|
2012
|
Locked Down: Gangs in the Supermax
By Montgomery, Michael.
American RadioWorks (St. Paul, MN).
The activities of gangs in the supermax at California’s Pelican Bay State Prison are investigated. Resultant findings are posted to this website. Here you can listen to an hour long documentary regarding gangs in the supermax, read the transcript, hear extended interviews from former gang members and prison staff, read about the author’s experience inside the prison, and read a three part expose.... Read More
|
|
|
2012
|
Reassessing Solitary Confinement: The Human Rights, Fiscal and Public Safety Consequences
U.S. Congress. Senate Judiciary Committee. Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights (Washington, DC).
Access to the webcast of the hearing “Reassessing Solitary Confinement: The Human Rights, Fiscal and Public Safety Consequences” can be found on this website. Copies of witness testimony from Charles Samuels, Christopher Epps, Stuart M. Andrews, Anthony Graves, Craig Haney, and Pat Nolan, and subcommittee member statements from Patrick Leahy and Dick Durban are also provided.... Read More
|
|
|
2012
|
Testimony from the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Human Rights, and Civil Rights for Hearing on “Reassessing Solitary Confinement: The Human Rights, Fiscal, and Public Safety Consequences,” June 19, 2012
Solitary Watch (Washington, DC).
This website provides the full transcript for the hearing “Reassessing Solitary Confinement: The Human Rights, Fiscal, and Public Safety Consequences.” It also includes copies of written testimony submitted to the subcommittee from 87 organizations and individuals.... Read More
|
|
|
2012
|
An American Gulag—The Mentally Ill at Supermax
By Cohen, Andrew.
The Atlantic (Washington, DC).
“An ongoing series explores allegations of abuse at ADX-Florence, the country's most secure prison.” Issues covered include: Part One: Descending into Madness at Supermax; Part Two: The Faces of a Prison's Mentally Ill; Part Three: The Constitution and Mentally Ill Prisoners; Part Four: A Prison Chief's Unnerving Suicide-Prevention Memo; and Related Story: Death, Yes, but Torture at Supermax?... Read More
|
|
|
2012
|
Suicide Prevention
By Samuels, Charles E., Jr..
U.S. Bureau of Prisons (Washington, DC).
“In this message, I [Director Samuels] would like to specifically address your [the inmate’s] state of mind, an important part of your overall well-being … Incarceration is difficult for many people … If you are unable to think of solutions other than suicide, it is not because solutions do not exist; it is because you are currently unable to see them … Bureau staff are a key resource available to you … I want you to succeed. I want your life to go forward in a positive direction – a direction p... Read More
|
1 page
|
|
2011
|
Prisons Within Prisons: The Use of Segregation in the United States
By Browne, Angela; Cambier, Alissa; Agha, Suzanne.
Vera Institute of Justice (New York, NY).
This article is a great introduction to the use of solitary confinement in the United States and efforts to reduce the use of segregation. “Segregation is used for a variety of reasons, most commonly as a form of punishment for rule violations, as a way to remove prisoners from the general prison population who are thought to pose a risk to security or safety, and as a way to provide safety to prisoners believed to be at risk in the general prison population … In effect, segregation is a second... Read More
|
4 pages
|
|
2009
|
Prolonged Solitary Confinement and the Constitution
By Lobel, Jules.
University of Pittsburgh. School of Law (Pittsburgh, PA).
The "increasing practice of prolonged or permanent solitary confinement [i.e., supermax prisons] constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Constitution, and whether it violates the due process rights of the prisoners so confined" is addressed (p. 116). This article is divided into three parts: indefinite, permanent solitary confinement and the Eighth Amendment; meaningful review and the Constitution; and mental pain and the Eighth Amendment. The author finds that prolonged s... Read More
|
25 p.
|
|
2009
|
Towards a Fair and Balanced Assessment of Supermax Prisons
By Mears, Daniel P.; Watson, Jamie.
