By Róisín Mulgrew  

The State duty to prevent preventable prisoner deaths is easy to state and substantiate. Yet prisoner death rates are increasing around the world and are often much higher than those in the community. To understand why this is happening, the findings and recommendations of the country reports of international oversight bodies and thematic reports from international rapporteurs are synthesised with contemporary rights-informed penal standards, multi-disciplinary scholarship, non-governmental organization reports and media extracts. On the basis of this knowledge, this reform-oriented article explores the impact of structural, societal and environmental factors on natural and violent prisoner deaths and how these factors operate cumulatively to create dangerous and life-threatening custodial environments. The paper makes recommendations to reaffirm and enumerate the positive obligation to protect prisoners’ lives, develop specialist standards, adopt a broader approach to prison oversight and create a specific United Nations mandate on prisoner rights.

Human Rights Law Review, 2023, 23, 1–25.  

By Andrew M. Beresford

From the preface: “ According To Popular Tradition, the Sicilian virgin, martyr, Aatha, died in Cantania at the height of the Decian persecutions (250-53). Desired by Quintianus, the low-born Roman consul, she spurned his advances and was imprisoned in a brothel, where its keeper, the appropriately named Aphrodisia, was charged with the responsibility of shattering her sexual resolve. When the attempt at coercion failed, Agatha was summoned once again before Quintianus, and after further interrogation, was subjected to a series of gruesome tortures -the most infamous being the severing of her breast. That night, while suffering in prison, Saint Peter appeared before her, and, in amiraculous act of intervention, healed her wounds and restored her breast. The following day, humiliated and enraged, Quintianus inflicted further pains upon her, and having borne her suffering with exemplary courage and steadfast devotion, she eventually yielded up her soul.

Newark, DE. Juan de la Cuesta-Hispanic Monographs. 2010. 259p.

By Francis T. Cullen Karen E. Gilbert

From the Foreword by Donald Cressey: “'This is more than a book about punishment versus rehabilitation of criminals. It is, to be sure, the first book to defend the notion that Americans acted unwisely and too hastily when they recently exorcised rehabilitation programs from prisons. But it also is an essay on how social movements go awry - on the unanticipated consequences of purposive social action. Further, it documents aproposition which humanitarian policy makers established centuries ago, namely that "government by law" always will, in the absence of "government by men,"' have gross injustice as its consequence. More generally, it pinpoints the tragic irony involved as humanitarians, bent on reducing pain and suffering in the world, have recently convinced Amer icans to inflict more pain and suffering on criminals, even if doing so allows criminals to inflict more pain and suffering on the rest of us.”

Cincinnati, Ohio. Anderson Publishing Co. 1982. 339p. Book contains mark-up

By Franklin E. Zimring and Gordon .J Hawkins

From the Foreword: “Deterring future misconduct is probably the principal aim of criminal sanctions. Yet decisions are made by legislators, sentencing judges, and parole boards with virtually no knowledge and little analysis about the future effects which their actions will have. The authors have taken an important step in beginning to fil this gap. Their book is an authoritative and stimulating analysis of deterrence in criminal law.”

Chicago. The University Of Chicago Press. 1973. 385p.

By E.L.S. Horsburgh

From the introduction: The life of Girolamo Savonarola was contained with-in the last fifty years of the fifteenth century (1452-98).. That is to say, he was exactly contemporary with a most brilliant, diversified and momentous epoch in the history of the world. He was himself very much the product of the influences which surrounded him, though in some respects he represented antagonism to them, and reaction against them. From whatever point of view he is to be regarded, it is essential first of all to understand something of the age in which he lived….

London. Methuen & Co. Ltd. 1911.

By Karen A. Winstead

From Amazon: Stories of the torture and execution of beautiful Christian women first appeared in late antiquity and proliferated during the early Middle Ages. A thousand years later, virgin martyrs were still the most popular female saints. Their legends, in countless retellings through the centuries, preserved a standard plot―the heroine resists a pagan suitor, endures cruelties inflicted by her rejected lover or outraged family, works miracles, and dies for Christ. That sequence was embellished by incidents emblematic of the specific saint: Juliana's battle with the devil, Barbara's immurement in the tower, Katherine's encounter with spiked wheels. Karen A. Winstead examines this seemingly static story form and discovers subtle shifts in the representation of the virgin martyrs, as their legends were adapted for changing audiences in late medieval England.

