Law Commons^™

Inmate Assistance Programs: Toward A Less Punitive And More Effective Criminal Justice System, Erkmen G. Aslim, Yijia Lu, Murat C. Mungan

Faculty Scholarship

High recidivism rates in the United States are a well-known and disturbing problem. In this article, we explain how this problem can be mitigated in a cost-effective manner through reforms that make greater use of humane methods that help inmates rather than using more punitive measures.

We focus on Inmate Assistance Programs (IAPs) adopted by many states. Some of these programs provide inmates with valuable skill sets to utilize upon their release while others are geared towards treating mental health and substance use disorder problems. IAPs are likely to reduce recidivism by lowering ex-convicts’ need to resort to crime for …

The Methodology Of Social Adaptation Following The Liberation Of A Wrongful Conviction, Ashantwa Jackman

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Applying Maimonides’ Hilkhot Teshuvah–Laws Of Repentance – In The Criminal Law System Of The State Of Israel: An Israeli Judge’S Perspectives, Moshe Drori

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

No Longer A ‘Collateral Consequence’: Imprisonment And The Reframing Of Citizenship, Cormac Behan

Articles

This article examines the impact of imprisonment on citizenship. It identifies how civil, political and social rights are circumscribed with a sentence of imprisonment, and scrutinizes to what extent citizenship is limited for prisoners. Drawing on recent developments in England and Wales, it contends that citizenship has been eroded, not as a ‘collateral consequence’ of imprisonment, but rather as a determined penal policy. The boundaries of punishment have become blurred, moving from criminal justice institutions, and extending towards what is termed civil and political penality. Finally, it argues that, because citizenship in prison is inevitably framed around the differences between …

Reassessing Prosecutorial Power Through The Lens Of Mass Incarceration, Jeffrey Bellin

Jeffrey Bellin

No abstract provided.

An Informational Approach To The Mass Imprisonment Problem, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

The United States is plagued by the problem of mass imprisonment, with its prison population having risen by 500% in the last three decades. Because the overwhelming majority of criminal cases are resolved through plea bargaining, there is room for prosecutors to reduce mass imprisonment by exercising their wide discretion. At present, prosecutors likely do not give much consideration to the overcrowding of America 's jails and prisons when making their plea bargain offers. However, if prosecutors were regularly advised of such overcrowding they might offer marginally lower sentences across the board. For instance, a prosecutor who typically offers a …

Connecting The Disconnected: Communication Technologies For The Incarcerated, Neil Sobol

Neil L Sobol

Incarceration is a family problem—more than 2.7 million children in the United States have a parent in jail or prison. It adversely impacts family relationships, financial stability, and the mental health and well-being of family members. Empirical research shows that communications between inmates and their families improve family stability and successful reintegration while also reducing the inmate’s incidence of behavioral issues and recidivism rates. However, systemic barriers significantly impact the ability of inmates and their families to communicate. Both traditional and newly developed technological communication tools have inherent advantages and disadvantages. In addition, private contracting of communication services too often …

Judicious Imprisonment, Gregory Jay Hall

All Faculty Scholarship

Starting August 21, 2018, Americans incarcerated across the United States have been striking back — non-violently. Inmates with jobs are protesting slave-like wages through worker strikes and sit-ins. Inmates also call for an end to racial disparities and an increase in rehabilitation programs. Even more surprisingly, many inmates have begun hunger strikes. Inmates are protesting the numerous ills of prisons: overcrowding, inadequate health care, abysmal mental health care contributing to inmate suicide, violence, disenfranchisement of inmates, and more. While recent reforms have slightly decreased mass incarceration, the current White House administration could likely reverse this trend. President Donald Trump’s and …

Connecting The Disconnected: Communication Technologies For The Incarcerated, Neil Sobol

