Prison Conditions Research Articles

The Janus Face of Imprisonment: Contrasting Judicial Conceptions of Imprisonment Purposes in the European Court of Human Rights and the Supreme Court of the United States

This paper considers how the Supreme Court of the United States (SC) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) apply, interpret and frame abstract imprisonment purposes, and how they view their relevance to prison conditions, while discussing the constitutionality of prison conditions. The paper argues that the SC and the ECtHR view, conceptualise and interpret the purposes of imprisonment differently. Regarding the purposes of retribution and rehabilitation specifically, the analysis presented in the paper exposes a ‘Janus face’, meaning that each purpose can, and is, interpreted in two different, and almost contrasting ways. The paper offers three themes regarding the conceptualisation of imprisonment purposes by the SC and the ECtHR: First, the relationship between the purposes of sentencing and imprisonment along the penal continuum, and the role of rehabilitation in a prison regime: should sentencing purposes be relatively static during their implementation in prison, meaning that retributive-oriented sentencing purposes should be pursued (SC), or should they conversely progress with the passage of time, from retribution to resocialization as the primary purpose of imprisonment (ECtHR). Second, the meaning of retributivism in regard to prison conditions: should prisoners pay a debt to society by suffering in restrictive prison conditions (SC), or is retributivism achieved by atonement and by finding ways to compensate or repair harms caused by crime (ECtHR). Third, the way in which prison rehabilitation is framed and understood: should prison rehabilitation be seen as a risk management tool aimed purely at lowering recidivism (SC), or as a moral concept grounded in a prisoner’s ability to change his life and belief in personal responsibility for one’s actions (ECtHR). Possible theoretical implications and general policy implications are considered in the paper.

The Cruelty of Supermax Detention and the Case for a Hard-Time Sentencing Discount: A Pragmatic Solution to a Moral Shortcoming Which Is Otherwise Unlikely to Be Fixed

We should send offenders to prison as punishment, not for punishment. This principle is currently being violated in relation to approximately 60,000 offenders who are caged in ‘supermax’ prison conditions in the United States. Many of these prisoners spend up to 23 years in a small cell with no contact with any person. The conditions are traumatic. Emerging evidence demonstrates that these conditions cause considerable psychological and physical harm to prisoners. Understandably, there are growing calls to abolish confinement of this nature. However, there are no signs that abolition of supermax conditions will occur soon. Despite this, it is incontestable that the deprivation experienced by prisoners can vary considerably, depending on the strictness of the prison regime in which the prisoner is confined. Prisoners subjected to supermax conditions suffer considerably more than those in conventional prison conditions. In this Article, we make recommendations regarding the manner in which prison conditions should impact the length of a prison term. We suggest that for most prisoners, every day spent in supermax conditions should result in two days’ credit towards the expiration of the prison term. Hard-time credits are justified by the principle of proportionality, which stipulates that the seriousness of the crime should be matched by the hardship of the penalty. The main cohort of prisoners that should not be eligible for hard time credits are serious sexual and violent offenders who are at risk of re-offending, as determined by the application of a risk assessment instrument. Infringement of the proportionality principle is justified in these circumstances because of the more pressing need to pursue the ultimate aim of sentencing: community protection. Providing hard-time credits for most prisoners who are forced to endure supermax conditions will not overcome the ethical problems associated with this form of detention—which are especially acute given that African American and Hispanic inmates are disproportionality subjected to supermax confinement. However, the reform proposed in this Article will provide a pragmatic solution to a considerable failing in our sentencing and prison systems and operate to make authorities less inclined to subject prisoners to cruel conditions in a manner that does not compromise community safety.

Право на получение информации осужденными к лишению свободы в условиях пандемии вируса COVID-19

The article analyzes the legislation regarding the right of prisoners to receive information. With the spread of coronavirus infection in the spring of 2020, a need arose to study the restrictive measures introduced in correctional facilities. The authors consistently cite arguments confirming the difficulty of exercising the right to information by persons sentenced to deprivation of liberty under conditions of high alert, as well as special conditions in prisons. The article makes suggestions for optimizing legislation that affects the right of a convicted person to receive information.

