Prison Life: Living in and Leaving Prison Notes

Prison Life: Living in and Leaving Prison

Problems of the Adult Correctional System (L01)

• COVID-19 Impact: Prisons became virus breeding grounds. Overcrowding worsened spread. Early releases had mixed impacts.

• Overcrowding: Many prisons exceed capacity, aiding illness spread.

• Mass Incarceration: U.S. relies heavily on incarceration. Prison-building boom since 1979. Many facilities are old.

• Security Levels: Most prisons are medium-security, but most inmates are in maximum-security.

• Rehabilitation Issues: Prisons can exacerbate criminal tendencies.

Men Imprisoned

• Total Institutions (L02): Prisons segregate inmates, enforcing strict rules. Personal possessions are taken. No-frills policies limit services.

• Living in Prison: Inmates are processed, classified, and assigned based on needs. Hard-core offenders go to maximum-security.

• Loss of Privacy and Dignity: Personal privacy is lost. Cells are harsh. Losses include liberty and heterosexual relationships. Violence is a threat.

• Overcrowding and Violence: Overcrowding leads to assaults. Inmates must protect themselves.

• Isolation: Inmates are cut off from families. Health is worse. Diseases are common.

• Adjusting to Prison: Inmates change attitudes, learn survival, and adopt defensive lifestyles. Some join cliques.

• Coping Mechanisms: Power is shared by officers and gangs. Avoiding victimization requires adapting. Inmates cope in various ways.

• Rule Violations: Rule-breaking is linked to youth, low IQ, and repeat offenses. Adaptive coping is difficult.

The Inmate Social Code (L03)

• Inmate Subculture: Inmates form their own world with norms.

• Donald Clemmer's Contribution: Clemmer studied prison life, identifying language and cliques. He noted homosexual relationships.

• Prisonization Process: Prisonization is assimilation into prison culture. Those prisonized are less likely to reform.

• Principles of the Inmate Culture: Includes not interfering with inmates, staying tough, and not exploiting others.

• Right Guy vs. Exploiter: The "right guy" follows the code. Exploiters are shunned.

• Effects of Prisonization: Can be long-term, leading to hostility and violence.

The New Inmate Culture

• Importation of Outside Values: Outside values impact prison life.

• Black Power Movement: Changed inmate subculture, creating racial tension.

• Racial Organization: African American and Latino inmates are organized. Whites form neo-Nazi groups like the Aryan Brotherhood.

• Gang Influence: Gangs replace the inmate code with their own.

Women Imprisoned (L04)

• Historical Context: Few women were in prison before 1960. Treatment differed by race.

• Current Trends: Over 225,000 women are incarcerated.

• Female Institutions: Smaller, less secure institutions offering autonomy. They lack resources.

• Female Inmates: Likely young, minority, unmarried, undereducated, and with health issues.

• Pregnancy and Motherhood: Few policies exist for children born to inmates. Most kids are separated.

• Substance Abuse: Many have substance abuse problems and traded sex for drugs.

• Emotional Turmoil: Many have lost custody and face high suicide rates.

• Adapting to the Female Institution: Less physical danger, more support. Rigid codes are absent. Self-harm is common.

• Make-Believe Families: Women form families for stability.

Prison Violence (L05)

• Overview: Conflict is ever-present.

• Individual Violence: Motives include dominance and conflict. Causes include history of violence, psychological issues, conditions, lack of resolution, and survival.

• Collective Violence: Causes include inmate-balance, administrative-control, and overcrowding theories.

• Sexual Violence: Rape is customary. Weaker inmates are sexual slaves. "Punks" are despised.