Mass Incarceration Research Articles

Bad Bridget—An unexplored aspect of the Irish migration story

AbstractThis paper examines how museums can address and raise awareness of histories of incarceration through a case study—the Bad Bridget exhibition, which opened at the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh, Northern Ireland, in April 2022. Originating as an academic research project (2015–2019) led by Dr Leanne McCormick (Ulster University) and Dr Elaine Farrell (Queen's University Belfast), it tells the stories of women who left Ireland for North America between 1838 and 1918 and ended up in trouble with the authorities for one reason or another. A unique mix of sights, sounds, and smells, further enhanced by first‐person narration, is used within the exhibition to encourage visitors to emotionally engage with the experiences of these women. For much of the nineteenth century, Irish‐born migrants were the biggest group in American prisons, and there were disproportionate numbers of Irish girls and women in the justice system, court, and prison (Farrell & McCormick, ‘Bad Bridgets’: The criminal and deviant Irish women convicted in America. Irish Times, 2019). Bad Bridget has provided us with a platform to reveal this previously unexplored aspect of the Irish migration story at the museum, contrary to the “American Dream.”

Health, Access to Care, and Financial Barriers to Care Among People Incarcerated in US Prisons

Decades-old data indicate that people imprisoned in the US have poor access to health care despite their constitutional right to care. Most prisons impose co-payments for at least some medical visits. No recent national studies have assessed access to care or whether co-pays are associated with worse access. To determine the proportion of people who are incarcerated with health problems or pregnancy who used health services, changes in the prevalence of those conditions since 2004, and the association between their state's standard prison co-payment and care receipt in 2016. This cross-sectional analysis was conducted in October 2023 and used data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics' 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates, a nationally representative sample of adults in state or federal prisons, with some comparisons to the 2004 version of that survey. The state's standard, per-visit co-payment amount in 2016 compared with weekly earnings at the prison's minimum wage. Self-reported prevalence of 13 chronic physical conditions, 6 mental health conditions, and current severe psychological distress assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale; proportion of respondents with such problems who did not receive any clinician visit or treatment; and adjusted odds ratios (aORs) comparing the likelihood of no clinician visit according to co-payment level. Of 1 421 700 (unweighted: n = 24 848; mean [SD] age, 35.3 [0.3] years; 93.2% male individuals) prison residents in 2016, 61.7% (up from 55.9% in 2004) reported 1 or more chronic physical conditions; among them, 13.8% had received no medical visit since incarceration. A total of 40.1% of respondents reported ever having a mental health condition (up from 24.5% in 2004), of whom 33.0% had received no mental health treatment. A total of 13.3% of respondents met criteria for severe psychological distress, of whom 41.7% had not received mental health treatment in prison. Of state prison residents, 90.4% were in facilities requiring co-payments, including 63.3% in facilities with co-payments exceeding 1 week's prison wage. Co-payments, particularly when high, were associated with not receiving a needed health care visit (co-pay ≤1 week's wage: aOR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.10-1.86; co-pay >1 week's wage: aOR, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.61-2.93). This cross-sectional study found that many people who are incarcerated with health problems received no care, particularly in facilities charging co-payments for medical visits.

Book Review: Prison capital: Mass incarceration and struggles for abolition democracy in Louisiana by Pelot-Hobbs, L.

Book Review: <i>Prison capital: Mass incarceration and struggles for abolition democracy in Louisiana</i> by Pelot-Hobbs, L.

How Should a Medical-Legal Partnership Address Unique Needs of People With Criminal Legal System Involvement?

Medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) are well suited to address health-harming legal needs associated with the collateral consequences of mass incarceration in the United States, such as those that limit access to food, housing, employment, and family reunification postrelease. MLP innovations seek to expand the current model to address patients' criminal, as well as postrelease, civil legal needs by including community health workers and some patients as legal partners and creating coalitions to promote local and state policy change. Overall, this article explains how these MLP innovations can support rights of people returning to communities after incarceration and can be leveraged to mitigate criminal legal system involvement.

Examining Parole Decision-Making Pre- and Post-COVID-19: Does Elderly Status Matter?

Due to the growing concerns of mass incarceration, coupled with the recent global pandemic of COVID-19, parole is in the spotlight as an avenue for early release. At the start of COVID-19, the elderly incarcerated population received attention due to their vulnerabilities. In this article, the likelihood of parole release and the amount of time candidates must wait postdenial are examined by accounting for the COVID-19 period and a parole candidate’s elderly status. Data come from a U.S. state parole board’s written decisions issued between 2017 and 2022 for individuals sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. While logistic regression models showed COVID-19 and elderly status did not influence the likelihood of release, ordinary least squares (OLS) models found that having a hearing after the onset of the pandemic was significantly associated with shorter interval term lengths. The article concludes with implications for replicating similar studies to understand discretionary release outcomes.

