When he conducted the Stanford prison experiment, Philip G. Zimbardo wanted to know who would win--good people or an evil situation--when they were brought into direct confrontation. The situation won; humanity lost. Out the window went the moral upbringings of the young men involved in the experiment, as well as their middle-class civility. Power…

Medications are central to the psychiatric armamentorium in U.S. jails and prisons. Psychiatric medications are used both to stabilize acute symptoms as well as maintain mental health once symptoms are reduced. Both jails and prisons rely heavily on traditional antipsychotics, but both have a full array of atypical medications in their…

The effect of legal and extralegal factors on felony sentence outcomes has been widely studied, typically using a total incarceration variable that defines sentence outcomes as incarceration or probation. Research conducted by Holleran and Spohn has called this into question, revealing that factors that affected jail sentences were different than…

"For most children and learners, things are getting better." This is an important and encouraging message from Ofsted Chief Inspector Christine Gilbert's Annual Report for 2007/08, and one to hang on to. However, it is not the whole story. From a social justice perspective it is also important to note for whom this is not the case. The Chief…

The educational success of Latino students has never been a more pressing issue. As of July 2001, people of Hispanic origin are the second largest racial/ethnic group in the United States and continue to be the fastest growing group in the United States. Despite this, there is little research on the behavior of Latino students--possibly because…

Prisons are intended to rehabilitate criminal offenders, as well as to punish and incapacitate them. The education and training systems operating within most prisons are a key component of the rehabilitation mission of prisons. Previous studies have shown a relationship between participation in educational programs and recidivism rates, with…

Prisons are usually oppressive, bureaucratic, alienating places that sever or suspend the prisoner's sense of community and restrict the possibility (or desire) for social and civic participation. They produce a nihilistic culture that encourages a numbing detachment from others. How is it that we can speak of democracy in places such as these?…

The attentional blink (AB) is a robust phenomenon that has been consistently reported in the cognitive literature. The AB is found when two target images (T1, T2) are presented within 500 ms of each other and errors are induced on the perceptual report of T2. The AB may increase when T1 has some salience to the viewer. This study examined the…

Suicide prevention training for the prison service in England and Wales has been criticized. STORM is a package emphasizing the practice and review of interactions with suicidal persons and was evaluated in a pilot study for use in prisons. Trainees completed questionnaires immediately before and after training and at 6 to 8 months follow-up.…

The effect of psychiatric disorders on human immunodeficiency virus/sexually transmitted infection (HIV/STI) risk behaviors in juvenile justice youths is examined. Prevalence, persistence and prediction are addressed among four mutually exclusive diagnostic groups and results show a high prevalence rate of many HIV/STI sexual risk behaviors that…

In this article, the authors seek to contribute to the growing engagement with the school-prison nexus by considering two, perhaps less obvious, factors that implicate schools in the business of the prison industrial complex (PIC)--the examples of gentrification and sex offender registries. By unpacking some of the rhetoric that surrounds…

An overview of the history of libraries in prisons. (Author)

In the program, prisoners negotiate parole contracts and release dates from prison. (BP)

A state task force was organized to identify health or environmental deficiencies existing in Kentucky penal institutions. Based on information gained through direct observation and inmate questionnaires, the task force concluded that many hazardous and unsanitary conditions existed, and recommended that immediate action be given to these…

This document discusses Wisconsin state legislation on juvenile justice issues. In part I key provisions of these six bills are briefly described: (1) 1989 Assembly Bill 501, relating to a study of the use of small, secure juvenile facilities and youthful offender facilities; (2) 1989 Assembly Bill 502, relating to an early intervention program…