By Antje du Bois-Pedain

The prevalent criminal justice practices in the U.S. have produced levels and patterns of incarceration that fewer and fewer politicians, scholars, and citizens care to support. There seems to be widespread consensus that the system is indicted as unjust by its outcomes no matter how these outcomes came about. But if that is so, how can it be turned back? Who should be eligible for release, and on what grounds? This article addresses the position of black prisoners serving very long sentences. Many of these prisoners are at risk of missing out under current legislative and administrative proposals designed to reduce overall levels of imprisonment. Partly this is because the wrong of mass incarceration is often understood as a wrong suffered at the collective level by what has come to be referred to as “overpunished communities.” It is unclear how the existence of that collective wrong affects the permissibility of continued punishment at the individual level. This article develops an argument that, at the individual level, being a black prisoner serving a very long sentence gives rise to a moral entitlement for a review of the need and justification for continued incarceration. The article outlines the basic shape of a clemency scheme devised especially for these prisoners as a moral imperative for a reform process intended to remedy penal injustice.

New Criminal Law Review (2021) 24 (4): 655–688.

By Howard League for Penal Reform

Sentence inflation: a judicial critique “Overcrowding has had a mesmeric effect on the prison system and has absorbed energy which could have been used in improving prisons. In addition, prisons are expensive and have damaging effects on prisoners. It is therefore important… to reduce the prison population to an unavoidable minimum.” The Woolf Report, 1991 This paper, signed by the four surviving former Lords Chief Justice of England and Wales, and the only surviving President of the Queen’s Bench Division who was also Head of Criminal Justice, raises serious concerns about the state of sentencing law and practice in this country. It urges not merely the new government, but politicians of all parties, to reflect on Lord Woolf’s words above. In 1991 the prison population of England and Wales was just nudging 40,000. Today it stands at over 88,000 – of whom more than 80% are sentenced – and it has been rising steeply. We already have the highest rate of imprisonment per capita in Western Europe, and the Ministry of Justice’s own projections suggest that by March 2028 we face a ‘low’ scenario of 94,600, a ‘high’ scenario of 114,800, and a central estimate of 105,800. This forecast should be treated as unacceptable. There have been two main causes of the steady rise in prison numbers that has taken place since the Second World War. The first is a continuous escalation in the length of sentences imposed for more serious offences. The second is a lack of confidence in the efficacy of non-custodial sentences for less serious offences. These factors might have been offset if imprisonment had proved an occasion for effective rehabilitation, but it has not. Other causes include the increase in the requirement for many prisoners to serve twothirds of the sentence before release, and that licence conditions now apply for the entirety of the sentence. The number of prisoners recalled to prison during this period of supervision has soared. The construction of prison accommodation is unable to keep pace with the demand for prison spaces. The result is severely overcrowded prisons. As the new Prime Minister has made clear, we are close to breaking point. By the Ministry of Justice’s own measure, there are nearly 8,000 more people in prison than can be held in safety and decency. Reports of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP), including a recent spate of Urgent Notifications of unacceptable prisons, evidence the scope and severity of the challenge. HMIP reports, along with those of the statutory Independent Monitoring Boards report poor physical conditions in many jails, the absence of meaningful activity for prisoners and diminishing safety across the estate. Population and staffing pressures mean that access to a useful daily regime, one which gives any opportunity for rehabilitation, is severely curtailed for most people in prison. Last year, HMIP found that 42% of those surveyed spent more than 22 hours a day in their cell, and that access to purposeful activity in the library, gym, employment and education was limited. Lack of purposeful activity has been repeatedly highlighted as HMIP’s biggest area of concern. To address the current crisis, the last government pursued a series of emergency measures that included reversing an increase in the sentencing powers of magistrates, releasing prisoners days early and delaying court processes likely to result in imprisonment. The new government has reduced the proportion of a sentence that many prisoners must serve before release on licence. Recent Court of Appeal rulings and statements from the Sentencing Council indicate that judges may have regard to the effect of prison overcrowding when passing sentence. From the outset we should be clear in our understanding that prisons hold many people who have committed very serious offences and who present a real danger to the public. In these cases, a substantial custodial sentence will be necessary and inevitable. However, in England and Wales, sentences for such offending have grown significantly over our time as judges. And this growth has resulted in the inflation of sentences across the board 

London: Howard League for Penal Reform, 2024. 14p.