Ithaca. Cornell University Press. 1997. 209p.

Edited by Richard H.Walters, J.Allencheyne And Robin K.Banks

From the cover: Progressive thought in education and childcare prefers to stress reward rather than punishment. Yet people do punish each other constantly in a multitude of subtle and sometimes not so subtle ways. What then are the occasions and effects of this persistent form of behaviour?

The work collected here explains the role of the concept in psychology and illuminates the cluster of ideas,acts and. emotions - fear, resistance, anxiety, masochism, self-criticism, obedience, socialization- that surrounds acts of punishment.

The editors move from laboratory to life and from theory to application throughout the book. 'This organization has led to a combination of both animal and human research and, when other considerations seemed about equal, to a preference for work at the human level.

By Willam Clarke

From The Preface: The life and character of Savonarola Haw have been rightly supposed to present great difficulties in the historian.. From the day of his death – nay, morefrom the day of his power in Florence— up to our own times, opinions of the most diverse kind have been entertained…. The supporters of despotism, ecclesiastical and civil, have cherished a feeling of bitter enmity against the man who had such an ardent love of liberty; and they have joined the prophets of scepticism, who have had nothing but contempt and hatred for one who was so powerful a witness for religion and God. ..According to the sceptic style, he was a ridiculous and base imposter, who richly deserved the fate that befell him …

Chicago. A. C. MCCLURG & Co. I900. 342p.

By S. Chandler.

From the Preface by Charles Atmore.: This work comprises everything of importance connected with the dreadful persecutions which have disgraced human nature, both in ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad ; and is designed to prove that the things for which Christians have persecuted one another have generally been of small importance; that pride, ambition, and covetousness, have been the grand sourses of persecution; and that the religion of Jesus Christ absolutely condemns all persecution for conscience sake…..While this work was in the press, one of the most important events to Religious Liberty occurred, which has taken place the glorious area of The Revolution, in 1688 viz. the repeal of the Persecuting laws, and the passing of the New Toleration Act. This event is so closely connected with the subject matter of work, and reflects so much honour on the British government and nation that I feel highly gratified in affording the reader, a detail of the various steps which were taken to obtain that Act : which www effectually secures to every subject of the British Em.Empire all the Religious Liberty he can expect or desire. I willingly record this memorial, that we, and our children after us, may know how to appreciate our invaluable privileges ; and that the names of those nobleman and others who boldly stood forth in fthedefence and support of Religious Toleration, might be handed down to posterity, that “ our children may tell their children, and their children another generation.”

London. Longman Hirst et al. 1813.514p.

By Torsten Eriksson

Translated from the original Swedish text by Catherine Djurklou. From the cover: Torsten Eriksson traces the history of reform experiments in criminal treatment in Europe and the United States from the sixteenth century to the present day. Experiments with separate and solitary confinements, self-government in institutions, and modern methods of treatment in psychiatric and psychological institutions are among the topics covered in Eriksson's d scription of the achievements and failures of pioneer reformers. The Reformers recounts ideas conceived, expressed, and executed throughout history which parallel our thoughts today, lending perspective to present-day attempts at prison reform. It is the first book of its kind that concentrates entirely on the develop- ment of treatment methods for criminals. This unique and scholarly volume should be essential reading for al those who take a serious interest in the treatment of offenders.

NY. Elsevier. 1976. 320p.