Prikaz sadašnjeg stanja zatvorskog sistema u Mađarskoj

The aim of this study is to illustrate some/or the main features of the Hungarian penitentiary system. Accordingly, the present paper attempts to introduce the main aspects of the institutions for the accommodation of inmates, as well as the most relevant information about the prisoners, prison conditions and the problems of the penitentiary system.

‘Made Ill by Bad Management’: The Health and Welfare of Prisoners in Nineteenth-Century New South Wales

This article draws evidence from a remarkably detailed report into prison conditions in Sydney that was produced in May 1861 by a parliamentary committee chaired by Henry Parkes. Although comprehensive in intent, the inquiry into this crucial aspect of the administration of criminal justice had little impact. Besides pointing out some of the distinctive features of the committee and its report, which help to explain why this historical source has not attracted much scholarly attention, the article aims to contextualise the surrounding issues. In particular, the report's limited efforts to record and ameliorate the health and welfare of prisoners encapsulated some long-standing deficiencies in government policies toward caring for the incarcerated.

Putting Penal Reform on the Map: Prisoners’ Rights Movements and Penal History

This paper examines the influence of organisations representing “ordinary” prisoners in the Republic of Ireland in the 1970s and 1980s. Although these organisations have been eclipsed in popular and academic studies by protest movements among politically aligned prisoners, they deserve more attention because of their demand for penal reform for all prisoners. While there was a proliferation of prisoners’ rights movements internationally at this time, the momentum for reform in the Republic of Ireland was primarily local, focussing on shortcomings in the prison system. Despite penal reform being a protracted and contested process, the campaigns by prisoners’ rights movements made a significant contribution to the debates around the conditions of confinement and prisoners’ rights in the 1970s and 1980s.

Трудовое использование заключенных в Южнокузбасском исправительно-трудовом лагере МВД СССР (1947–1950 годы)

The article considers the issues of use of prison labour in the “Southern Kuzbass Corrective Labor Camp of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs”. The chronological framework of the study is set between 1947 and 1950. The camp was located in the south of the Kemerovo region in the Gornaya Shoria district. The Southern Kuzbass Corrective Labor Camp was established according to the resolution no. 409 of the Council of Ministers from March 1, 1947. The main activity of the camp was logging. However the penal labor was used not only in the logging industry, but also in the timber processing, construction, and agricultural sectors. Based on archival documents, this article shows the features of the organization of labor activity of prisoners, working conditions, methods of stimulation and encouragement. The author explains challenges that were faced in the process of implementation of measures aimed to improve the working and living conditions of prisoners, their general physical condition and their work motivation. Among them there were difficulties in carrying out measures for labor protection, calculation of wages for prisoners, determination of their employment category, use of mechanized equipment in production activities, ensuring satisfactory sanitary and living conditions. Despite this, the analysis of indicators of labor productivity for individual logging phases in the camp demonstrates a positive trend.

ПОЧТОВАЯ КОРРЕСПОНДЕНЦИЯ АВСТРО-ВЕНГЕРСКИХ И ГЕРМАНСКИХ ВОЕННОПЛЕННЫХ ОМСКОГО ВОЕННОГО ОКРУГА КАК ИСТОЧНИК ПО ИЗУЧЕНИЮ УСЛОВИЙ ИХ СОДЕРЖАНИЯ В ПЛЕНУ

Drawing on the archives, the author analyses the reports of military censorship commission members, whose official function was to systematise and analyse the personal correspondence of Austro-Hungarian and German prisoners of the First World War. The letters of soldiers and officers to their families and friends are reflective of the captivity hardships they had to face in the Russian camps. Of particular scientific interest is the information about their daily life, political stance, contacts with the locals and social adaptation. The author describes different attitudes of the prisoners of war to their conditions and new social status, focusing on a range of emotions of the individual prinsoners of war reported about by the military censors. Written personal correspondence is a unique primary source for studying the past. Thus, the analysis of archival documents provides the information about different reactions of prisoners of war to the same historical event. Such a variety of opinions contributes to the comparative analysis aimed at establishing the truth. New archival documents introduced by the author into the academic circulation supplement the data about the conditions of prisoners of the First World War, namely those dispersed in the Omsk military district in the summer of 1917.