By Tony Parker

Recidivism and Rehabilitation: The document explores the challenges of rehabilitating repeat offenders, highlighting the cycle of crime and punishment.

Humanity and Understanding: It emphasizes the importance of treating criminals as human beings and understanding their circumstances.

Systemic Failures: The text discusses the inadequacies of the judicial and penal systems in addressing the root causes of criminal behavior.

Personal Struggles: The narrative of Charlie Smith illustrates the personal difficulties and societal rejection faced by habitual offenders.

Faber & Faber, 2013, 176 pages

By Michael Balfour

The book discusses the use of drama in the rehabilitation of violent male offenders. Itexplores the theoretical territory of criminology and the rehabilitation perspective, aswell as the application of drama with offenders. The document also includes information on the outcomes and evaluation of drama-based rehabilitation programs.

ResearchGate, 2003, 302 pages

MICHAEL L. RADELET

"The History of the Death Penalty in Colorado" delves into the complex and controversial practice of capital punishment within the state. Revealing the evolution of laws, cases, and sentiments surrounding the death penalty, this book provides a comprehensive examination of its impact on Colorado's justice system and society. From landmark legal battles to public opinion shifts, this thorough exploration offers valuable insights into a contentious aspect of Colorado's history."

UNIVERSITY PRESS OF COLORADO. Boulder. 2017. 300p.

Victor L. Streib

"The Fairer Death: Executing Women in Ohio" delves into the overlooked history of female executions in the state of Ohio. Through meticulous research and compelling storytelling, this book sheds light on the lives and crimes of these women, exploring the societal attitudes and legal systems that led to their ultimate fate. A thought-provoking examination of gender, justice, and the death penalty, "The Fairer Death" challenges readers to confront uncomfortable truths about our criminal justice system's treatment of women offenders.

Ohio University Press Series. Athens. 2005. 202p.

MAY CONTAIN MARKUP

DOMINIQUE MORAN

“The 'punitive tum' has brought about new ways of thinking about geography and the state, and has highlighted spaces of incarceration as a new terrain for exploration by geographers. Carceral geography offers a geographical perspective on incarceration, and this volume accordingly tracks the ideas, practices and engagements that have shaped the development ofthis new and vibrant subdiscipline, and scopes out future research directions. By conveying a sense of the debates, directions, and threads within the field of carceral geography, it traces the inner workings ofthis dynamic field, its synergies with criminology and prison sociology, and its likely future trajectories. Synthesizing existing work in carceral geography, and exploring the future directions it might take, the book develops a notion ofthe 'carceral' as spatial, emplaced, mobile, embodied and affective.”

Ashgate. Surrey, England. 2015. 188p.

MAY CONTAIN MARKUP

BY Gordon Hawkins

The Prison: Policy and Practice delves into the intricate world of correctional facilities, offering a comprehensive overview of the policies governing them and the practices implemented within their walls. This book provides readers with a deep exploration of the evolution of prison systems, the impact of various policies on inmates and staff, and the challenges faced by modern correctional institutions. By examining the intersection of policy and practice, this insightful work sheds light on the complexities of the prison environment and the ongoing debates surrounding criminal justice reform. An essential read for scholars, policymakers, and anyone interested in understanding the role of prisons in contemporary society.

Chicago. University of Chicago Press. 1976. 228p.

MAY CONTAIN MARKUP

By Ernest van den Haag

In the realm of criminal justice, the age-old debate surrounding punishment and its justifications continues to spark intellectual discourse. Examining the perspective famously articulated by Ernest van den Haag brings to light the complexities inherent in the concept of punishing criminals. Van den Haag's stance, advocating for the retributive nature of punishment as a means to uphold societal values and deter wrongdoing, remains a thought-provoking cornerstone in the field.

Delving into the intricacies of this enduring question sheds light on the multifaceted considerations at play when contemplating the appropriate response to criminal acts. As society grapples with the delicate balance between justice, rehabilitation, and retribution, the legacy of van den Haag's insights serves as a poignant reminder of the moral and ethical dilemmas woven into the fabric of punitive measures.

In a landscape where the dynamics of crime and punishment evolve alongside societal norms and values, the exploration of van den Haag's perspective offers a compelling starting point for engaging with the profound complexities inherent in addressing criminal behavior. Ultimately, the discourse surrounding punishing criminals remains a poignant reflection of humanity's ongoing quest for a fair and just society.

NY. Basic Books. 1975. 293p.

