Abstract
Previous research has questioned the clinical qualifications and professional competence of physicians who work in correctional facilities. This article further explores these issues by analyzing social control mechanisms that are employed against prison and jail physicians who (a) have been sued in state court by prisoners for medical malfeasance and malpractice, and (b) have had disciplinary action taken against their license to practice medicine. Physicians who were subject to suit are categorized by type of suit, medical complaint, plaintiff's injury, and disposition of the litigation. Drawing on previous research, the authors also classified physicians' rationalizations to prisoner litigation within Sykes and Matza's techniques of neutralization framework. Reporting that prison and jail doctors have higher rates of disciplinary action taken on their license than physicians at large, the article uses the principle of less eligibility to question the ethics of restricting problem doctors to work exclusively in correctional facilities.
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