Issues and Challenges Regarding the Human Rights Standards and the Living Conditions of Prisoners in India

Issues and Challenges Regarding the Human Rights Standards and the Living Conditions of Prisoners in India

Power and Premises: The Contested Meanings of the Abrams Dissent

This essay, for a symposium on the centennial of the Supreme Court’s decision in Abrams v. United States, suggests that celebration of the Abrams dissent as the origin of the modern First Amendment rests on a misconception. In the months after Abrams was decided, hardly anyone imagined the dissent as a harbinger of aggressive First Amendment review of convictions for seditious activity, let alone judicial invalidation of democratically enacted laws. Instead, the opinion exacerbated progressive concerns about juror bias, disproportionate sentencing, and weak or vindictive judges. Advocates invoked Abrams as a cautionary tale about the susceptibility of illiberal laws to misapplication and abuse, and they held out treatment of the defendants as evidence of longstanding complaints about police brutality and inhumane prison conditions in a period of profound economic inequality, labor unrest, hostility to immigration, and the uncertainty of a global pandemic. They did not, however, cast the opinion as a justification for judicial review. On the contrary, the Abrams dissent generated support for progressive efforts to limit the power of the courts.

Solitary Confinement and the U.S. Prison Boom

Solitary confinement is a harsh form of custody involving isolation from the general prison population and highly restricted access to visitation and programs. Using detailed prison records covering three decades of confinement practices in Kansas, we find solitary confinement is a normal event during imprisonment. Long stays in solitary confinement were rare in the late 1980s with no detectable racial disparities, but a sharp increase in capacity after a new prison opening began an era of long-term isolation most heavily affecting Black young adults. A decomposition analysis indicates that increases in the length of stay in solitary confinement almost entirely explain growth in the proportion of people held in solitary confinement. Our results provide new evidence of increasingly harsh prison conditions and disparities that unfolded during the prison boom.

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CHARACTERISTIC FOR PRISONERS OF WAR

Problem setting. In the conditions of the hybrid war, the aspects of social responsibility become essential. The most important question is social responsibility of prisoners of war detained by representatives of the illegal armed groups. Recent research and publications analysis. This problem was studied by many national and foreign scientists at times of modern military conflicts. However, the conditions of prisoners stayed at the psychological environment characterized by social responsibility during modern military conflicts are understudied and need additional research. The article objective is to determine the psychological aspects of social responsibility of prisoners of war during the hybrid war. Main material. The article examines various approaches to the definition of an individual’s social responsibility. It states that social responsibility of prisoners of war is associated with lost sense of ownership over their own lives. Attention is focused on the fact that captivity was often the result of a wrong decision. The awareness of responsibility is, primarily, a reflection by an individual of social necessity, this means understanding by him/her the meaning of his/her actions and their consequences. A survey of service members released from captivity in Luhansk and Donetsk regions (207 people) allowed us to determine that captivity and the further status of a prisoner of war is a stressful situation, which has its stages and is characterized by certain conditions. Social responsibility is considered as a prisoner’s need to help other people, or to take care of them. The performed survey proves that strong and smart individuals help those who need their help, regardless of their positions in the military hierarchy. Independence and personal control increase responsibility, and the assessment of task performance stimulates social responsibility, which has ethical and regulatory importance. Conclusions: Social responsibility is not a unitary personal property, its criteria and methods of manifestation can vary depending on age, gender, professional experience in a particular field and many other factors. &nbsp

Тюрма у міському просторі Вінниці (кінець ХІХ – початок ХХ ст.): локація та внутрішній устрій

Стаття присвячена історії Вінницької міської тюрми. На підставі архівних документів, що вводяться до наукового обігу вперше, проаналізовано такі аспекти: розташування в’язниці у міському просторі; діяльність адміністрації щодо організації тюремного життя; повсякденне життя в’язнів; відносини церкви та тюрми. Дослідження є мікроісторичним, у центрі уваги якого конкретні форми соціальних практик.