MAY CONTAIN MARKUP

EDITED BY TARA HERIVEL AND PAUL WRIGHT

"Prison Nation: The Warehousing of America's Poor" offers a compelling examination of the intersecting issues of poverty and incarceration in the United States. Through meticulous research and incisive analysis, this book sheds light on the troubling reality of how the most vulnerable members of society are disproportionately affected by the criminal justice system. Blending personal narratives with stark statistics, the author navigates the complex web of policies and practices that perpetuate a cycle of poverty and imprisonment. An urgent call to action, "Prison Nation" challenges readers to confront the deep-rooted inequalities that plague the American justice system and to advocate for meaningful change.

Routledge. NEW YORK AND LONDON. 2003. 333p.

MAY CONTAIN MARKUP

By NORVAL MORRIS, MICHAEL TONRY

Across the country prisons are jammed to capacity and, in extreme cases, barges and mobile homes are used to stem the overflow. Probation officers in some cities have caseloads of 200 and more--hardly a manageable number of offenders to track and supervise. And with about one million people in prison and jail, and two and a half million on probation, it is clear we are experiencing a crisis in our penal system. In Between Prison and Probation, Norval Morris and Michael Tonry, two of the nation's leading criminologists, offer an important and timely strategy for alleviating these problems. They argue that our overwhelmed corrections system cannot cope with the flow of convicted offenders because the two extremes of punishment--imprisonment and probation--are both used excessively, with a near-vacuum of useful punishments in between. Morris and Tonry propose instead a comprehensive program that relies on a range of punishment including fines and other financial sanctions, community service, house arrest, intensive probation, closely supervised treatment programs for drugs, alcohol and mental illness, and electronic monitoring of movement. Used in rational combinations, these "intermediate" punishments would better serve the community than our present polarized choice. Serious consideration of these punishments has been hindered by the widespread perception that they are therapeutic rather than punitive. The reality, however, Morris and Tonry argue, "is that the American criminal justice system is both too severe and too lenient--almost randomly." Systematically implemented and rigorously enforced, intermediate punishments can "better and more economically serve the community, the victim, and the criminal than the prison terms and probation orders they supplant." Between Prison and Probation goes beyond mere advocacy of an increasing use of intermediate punishments; the book also addresses the difficult task of fitting these punishments into a comprehensive, fair and community-protective sentencing system.

Oxford University Press, Sep 12, 1991, 294 pages

By David H. Cloud, Ilana R. Garcia-Grossman,  Andrea Armstrong, and Brie Williams

Mass incarceration is a socio-structural driver of profound health inequalities in the United States. The political and economic forces underpinning mass incarceration are deeply rooted in centuries of the enslavement of people of African descent and the genocide and displacement of Indigenous people and is inextricably connected to labor exploitation, racial discrimination, the criminalization of immigration, and behavioral health problems such as mental illness and substance use disorders. This article focuses on major public health crises and advances in state and federal prisons and discusses a range of practical strategies for health scholars, practitioners, and activists to promote the health and dignity of incarcerated people. It begins by summarizing the historical and sociostructural factors that have led to mass incarceration in the United States. It then describes the ways in which prison conditions create or worsen chronic, communicable, and behavioral health conditions, while highlighting priority areas for public health research and intervention to improve the health of incarcerated people, including decarceral solutions that can profoundly minimize—and perhaps one day help abolish—the use of prisons.   