“The COVID-19 Murders”: Prison death-worlds and the fatal convenience of crisis

Since the eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. correctional facilities have reported more than half a million positive cases and nearly 3000 deaths. The carceral regime's unconscionable response to COVID-19 has been accepted as a mere “failure” by observers. We question this reading given the dispossessing purpose of carceral punishment, instead reframing prisons as necropolitical death-worlds that weaponize crisis to advance their repressive capacities. We draw from 132 texts authored by 68 incarcerated witnesses and published by the American Prison Writing Archive to assess how incarcerated individuals experience and interpret both the COVID-19 pandemic and the mitigation efforts enacted by prison administrations. Rather than prisons struggling, sincerely, to slow the spread of COVID-19, witnesses call attention to how prisons constrict and evolve punishment under the guise of care. Sampled writings detail alarming changes, including the excessive application of already harmful practices like solitary confinement. Our findings speak to the “inside,” lived implications of disaster-response by death-worlds, where the necropolitical order practices and perfects its violence with little external protest. Scholars of carceral punishment should more deliberately consider the impact of crises like the pandemic, as it is certainly not the last disaster that the prison order will appropriate.

Mass incarceration as a driver of the tuberculosis epidemic in Latin America and projected impacts of policy alternatives: A mathematical modeling study.

Tuberculosis incidence is increasing in Latin America, where the incarcerated population has nearly quadrupled since 1990. The full impact of incarceration on the tuberculosis epidemic, accounting for effects beyond prisons, has never been quantified. We calibrated dynamic compartmental transmission models to historical and contemporary data from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, and Peru, which comprise approximately 80% of the region's incarcerated population and tuberculosis burden. Using historical counterfactual scenarios, we estimated the transmission population attributable fraction (tPAF) for incarceration and the excess population-level burden attributable to increasing incarceration prevalence since 1990. We additionally projected the impact of alternative incarceration policies on future population tuberculosis incidence. Population tuberculosis incidence in 2019 was 29.4% (95% UI, 23.9-36.8) higher than expected without the rise in incarceration since 1990, corresponding to 34,393 (95% UI, 28,295-42,579) excess incident cases across countries. The incarceration tPAF in 2019 was 27.2% (95% UI, 20.9-35.8), exceeding estimates for other risk factors like HIV, alcohol use disorder, and undernutrition. Compared to a scenario where incarceration rates remain stable at current levels, a gradual 50% reduction in prison admissions and duration of incarceration by 2034 would reduce population tuberculosis incidence by over 10% in all countries except Mexico. The historical rise in incarceration in Latin America has resulted in a large excess tuberculosis burden that has been under-recognized to-date. International health agencies, ministries of justice, and national tuberculosis programs should collaborate to address this health crisis with comprehensive strategies, including decarceration. National Institutes of Health.

Mass Incarceration, Maternal Vulnerability, and Birth Outcomes Across U.S. Counties

ObjectivesTo examine the associations among mass incarceration, maternal vulnerability, and disparities in birth outcomes across U.S. counties, utilizing an ecological model and reproductive justice perspective was used. This study tests whether mass incarceration is associated with infant mortality and low birthweight across U.S. counties, and whether maternal vulnerability explains the relationship between mass incarceration and birth disparities.MethodsData were derived from a variety of public sources and were merged using federal FIPS codes. Outcomes from the CDC Vitality Statistics include percent low birth weight births (births below 2499 g divided by singleton births to women aged 20 to 39) and infant mortality (infant deaths per 1000 live births). Black–White rate ratios were calculated for the birth outcomes to specifically examine the large Black–White disparity in birth outcomes. The analysis controlled for urbanicity, income inequality, median household income, residential segregation, and southern region, as well as a fixed effect for state level differences.ResultsFindings show that counties with higher rates of incarceration have higher prevalence of infant mortality and low birthweight, as well as greater Black–White disparity in infant mortality. Mass incarceration is associated with increases in adverse birth outcomes and maternal vulnerability partially mediates this relationship.ConclusionsFindings provide evidence that heightened levels of incarceration affect birth outcomes for all residents at the county-level. It is imperative to address the overuse of mass incarceration in order to support adequate reproductive healthcare of vulnerable populations in the United States.

The Thorny Intersection Between Adult Drug Treatment Courts and Medical Marijuana Criminal Immunity Laws

Two revolutionary developments impacted the United States criminal justice system over the past 30 years that are now primed for an institutional reckoning—the legalization of medical marijuana at the state level and the exponential rise of adult drug treatment courts across the country. The states that have legalized medical marijuana also provide criminal immunity protections for qualifying medical marijuana patients, including those serving probationary sentences. Drug treatment courts are a form of intensive probation offering treatment services for participants plagued by substance use disorders. Most drug treatment courts operate on an abstinence‐based model and do not permit the use of medical marijuana. Consequently, challenges by drug court participants to the continued prohibition of medical marijuana are on the horizon. The purpose of this article is to highlight the contours of these knotty issues from a sociolegal perspective. The material for this article stems from a review of existing judicial decisions in addition to qualitative data collected during my case studies of three different adult drug treatment courts.