Expériences de carcéralité

Cet article se base sur une enquête qualitative sur les conditions de sortie des détenus les plus pauvres en France et de leur recherche d’un logement. 44 entretiens ont été menés avec des professionnels de l’insertion. Déplaçant le regard théorique depuis l’effet de clôture de l’enfermement vers l’analyse des continuités expérientielles de part et d’autre des murs de la prison, l’analyse replace l’épreuve de l’enfermement dans une expérience de “carcéralité” qui l’englobe et la déplace. Dans cet article, il s’agit moins de résumer l’ensemble des résultats concernant l’accès au logement des sortants de prison en France, que de se focaliser sur trois paradoxes qui restent souvent dans l’ombre de la sociologie de la prison, et qui appellent à en revisiter certaines routines. D’abord, l’incarcération elle-même constitue moins un “choc carcéral” qu’une expérience banale dans une trajectoire de grande précarité; par ailleurs, la “loi d’airain”, qui veut que les conditions de détention soient pires que les conditions de vie du travailleur pauvre à l’extérieur, trouve ses limites dans l’expérience de celui pour qui la prison devient un asile protecteur. Ensuite, la sortie se caractérise par une impréparation et une incertitude radicale dont pâtissent tout particulièrement les détenus les plus pauvres. Il s’agit moins d’une “libération” qu’une plongée et un retour à la précarité la plus crue. Pour le dire en d’autres termes, la libération ne met pas fin à la peine, elle en fait partie intégrante. Enfin, l’accès à un hébergement, qui se présente souvent comme la seule option, prolonge l’expérience carcérale: concentration d’anciens détenus, insalubrité, violence et discipline forment la trame de la vie quotidienne en leur sein.

Stress management to reduce prisoner stress levels (Community service training in class I Tanjung Gusta prison, Medan)

Penitentiary (prison) is a place where prisoners' room is limited and they are isolated from the community. Prison conditions in Indonesia that are overcapacity now are also conditions that are not ideal for the lives of prisoners. The room must be filled with many people, simple and less varied food, and strict prison rules are stressors that cause prisoners to experience stress. Sarafino (2011) defines stress as a condition where transactions between individuals and the environment lead to a perceived gap between the physical or psychological demands of a situation with the resources of one's biological, psychological, and social systems. The condition of prisoners who experience stress causes them to get angry easily and even behave aggressively which makes the prison atmosphere more uncomfortable. Therefore prisoners need to be helped to manage their stress through Stress Management Training. Stress Management Training given to male prisoners in class I Tanjung Gusta Medan shows the results that stress management techniques taught and applied by prisoners in daily life can reduce the level of stress they experience. Furthermore, by applying stress management techniques routinely, they are expected to be able to manage their stress better so they can live comfortably while serving their sentences in prison.

The Pragmatic Public? The Impact of Practical Concerns on Support for Punitive and Rehabilitative Prison Policies

Although prior investigations have not been designed to assess the issue directly and thoroughly, criminal justice research suggests that the American public supports penal policies that they believe provide utility. The public simultaneously endorses rehabilitation and punishment when they are convinced that these approaches promote general utilitarian penal goals, such as enhancing public safety. It is unclear, however, how other practical aspects of penal policies influence people’s opinions about punitive and rehabilitative prison conditions. Using a randomized experimental design, we explicitly estimate the extent to which public support for punitive and rehabilitative prison policies depends on pragmatic considerations of financial cost, ease of institutional management, and recidivism risk. Our results reveal considerable endorsement for offering rehabilitation to a hypothetical offender as well as expanding the use of such programs to other inmates. We also find less enthusiastic support for austere prison conditions. Public endorsement of both proposals showed evidence of pragmatism, though practical considerations had larger and more consistent effects on opinions about rehabilitation.

Sex and Prisons: Women and Spanish Penitentiary Reform, 1787‐1808

AbstractWhereas prisons had previously been thought of as transitory places for those awaiting trial, the new prison system aimed at the reformation of convicts. In Spain the first organisation set up to improve prison conditions was the Señoras de las Cárceles. This article shows how the Señoras attempted to erase the sexual aspect of women's prisons and create instead a morally acceptable space in which to educate female prisoners. Their practices reveal how changing ideas about punishment and education, sexuality and gender, entered the Spanish penal system, permeated civil society and facilitated the transition to a different legal regime.