United States, Annual Review Public Health. 2023, 29pg

By The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General

Our inspection identified several serious operational deficiencies at FCI Tallahassee. Among the most concerning were the alarming conditions of its food service and storage operations. Specifically, on our second day at the institution, we observed inmates being served moldy bread and vegetables rotting in a refrigerator in a food preparation area at the female prison. We also observed in food storage warehouses likely evidence of rodent droppings and rodents having chewed through boxes of food, as well as bags of cereal with insects in them and warped food containers. Within 24 hours of the OIG alerting institution management of our findings, they and other staff removed large volumes of food from the storage warehouses. We also identified in the female prison serious infrastructure problems that created unsanitary and potentially unsafe conditions. Inside communal inmate bathrooms, we observed a shower in which discolored water had pooled, a shower that flooded when used, and an inoperable toilet. We also found that female housing unit roofs routinely leak and that all five general population housing unit roofs need to be replaced. Many female inmates live in housing units in which water frequently leaks from ceilings and windows on or near their living spaces. We observed housing areas in which feminine hygiene products were being used to absorb water from leaking windows, an electrical outlet that appeared to have fire damage, a sink that was detached from the wall, and a black substance on walls and ceilings. Additionally, we observed worn bedding, rusted inmate storage lockers, and unlocked supply closets. Most staff and inmates reported feeling safe and did not believe that sexual abuse was widespread at FCI Tallahassee. We nonetheless identified serious issues affecting inmate safety, including Correctional Officer shortages, a lack of supervisory oversight at the male detention center, and operational deficiencies in core inmate management and security functions, such as weaknesses with inmate search procedures and limited security camera coverage. Staff and inmates also told us that staff do not always enforce rules consistently, and inmates believed that certain staff took retaliatory measures against them. Additionally, inmates reported that some Correctional Officers use offensive language when speaking with them. We found that, collectively, these issues have adversely affected the trust inmates have in Correctional Officers, which can cause some inmates to be unwilling to report staff and inmate misconduct due to fear of reprisal. We also found that FCI Tallahassee’s Health Services Department is experiencing significant staffing shortages, with 38 percent of its positions vacant, which is consistent with challenges associated with hiring healthcare professionals across the BOP. While we found that Health Services Department staff work hard to complete many of the core tasks within timeframes set by BOP policy, staff shortages have negatively affected healthcare treatment, including causing staff to modify the time of day it distributes insulin and drugs to female inmates, which may limit the therapeutic benefit of these drugs for certain inmates. Separately, we observed a healthcare provider failing to ask required questions during inmate intake screenings and not informing inmates how to access healthcare services. We note that many of the issues we detail in this report were longstanding and that much of FCI Tallahassee’s executive leadership team is new to the institution. For example, the Warden reported for duty there in January 2023. He and the leadership team were aware of many of the issues detailed in the report and at the time of our inspection had been taking steps to address them. We appreciated the full cooperation they and their staff provided to the OIG team during the inspection. 

Washington, DC, U.S. Department of Justice. 2023, 49pg

By Shaoling Zhong

Rates of suicide among people in prison are elevated compared with people of similar age and sex who are living in the community. Improving assessments and interventions to reduce suicide risk requires updated evidence on risk factors. We aimed to examine risk factors associated with suicide in prisoners.

United Kingdom, Lancet Public Health. 2020, 11pg

By Graham Durcan

Nine out of ten prisoners have at least one mental health or substance misuse problem. Commissioned by NHS England, this report compares current levels of need with prison mental health provision. Centre for Mental Health conducted a survey of current English prison mental health caseloads, staffing, skills, gaps in need and processes. With the support of regional commissioners and local leads, this involved the distribution of three surveys to all English prisons, young adult Young Offender Institutions (for over 18-year-olds) and Young Offender Institutions (for under 18s) in the summer of 2021. 

Just over three-quarters of England’s prisons and Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) returned at least one of the survey forms. This exercise followed on from a consultation and evidence gathering review on the future of adult prison mental health care, also commissioned by NHS England. 

United Kingdom, Centre for Mental Health. 2023, 55pg

By Thomas Guiney and Henry Yeomans

This article seeks to explain the persistence of high incarceration rates in England and Wales. Building upon recent theoretical work on path dependence, we identify prison population forecasting as a poorly understood positive feedback mechanism that helps to determine the overall scale, scope and reach of the prison estate by connecting capital expenditure decisions with ‘business as usual’ planning cycles that assume considerable policy continuity with the past. We illustrate this point with reference to recent controversies over women's imprisonment where the everyday, routinised working practices of the penal system have played an important role in sustaining prison expansionism long after the initial conditions that fuelled the mid-1990s prison boom have faded. Disrupting these self-fulfilling logics will not be easy and we conclude this article with a call for a more deliberative democratic politics that confronts penal momentum and invites greater consideration of the many possible futures of penal policy.