By Mandell Creighton

From the introduction: ‘The existence of persecution in the Christian Church is a fact which is more frequently commented on than explained. Greater attention has been paid to the methods and extent of persecution than to the causes which produced it, or the causes which brought it to an end. It is indeed dificult to approach the subject in an impartial spirit. Those who write the history of any period of persecution tend either to exag- gerate or to apologise. On the one side, there is a desire to represent persecution as especially inherent in all religious systems, or it may be, as especially inherent in Christianity. On the other side, there is a tendency to plead the generally beneficent action of a particular form of religious organisation in relation to the world's progress as an extenuation of its particular misdoings. The history of persecution is a large subject…”

London. Longmans Green. 1906. 152p. Read-Me.Org classic reprint.

By William Haller

From the Preface. My intention in these pages is to offer an account of the usually referred to as The Book of Martyrs, in what I conceive to be the context of its own time. The account is based primanly on a study of that book in the successive versions and editions published by the author in his lifetime and of the relevant contemporary literature ofProtestant edification and propaganda. Foxe published two preliminary versions of his book on the Continent in 1554 and 1559, the first English version in 1563. A much revised and greatly enlarged version in 1570, and two editions in 1576 and 138g with some further revisions and additions but no significant changes. In the century after his death five more editions, based on the text of 1583, appeared in 1596, 1610, 1631-2, 1641 and 1684. The same text, slightly bowdlerized and at certain points somewhat awkwardly conflated with the text of 1563, was again reproduced in an edition in eight volumes issued by S.R. Cattley in 1837, later revised by Josiah Pratt,and reissued with pagination unchangedi 1843-9, 1870 and 1877. Quotations from the book in the following pages correspond to the text as it appearsin the Cattley-Pratt edition, corrected as may be necessary according to theoriginal. Spelling and punctuation have been regulated according to present usage. Of the numerous other editions or versions of Foxe's book published subsequentlyto 1684. I have examined a considerable number but not all, and have found none to be complete and many to be grossly corrupt. Most of the stories ofthe Marian martyrs appeared for the first time in print in the pages of Foxe's book, but some were published separately on the Continent during Mary’s reign…”

London. Bayler and Son. 1963. 275p.

By Thielman J. von Braght. Introduction by Graeme R. Newman

From the introduction: It is difficult to go one better than Foxe’s Book of Martyrs of the 17th century that contains endless illustrations of the dreadful tortures and deaths inflicted on the Christian martyrs. The book was so popular that it went through at least three editions in Foxe’s lifetime. Since then, various authors have reproduced aspects of Foxe’s classic, interspersed with some new prints and illustrations,  This book, compiled by Mennonites for Mennonites,  is one such book. The descriptions of the martyrs and their lives and deaths do become tiresome to the secular reader, and the lessons their editors presume to convey – those of the moral superiority, chastity and devotion to their faith – focus on the tenets of Christianity of course, but fail to make any attempt at under­standing the details, procedures, and choices of the tortures and horrible deaths inflicted upon the martyrs by their brutal captors.

By Gretta L. Goodwin; et al.

Approximately 45 percent of people released from a federal prison are rearrested or return within 3 years of their release. The First Step Act included certain requirements for DOJ and BOP aimed to reduce recidivism, including requiring the development of a system to assess the recidivism risk and needs of incarcerated people. It also required BOP to provide incarcerated people with programs and activities to address their needs and if eligible, earn time credits. The First Step Act required GAO to assess the DOJ and BOP’s implementation of certain requirements. This report addresses the extent to which DOJ and BOP implemented certain First Step Act requirements related to the (1) risk and needs assessment system, (2) identification and evaluation of programs and activities, and (3) application of time credits. GAO reviewed legislation and DOJ and BOP documents; analyzed 2022 BOP data; and interviewed DOJ and BOP headquarters officials and BOP’s employee union. GAO also conducted non-generalizable interviews with officials from four BOP regional office facilities, selected to ensure a mix of different facility characteristics. What GAO Recommends GAO is making eight recommendations for BOP to improve its implementation of the First Step Act, including collecting data, ensuring its evaluation plan has goals and milestones, having monitoring mechanisms, and tracking unstructured productive activities. BOP concurred with six recommendations,

Washington, DC: United States Government Accountability Office , 2023. 110p.