Faculty Scholarship

Incarceration is a family problem—more than 2.7 million children in the United States have a parent in jail or prison. It adversely impacts family relationships, financial stability, and the mental health and well-being of family members. Empirical research shows that communications between inmates and their families improve family stability and successful reintegration while also reducing the inmate’s incidence of behavioral issues and recidivism rates. However, systemic barriers significantly impact the ability of inmates and their families to communicate. Both traditional and newly developed technological communication tools have inherent advantages and disadvantages. In addition, private contracting of communication services too often …

Lessons Learned From Ferguson: Ending Abusive Collection Of Criminal Justice Debt, Neil L. Sobol

Neil L Sobol

On March 4, 2015, the Department of Justice released its scathing report of the Ferguson Police Department calling for “an entire reorientation of law enforcement in Ferguson” and demanding that Ferguson “replace revenue-driven policing with a system grounded in the principles of community policing and police legitimacy, in which people are equally protected and treated with compassion, regardless of race.” Unfortunately, abusive collection of criminal justice debt is not limited to Ferguson. This Article, prepared for a discussion group at the Southeastern Association of Law Schools conference in July 2015, identifies the key findings in the Department of Justice’s report …

Trapped In The Shackles Of America's Criminal Justice System, Shristi Devu

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming

Reassessing Prosecutorial Power Through The Lens Of Mass Incarceration, Jeffrey Bellin

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Penal Culture And Hyperincarceration: The Revival Of The Prison, Alex Steel, Chris Cunneen, David Brown, Eileen Baldry, Melanie Schwartz, Mark Brown

David C. Brown

What are the various forces influencing the role of the prison in late modern societies? What changes have there been in penality and use of the prison over the past 40 years that have led to the re-valorization of the prison? Using penal culture as a conceptual and theoretical vehicle, and Australia as a case study, this book analyses international developments in penality and imprisonment. Authored by some of Australia’s leading penal theorists, the book examines the historical and contemporary influences on the use of the prison, with analyses of colonialism, post colonialism, race, and what they term the ‘penal/colonial …

Lessons Learned From Ferguson: Ending Abusive Collection Of Criminal Justice Debt, Neil L. Sobol

Faculty Scholarship

On March 4, 2015, the Department of Justice released its scathing report of the Ferguson Police Department calling for “an entire reorientation of law enforcement in Ferguson” and demanding that Ferguson “replace revenue-driven policing with a system grounded in the principles of community policing and police legitimacy, in which people are equally protected and treated with compassion, regardless of race.” Unfortunately, abusive collection of criminal justice debt is not limited to Ferguson. This Article, prepared for a discussion group at the Southeastern Association of Law Schools conference in July 2015, identifies the key findings in the Department of Justice’s report …

Risk As A Proxy For Race: The Dangers Of Risk Assessment, Bernard E. Harcourt

Faculty Scholarship

Actuarial risk assessment in the implementation and administration of criminal sentencing has a long history in this country – a long and fraught history. Today, many progressive advocates promote the use of actuarial risk assessment instruments as part of a strategy to reduce the problem of "mass incarceration." Former Attorney General Eric Holder has called on the U.S. Sentencing Commission to hold hearings to further consider the matter of risk assessment and prediction tools in sentencing and parole.

The objective – to reduce our massive over-incarceration in this country – is critical and noble. But risk assessment tools are simply …

Supreme Court, Bronx County, People V. Butler, Courtney Weinberger

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rethinking The Timing Of Capital Clemency , Adam M. Gershowitz

Michigan Law Review

This Article reviews every capital clemency over the last four decades. It demonstrates that in the majority of cases, the reason for commutation was known at the conclusion of direct appeals—years or even decades before the habeas process ended. Yet when governors or pardon boards actually commuted the death sentences, they typically waited until the eve of execution, with only days or hours to spare. Leaving clemency until the last minute sometimes leads to many years of unnecessary state and federal habeas corpus litigation, and this Article documents nearly 300 years of wasted habeas corpus review. Additionally, last-minute commutations harm …

Prosecutorial Decriminalization, Erik Luna

Erik Luna

The article discusses the legal concept of prosecutorial decriminalization in the U.S. as of July 2012, focusing on an analysis of the use of criminal laws to enforce the public standards of morality in America. Penal codes and criminal sanctions are addressed, along with several reform measures aimed at restructuring a criminal law system in the U.S. which has reportedly been overburdened by overcriminalization. The use of the American judiciary system as a check on overcriminalization is mentioned.

