in psychology …

Behind Bars: An Analysis Of The Incarceration Of Black Americans, Tommy A. Valente

Tenor of Our Times

In this study, I attempt to explain the disproportionate incarceration rates which exist in the United States. The black American are incarcerated at a significantly higher rate than any other ethnic group in the country. I hypothesize single parent households and poor public education systems will have significant influences on incarceration rates. For this study I run an OLS regression and use data from all fifty states between 2019-2020. I use seven independent variables in this study: ACGR score, GDP per capita, unemployment rate, percent of births to unmarried women, homicide rate, population, and political party affiliation of a state. …