‘A storm is coming:' The New York Times coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in American prisons

ABSTRACT In this research, we analyzed the content of 171 articles published between March and August 2020 in the New York Times (NYT) on COVID-19 in American correctional institutions. We observed that the NYT coverage decreased significantly over 6 months. Our analysis uncovered 8 themes within two broader frames: institutional and systemic inequity. Although the themes are not mutually exclusive, we argue that ‘Responding to COVID-19,’ ‘A storm is Coming,' ‘Collective Experience,' and ‘Critiquing Prison Conditions' are within the institutional framing. ‘Redefining Public Safety,' ‘Categorizing Prisoners,' ‘Doing Injustice,' and ‘Making it as a Celebrity' are the themes that highlight systemic inequity, systematic inequalities, and vulnerabilities of incarcerated people, especially minorities. Although this study is not a test of any theory, the themes are viewed via the lenses of conflict theory. Our analysis showed also that American prisons faced two simultaneous crises: mass incarceration and the COVID-19 pandemic, and that mass incarceration is not strictly a criminal justice problem, but also a public health issue. We found that the policies introduced during pandemic in the American correctional institutions were not only inadequate, but also revealed significant systemic inequalities.

American Mass Incarceration and Post-Network Quality Television, by Lee A. Flamand

American Mass Incarceration and Post-Network Quality Television, by Lee A. Flamand

Criminal Justice Reform: Examining Strategies for Reducing Mass Incarceration and Promoting Rehabilitation

The pressing issue of mass incarceration and explores strategies for criminal justice reform aimed at reducing incarceration rates and promoting rehabilitation. It highlights the social, economic, and human costs of mass incarceration and discusses the need for evidence-based policies and innovative approaches to address systemic issues within the criminal justice system. Mass incarceration has reached unprecedented levels in many countries, including the United States, where it has disproportionately impacted communities of color and contributed to cycles of poverty, inequality, and recidivism. The abstract discusses the various factors driving mass incarceration, such as mandatory minimum sentences, three-strikes laws, disparities in sentencing, and the war on drugs.

Book Review: Everyone against Us: Public Defenders and the Making of American Justice

Everyone against Us is a memoir of a lawyer’s nine year career in the Cook County, Illinois Public Defender’s Office. Readers ought not expect a “wonkish” book, detailing how to improve upon the dysfunction in the American criminal justice system. Rather, it is very personal, with large portions of the book being about the author’s experiences (that can often seem only tangentially related to legal defense). However, this helps the reader delve deeper into the mindset of one called to serve as the sole legal representation of the indigent in one of the largest (and most crime-prone) jurisdictions in the U.S., and it makes for a very readable book.

Reading Prison through the Penal Press: American Prison Newspapers, 1800s–Present: Voices from the Inside and the Prison Journalism Project

Reading Prison through the Penal Press: <em>American Prison Newspapers, 1800s–Present: Voices from the Inside</em> and the <em>Prison Journalism Project</em>

The prison boom, local interpersonal violence, and domestic violence homicide

ABSTRACT The US prison system has exploded since 1970, dramatically reshaping social, political, and economic life in rural communities. Since 2000, roughly one in five rural Americans resides in a prison town. The prison boom is the largest public works project perhaps since the New Deal. Despite a growing interest in prison building, there is a dearth of research examining prison impact – the economic, political, and social costs and benefits for communities that result from building a prison. In this paper, we fill this gap by studying the relationship between prison impact – measured as binary prison presence and cumulative prison count – on violent crime, specifically, intimate partner and domestic violence homicide (IPV/DV). We explore the theoretical foundations for this relationship, including the economic, geographic, and social effects of prisons and correction officers as a high-risk group for perpetrating IPV/DV. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we find evidence of a negative association between prison impact and IPV/DV homicide, with an additional prison in the county corresponding with 0.04–0.12 fewer homicide events. While we are not advocating for prison building as a violence nor crime reduction strategy for communities, our findings complicate the policy consequences of the prison boom, especially in rural communities.