International Perspective, Douglass Cassel

Douglass Cassel

No abstract provided.

Prosecutorial Decriminalization, Erik Luna

Scholarly Articles

The article discusses the legal concept of prosecutorial decriminalization in the U.S. as of July 2012, focusing on an analysis of the use of criminal laws to enforce the public standards of morality in America. Penal codes and criminal sanctions are addressed, along with several reform measures aimed at restructuring a criminal law system in the U.S. which has reportedly been overburdened by overcriminalization. The use of the American judiciary system as a check on overcriminalization is mentioned.

Incarcerating Indigenous People Of The Wongatha Lands In The Eastern Goldfields Of Western Australia : Indigenous Leaders’ Perspectives, Stephen J. Bedells

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The Wongi

people are Indigenous to the Goldfields region and account for just 10 per cent of the population; yet they make up 90 per cent of the prisoners. With Indigenous incarceration rates above 8,000 per 100,000 adult male population in Western Australia, imprisonment is clearly a common experience for Indigenous men and women that profoundly affect the lives of their families. Gaols are meant to be used as a sentence of last resort when the severity of the offence requires severe punishment and prevention of further offences requires close confinement. For this research, Wongi leaders were interviewed about their …

Retribution And The Experience Of Punishment, John Bronsteen, Christopher Buccafusco, Jonathan S. Masur

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Press Freedom In Egypt, Amira Abdel Fattah Hussein

Archived Theses and Dissertations

In many countries, those who dare to criticize their governments, speak on behalf of a suppressed minority, or call for political or economic reforms are often portrayed as "traitors" trying to disseminate hatred and hostility and disturb national stability. In such cases, states that are often "equipped" with tailor-made national laws, remaining on alert to punish those who are courageous enough to challenge their governments can easily harass those who dare to defy the state's policies, measures or even orientation. As noted by James D. Seymour in his article Indices of Political Imprisonment, imprisonment is one of the most …

An Informational Approach To The Mass Imprisonment Problem, Adam M. Gershowitz

Faculty Publications

The United States is plagued by the problem of mass imprisonment, with its prison population having risen by 500% in the last three decades. Because the overwhelming majority of criminal cases are resolved through plea bargaining, there is room for prosecutors to reduce mass imprisonment by exercising their wide discretion. At present, prosecutors likely do not give much consideration to the overcrowding of America 's jails and prisons when making their plea bargain offers. However, if prosecutors were regularly advised of such overcrowding they might offer marginally lower sentences across the board. For instance, a prosecutor who typically offers a …

International Perspective, Douglass Cassel

Journal Articles

I don't think it's accurate to say this panel has six experts on incarceration. I think we really have five experts and one dilettante. I know a bit about international human rights law. I am not an expert on prisons and I am overwhelmed by the expertise and the statistics that we've just received and about which I hope to learn a great deal more. So I apologize to you in advance for supplying nothing more than impressions of the international realities of incarceration. I will then skip quickly ahead to the law.

Grand Jury

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Study In The Treatment Of Crime And Law Enforcement In The United States As Compared To The European Countries., George E. Glos

St. Mary's Law Journal

The United States holds a comparably higher crime rate than European countries in the area of homicide, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, and incitation of riots. This article explores the differences existing in the treatment of serious crimes in the leading systems of criminal law and law enforcement. This study examines how the United States, compared with European countries, define subcategories of major crimes and establish the penalties, defenses, and the access to relief attached to each crime. Contrasted with the provisions of the various states of the United States, the European provisions are simpler and carry stiffer penalties. The object …

Why Imprisonment Must Go, Giles Playfair

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.