United Kingdom, Howard Journal of Crime and Justice. 2022, 16pg

By Cat Jones and Clare Lally

England and Wales have the highest per capita prison population in Western Europe. In October 2023, over 88,000 people were imprisoned, in an estate with a maximum capacity of 88,890. This was the highest number recorded. 94% of people in prison are adult men and the adult male prison estate is almost full. The prison estate is operating at 99% of its usable operational capacity and over 60% of prisons are overcrowded. Drivers of the current prison population growth include changes in sentencing policy (including increased sentence lengths). Other factors include remand, recall, reoffending and policing. The number of people given immediate custodial sentences has fallen from 98,044 in 2012, to 67,812 in 2022. This suggests that the prison population increase is not driven by more convictions. Nearing capacity can have negative implications for the safe operation of prisons, and for the health, wellbeing and rehabilitation of people in prison. Government action to avoid exceeding capacity includes expanding the prison estate and releasing some prisoners up to 18 days early. As of December 2023, three relevant bills are progressing through Parliament: the Sentencing Bill 2023, the Criminal Justice Bill 2023, and the Victims and Prisoners Bill 2023. Each contains a range of measures, with some likely to reduce the prison population and others likely to increase it. Various stakeholders have proposed additional policy options, such as the greater use of non-custodial sentences, and interventions to reduce the remand and recall populations. Some experts in this field have highlighted the role of public opinion in relation to sentencing policy and the relationship between prisons and the wider justice system. Evidence suggests that the public generally overestimate crime rates and underestimate sentence lengths, and that better-informed members of the public are less likely to view sentences as lenient. More high-quality research is needed to better understand the drivers of increased sentence length and to evaluate health and rehabilitation programmes in the prison context.  

United Kingdom, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. 2024, 33pg

By Andrea Armstrong

This latest report in a series continues to examine deaths among incarcerated people in Louisiana. From 2015 to 2021, at least 1,168 incarcerated people died behind bars in prisons, jails, and youth detention centers across Louisiana. Since our last report analyzing deaths 2015-2019, an additional 375 incarcerated people have died behind bars.

Approximately 86% of known deaths behind bars were of people serving a sentence for conviction of a crime. Deaths of people being held pre-trial, i.e. had not yet had a trial on their criminal charges, constituted 13.44% of all known deaths.

New Orleans, Loyola University College of Law. 2023, 75pg

By John Clegg, Sebastian Spitz, Adaner Usmani, and Annalena Wolcke

The literature on the prevalence and causes of punishment has been dominated by research into the United States. Yet most of the world's prisoners live elsewhere, and the United States is no longer the country with the world's highest incarceration rate. This article considers what we know about the prevalence and causes of incarceration around the world. We focus on three features of incarceration: its level, inequality, and severity. Existing comparative research offers many insights, but we identify methodological and theoretical shortcomings. Quantitative scholars are still content to draw causal inferences from correlations, partly because (like qualitative scholars) they are often limited to studying the present and the developed world. More data will allow better inferences. We close by defending the goal of building precise and generalizable theories of punishment.

Annual Review of Criminology, Volume 7, Page 211 - 231

By Lucy Lang Inspector General

The myriad manifestations of systemic racism in the complex web of social systems throughout New York State and America writ large are well-documented. Criminal justice systems in particular are rife with racial inequities at every stage, from initial contact to arrest, trial, and sentence, and through re-entry and beyond, which are themselves inextricably connected to devastating racial disparities in inter-related and surrounding systems including, for example, education, housing, and public health. In December 2016, The New York Times1 reported on a specific alarming instance of such disparities—those in the allocation of behavioral infraction tickets2 and the attendant punishment by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) to incarcerated individuals in the year 2015.3 Following publication of the New York Times findings, the then governor directed that the New York State Inspector General “investigate the allegations of racial disparities in discipline in State prisons” and recommend solutions.4 After an initial review, the Inspector General recommended that DOCCS engage the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) 5 , a federal agency that is part of the U.S. Department of Justice, to complete a comprehensive assessment based on their extensive national expertise. The Inspector General oversaw that process and the implementation of the accepted recommendations. Over the following half-dozen years, with the cooperation of DOCCS, the Inspector General continued to monitor these trends to determine whether the NIC recommendations had the desired impact, to observe the impact of additional measures implemented by DOCCS to identify and address possible racial bias in its facilities, programs, and disciplinary actions, and  to gather more comprehensive data in hopes of conclusively identifying the root causes of the observed disparities. As part of that effort, the Inspector General conducted its own comprehensive analysis of data maintained by DOCCS on the discipline of incarcerated individuals. This analysis expanded upon the methodology used by the Times6 by covering a broader period (2015-2020), using an alternate method of tallying of incarcerated populations7, and including reports of rule violations, which are known as Misbehavior Reports, that were ultimately dismissed. 8 In addition, the Inspector General retained a professor who is an expert in statistics to review and comment on its analysis.

United States, New York State Office of the Inspector General. 2022, 175pg