Courting Tragedy: Romance and the Liberal Redemption of Japanese American Mass Incarceration

Courting Tragedy: Romance and the Liberal Redemption of Japanese American Mass Incarceration

Beauty in the struggle: Insurgent safety and abolitionist commoning in Arizona

ABSTRACT Arizona is one of the most punitive places on the planet, with an incarceration rate of 868 per 100,000 people. State actors use criminalization, policing, prisons, and probation to respond to social and economic problems at an industrial scale. In Arizona and across the country, public safety is understood through the logics and material practices of carcerality. Over the past decade, a series of rebellions against police violence and mass incarceration have destabilized the United States’ punishment regime. This article an effort to examine counter-hegemonic conceptualizations of safety at scale, asking: What do non-carceral forms of safety look like in Southern Arizona, in one ward, in one city? To answer this question, we examine the results of the Barrio Centro Community Safety Project (BCCSP) and the emergent practices of one neighborhood collective, Flowers & Bullets. We employ the term ‘abolitionist commoning’ to describe the centrality of land and place-making to recovering and building relations free from domination. In doing so, we advocate alongside a flock of scholars, organizers, and cultural workers for abolitionist models of safety that are place-based and emphasize experimentation, healing, self-determination, and (re)new(ed) modes of sociality.

The Carceral State, Social Disorganization, and Firearm Homicides in Chicago

Black and other racially minoritized groups are overrepresented among those who experience firearm homicide. There has been a stark increase in incarcerated populations in the US since the 1980s, largely due to differential drug sentencing, of which racially minoritized individuals are also overrepresented; social disorganization theory postulates that community and family instability resulting from incarceration can further worsen crime. To understand the association of race-specific incarceration with race-specific firearm violence rates in Chicago, Illinois, through the lens of social vulnerability and family instability. This cross-sectional study with a retrospective cohort design utilized homicide data for the city of Chicago from January 1, 2001, to August 31, 2019. Demographic data at the census block level was obtained from the 2010 decennial census. Incarceration rates were obtained by race and ethnicity at the census tract level from the Opportunity Atlas. Data analysis occurred from January to June 2023. Race-specific incarceration rates were the primary exposures of interest. The Social Vulnerability Index and single-parent households were studied as mediators. Race-specific firearm homicide rates were the outcomes of interest. Structural equation modeling was used to understand the mediating effect of social vulnerability and single-parent households on the association of incarceration with firearm homicides. A total of 46 312 census blocks were evaluated. Black-specific incarceration rates were found to be associated with Black-specific firearm homicides (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.70; 95% CI, 1.50-1.94), but there was no association for Hispanic incarceration rates (IRR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.75-1.28) or White incarceration rates (IRR, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.39-1.16). In the association of Black incarceration rates with Black firearm homicide rates, social vulnerability did not mediate the interaction, but the percentage of single-parent households mediated 23% of the interaction. This study found that higher rates of incarceration were associated with increased rates of firearm homicides among Black communities alone; this association was found to be mediated partially through the density of single-parent households in these areas, suggesting that social disorganization resulting from mass incarceration may perpetuate firearm homicides. Targeted policies addressing mass incarceration and the disparities therein may be a means of reducing urban firearm homicides.

Editorial: Community music and ‘making easy’

Facilitation is a key aspect of community music. While only two of the articles in International Journal of Community Music (IJCM) 17.2 have the word ‘facilitators’ explicitly in the title, all the articles in this issue speak, in their distinct ways, to facilitation/facilitators in community music. Most direct in this regard is the systematic review of research on group singing facilitators by J. Yoon Irons and associates. Other articles in this issue study the activities of the Ostend Street Orkestra in Belgium (Verneert et al.), the Pizzicato Effect in Hume, Australia (Smith et al.), Tàlaidhean Ùra – a Scottish implementation of The Lullaby Project (Tanner, Wilson and Wight), the theatre troupe Sex Worker’s Opera (Flower) and the DocSong method used at in an all-male minimum- and medium-security state prison in the United States (Kirchner). Taken together, the articles in issue 17.2 add to the growing research base on facilitation in community music settings.

His Work Here Is Done: How Sports Journalists and Commentators Framed Colin Kaepernick’s Possible Return to the National Football League

A frame analysis was conducted of recent coverage by sports journalists of the on-again off-again possibility that Colin Kaepernick might sign a contract to play with a team in the National Football League (NFL). Kaepernick was blacklisted by league and team officials angry at, and hoping to avert public backlash from, Kaepernick’s 2016 decision to kneel during the national anthem to protest systemic police brutality and mass incarceration. The analysis enabled the creation of champions, distractions, exile, futility, impact, and spectacle frames. The analysis affirms that journalists may be priming readers to conclude that the NFL has learned its lesson, that some officials should be congratulated for generating the bravery to welcome Kaepernick back to the league and commended for their newfound insights about racism. The episodic frames emerging from coverage of the tryouts and a possible signing affirm that the “new appreciation” of Kaepernick has become a nonthreatening reverence for his place in history. Kaepernick’s exile now reads like a one-off, an outlier, rather than a glaring example of the systemic racism that still infects the league. Frames affirm that the NFL—with help from the nation’s sports writers and commentators—has taken control of the narrative with which fans process an athlete’s activism. They have legitimized the narrow space provided by the league for player protest.