By The Criminal Justice Alliance

This study seeks to expand on the limited evidence published to date on the experiences of Black, Asian and minority ethnic women prisoners3 (Buncy and Ahmed, 2014; Cox and Sacks-Jones, 2017; Prison Reform Trust, 2017). It aims to better understand and amplify the diverse experiences of Black, Asian and minority ethnic prisoners, including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people, as well as foreign nationals, across the women’s prison estate in England. This report recognises that the survey respondents are not a homogenous group. They encompass various identities and ethnicities, resulting in a range of lived experiences, both between and within groups. The discrimination experienced by Black, Asian and minority ethnic prisoners held in women’s establishments is multi-layered, with intersectional identities: ethnicity, race, religion, social class, sexual orientation, nationality and gender. Intersectionality recognises that, as individuals are made up of several identities, they may experience multiple interwoven prejudices. For example, women may experience gendered discrimination, and women from minoritised communities could simultaneously face additional forms of discrimination. The findings in this report were gathered by interviewing and surveying individuals within the project’s scope. It presents their perception of (un)fair treatment and the extent to which the prison meets their cultural needs. It provides further detail on incidents of discrimination and the establishment’s response. It addresses the language barriers faced by those whose first language is not English. It also provides examples of positive practice and suggestions for future activities that raise awareness of cultural practices and celebrate religious traditions.

London: The Criminal Justice Alliance, 2022. 84p.

By Amal Ali and Hannah Pittaway

This ground-breaking project centres on the lived experiences of Black, Asian and minority ethnic women in prison, and comes at a time when there is increased attention on race and gender inequality in the criminal justice system, but the combination of these issues rarely receives any government attention. We received over 300 survey responses from women in prison, prison staff and IMBs, improving our understanding of the double disadvantage that women from minority ethnic backgrounds face. We are very grateful to the women with lived experience who co-designed the survey and all those in custody for their honesty and openness when completing it. Their accounts of direct and indirect racism and poor treatment are shocking and distressing. Even more upsetting is their sense of fatalism - they see it as part of their everyday lives. The women lack confidence in the complaints system, do not trust that they will be treated fairly and are often unaware of how the IMB can help. The impact of the pandemic has made this worse. There is an urgent need to address these issues nationally and locally. IMBs play an important role given their day-to-day presence in prisons. Community scrutiny is a vital tool to hold criminal justice agencies to account. The CJA has focused on improving community scrutiny for several years looking at police powers, police custody and now prison custody. We consistently see the same themes: the need for better and more consistent data collection and analysis, more effective equalities training and support, and for community volunteers to be more representative of the populations in the criminal justice system. The recommendations in these reports map out sensible steps Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and IMBs can take to make positive change and I hope to see them being implemented with haste.  

London: Criminal Justice Alliance, 2022. 38p.

By Tammy Felix, David Pyrooz, Meghan Novisky, Jennifer Tostlebe, and Jessica Dockstader

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to pose a substantial problem for our country’s correctional agencies. Since the onset of COVID-19, practical information about effective responses for correctional agencies has been lacking. Correctional leadership has been forced to innovate to keep their staff and populations safe and ensure continuity of operations. Along with the need to make modifications, many state departments of corrections have faced drastically reduced budgets. After two years of these challenges, correctional leaders and staff as well as incarcerated populations have been severely affected. In addition to their normal responsibilities, staff have had to take on additional duties and adjust to major changes in their work environment. The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) recognizes the importance of understanding how correctional systems across the country continue to modify their operations. Studying the outcomes of these modifications is essential to assist the broader correctional system in reaching a new normal. CNA, the Correctional Leaders Association (CLA), and the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) worked with NIC to gather and synthesize fact-based, practical information regarding these modifications. CNA, CLA, and NSA, in conjunction with NIC, recruited individuals from jails and prisons from all 50 states to participate in a survey and focus groups to assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on their operations. This report focuses on the effect of COVID-19 in state correctional systems, referred to as correctional facilities moving forward, by providing information on the modifications correctional facilities made in response to COVID-19, a summary of effects on operations, a discussion of themes that emerged during the focus groups, and highlights of the innovative responses that correctional facilities have taken. The following are our key findings.