Barriers to Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence in One of the Prisons in Iran.

Antiretroviral medications have improved the survival and life quality of people living with HIV and turned HIV into a chronic controllable disease. However, the success of HIV treatment depends on many factors; patient adherence is one the most important indicators. In this study, we explored the potential barriers to an effective adherence antiretroviral therapy (ART) among the HIV-positive prisoners of Ghezel-Hesar prison, Iran. To explore and identify the barriers toward ART adherence, a focus group discussion was held with six prisoners eligible for ART but rejected to be treated or did not retain on ART. The prisoners were recruited through purposive sampling method. All the words, behaviors and even body languages were precisely recorded and analyzed to reach the final results. The most reported obstacles toward ART adherence were the lack of trust in the effectiveness of medications and drug complications. Other reasons were inadequate nutrition, lack of amenities, social stigma, lack of economic and psychological support, misbehavior of prison staff and inadequate methadone prescription for those with opium addiction. Due to the results and the fact that adequate Methadone prescription for opium addiction, improving life quality and receiving emotional and medical support from staff could improve adherence to HIV medication in prisoners,comprehensive education of prisoners about their health condition along with staff education may improve the life condition of HIV infected prisoners and may cause dramatic improvement in ART adherence and prisoners health.

Reflections on Representing Incarcerated People with Disabilities: Ableism in Prison Reform Litigation

Over the last five decades, advocates have fought for and secured constitutional prohibitions challenging solitary confinement, including ending the placement and prolonged isolation of individuals with psychiatric disabilities in solitary confinement. Yet, despite the valiant efforts of this courageous movement to protect the rights of incarcerated people with disabilities through litigation, the legal regime protecting these rights reflects a troubling paradigm: ableism. Ableism is a complex system of cultural, political, economic, and social practices that facilitate, construct, or reinforce the subordination of people with disabilities in a given society. In this Essay I argue that current Eighth Amendment jurisprudence in prison conditions of confinement cases in some ways requires lawyers to engage in ableism to protect their clients from harsh and inhumane treatment. The complexity of this arrangement — as between protecting and expanding the rights of people with disabilities and reinforcing practices that facilitate their exclusion and subordination — is both a cause and effect of ableism, particularly in the area of Eighth Amendment jurisprudence. Though entrenched in our legal institutions, the overrepresentation of people with disabilities in the criminal legal system calls for a new approach to the representation of these individuals. Toward that end, this Essay proposes a series of interventions in both law and professional practice to reduce the reliance on, and effect of, ableism in representing people with disabilities in the prison reform litigation.

Living Conditions Influence Psychological Distress of Migrants in Long-Term Imprisonment.

Background: Serving a long-term prison sentence places a heavy psychological burden on inmates. The concept of salutogenesis and the psychological stress model developed by Lazarus indicate that people can handle difficult situations if they are able to use their resources in a way that makes them feel confident that things will work out as well as can reasonably be expected. However, during long-term imprisonment inmates often have restricted access to potential coping strategies, such as close and trusting relationships. Because of migration-related difficulties, such as poor local language skills and experiences of discrimination, migrants in long-term imprisonment probably experience even more psychological distress than native citizens. Aims: The aim of the study was to compare the amount of psychological distress in migrants and native citizens in long-term imprisonment. In addition, we investigated whether any aspects of living conditions in prison reduce psychological distress. Methods: From the 1,101 participants in the European Union (EU) project “Long-term imprisonment and the issue of human rights in member states of the EU,” we chose 49 migrants, defined as people born in a different country from where they were imprisoned, and 49 native citizens matched for prison, age (+/–5 years), and index offense. The participants completed a questionnaire that included the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and 128 items from a revised version of the Mare-Balticum prison survey. Data were analyzed by multilevel regression models. Results: Native citizens reported higher psychological distress than migrants. However, multilevel regression analyses showed that poor relationships with fellow inmates and increased fear of crime were significant predictors of increased psychological distress in migrants only. Conclusions: Being a migrant by itself does not lead to increased psychological distress in prisoners. This finding can be explained by the so-called healthy immigrant effect. However, migrants experience psychological distress when prisons are not safe and when they do not have close and trusting relationships with fellow inmates.