This article examines the impacts of supermax prisons, unintended outcomes, the achievement of goals, barriers to effectiveness, and elements needed to be evaluated for supermax need. A fair and balanced assessment of supermax effectiveness should be based on political, moral, and fiscal dimensions.... Read More
|
39 p.
|
|
2009
|
Impact of a Mental Health Training Course for Correctional Officers on a Special Housing Unit
By Parker, George F..
The effectiveness of a training program about mental illness created by the Indiana chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI-Indiana) for correctional officers on a prison special housing ("supermax") unit is examined. Other agencies may find the use of this training program useful in their own facilities. “The NAMI training curriculum, which provided ten hours of education on mental illness to all of the correctional officers who worked on an Indiana special housing, or supermax... Read More
|
6 pages
|
|
2004
|
Supermax Prisons and the Constitution: Liability Concerns in the Extended Control Unit
By Collins, William C..
National Institute of Corrections (Washington, DC).
A monograph "intended to help prisons operate ultra-high-security facilities in a way that minimizes liability in litigation" is presented (p. v). Section contained in this manual include: executive summary; introduction; supermax and case law background; mental health; medical services; other conditions of confinement; use of force; the 14th Amendment due process and placement; access to the courts; the First Amendment religion, speech, and the press; and closing thoughts.... Read More
|
86 p.
|
|
1999
|
Contemporary Issues in Prison Management: Additional Readings
National Institute of Corrections. Prisons Division (Washington, DC); National Institute of Corrections Academy (Longmont, CO).
Seven articles comprise this document: "The Transformation of Corrections: 50 Years of Silent Revolutions" by Simon Dinitz; by Dick Franklin -- "Culture Is. . .as Culture DOES", "Protective Custody: A Window to Institution Culture", "Supermax: More of the Same in the 21st Century?", and "Writing Made Easy. .[sic] [strike out Easy, replace with] Easier"; "In-Service Training: Missed Opportunities or Instrument of Change" by Gary C. Mohr; and "Managing Prisons in the 21st Century" by Richard P. Se... Read More
|
82 p.
|
|
1999
|
Supermax Prisons: Overview and General Considerations
By Riveland, Chase.
National Institute of Corrections (Washington, DC).
National Institute of Corrections (Washington, DC).
The author discusses the history and definition of extended control facilities and addresses their operational and staffing issues as well as those of siting, construction and design. He concludes that the purpose of such facilities should not be to exact additional punishment or to function as a repository for bothersome, self-destructive, mentally ill inmates or those who need protection or have an infectious disease, but should be operated with the assumption that the inmate must be denied ac... Read More
|
35 p.
|
|
1997
|
Supermax Housing: A Survey of Current Practice
National Institute of Corrections (Washington, DC).
National Institute of Corrections Information Center (Longmont, CO); LIS, Inc. (Longmont, CO); National Institute of Corrections. Prisons Division (Washington, DC).
Results of a nationwide survey of supermax housing practice identify current and planned supermax housing, explore issues in inmate management in supermax, and examine programming provided to inmates in supermax housing. Difficulties in defining supermax housing are discussed, and availability of programs such as mental health care and law library access are summarized. Tables detail characteristics of supermax facilities by state, and a list of DOC contacts on supermax issues is also included. ... Read More
|
13 p.
|
|
1990
|
Special Needs Inmates: A Survey of State Correctional Systems
By Hall, Marie.
National Institute of Corrections National Academy of Corrections (Boulder, CO).
Illinois Dept. of Corrections (Springfield, IL).
The Illinois Department of Corrections conducted a survey of all 50 states to determine the prevalence of inmates who have special medical or mental health needs. Within the 31 states responding, .08 percent to 8.2 percent of prison inmates fell into various special housing categories. These categories included chronic illness, terminally ill, advancing age, ambulation difficulties, and mental health problems.... Read More
|
34 p.
|