Arlington, VA: CNA. 2023. 51p.

By Elias Neibart

In September 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul quietly signed into law the Less Is More: Community Supervision Revocation Reform Act, the state’s fourth major criminal justice reform enacted in the past three years. Less Is More made dramatic changes to the state’s parole system, specifically: Creating a system of earned time credits to incentivize good behavior;Significantly limiting reincarceration for “technical” violations of the terms of parole (i.e., a violation other than committing a new crime), and shortening the length of reincarceration;Limiting the presumption of detention for parole violators, such that technical violators are detained only if they abscond, and criminal violators detained only if a judge rules them at risk of absconding;Raising the burden of proof at revocation hearings and expediting their processing time;Shifting revocation hearings to court rooms and otherwise giving them the trappings of a court proceeding. These changes, supporters argued, were necessary to minimize the unnecessary and counterproductive reincarceration of petty technical violators—the parolee who is on the straight and narrow but who nonetheless finds himself back in prison due to a minor slip-up. In making these changes, however, they also made it harder to detain many serious offenders, including serious criminal violators; evidence from NYC jails show that detention of even violent criminal violators fell in the wake of Less Is More. In addition, it created a greater burden on victThis, we argue, is due to the broad-reaching procedural changes enacted by Less Is More. The lost presumption of detention, heightened evidentiary standards, and constraints placed on the use of technical violations—all of which apply not only to petty technical violators but to more dangerous parolees—have defanged the supervision system. While reforms that reward good behavior and do not over-punish minor violations are desirable, we propose a series of changes to blunt the unintended effects on the more serious offender population. Specifically, we suggest several reforms of the reformims, who are often now involved in revocation hearings in addition to new criminal proceedings.

New York: Manhattan Institute, 2022. 28p.

By Coral Sirdifield, Charlie Brooker, Rebecca Marples

A narrative systematic review was undertaken of the literature concerning the health of people on probation. In this paper, we provide an up-to-date summary of what is known about the most effective ways of providing mental healthcare for people on probation, and what is known about the relationship between different systems and processes of mental healthcare provision, and good mental health outcomes for this population. A total of 5125 papers were identified in the initial electronic searches but after careful double-blind review only four papers related to mental health that met our criteria, although a further 24 background papers and 13 items of grey literature were identified which are reported. None of the included studies was a randomized controlled trial although one was quasi-experimental. Two of the other papers described mental health disorders in approved premises and the other described the impact and learning from an Offender Personality Disorder project. We conclude that the literature is bereft of evidence on how to effectively provide mental healthcare for people on probation.

Forensic Science International: Mind and Law Volume 1, (2020) 100003

By Coral Sirdifield, Charlie Brooker, Rebecca Marples

A narrative systematic review was undertaken of the literature concerning the health of people on probation or parole (community supervision). In this paper, we provide an up-to-date summary of what is known about substance misuse in this context. This includes estimates of the prevalence and complexity of substance misuse in those under community supervision, and studies of the effectiveness of approaches to treating substance misuse and engaging and retaining this population in treatment. A total of 5125 papers were identified in the initial electronic searches, and after careful double-blind review only 31 papers related to this topic met our criteria. In addition, a further 15 background papers were identified which are reported. We conclude that internationally there is a high prevalence and complexity of substance misuse amongst people under community supervision. Despite clear benefits to individuals and the wider society through improved health, and reduced re-offending; it is still difficult to identify the most effective ways of improving health outcomes for this group in relation to substance misuse from the research literature. Further research and investment is needed to support evidence-based commissioning by providing a detailed and up-to-date profile of needs and the most effective ways of addressing them, and sufficient funds to ensure that appropriate treatment is available and its impact can be continually measured. Without this, it will be impossible to truly establish effective referral and treatment pathways providing continuity of care for individuals as they progress through, and exit, the criminal justice pathway.

Forensic Science International: Mind and Law 1 (2020) 100031