Descent Into Madness : A Book Review

Part 1 of the book highlights chapter 1 and 2, which talks about politics and the consequences of incarceration while chapter 2 talks about the politics of being punished within the united states, some sub topics between chapter 1 and 2 include problem ownership, philosophies, historic changes with the corrections policy throughout time and the economic impact of being incarcerated. Chapter 2 talks about the process in which politics can affect the outcome on crime and punishment, throughout the 1960s the criminal justice system has changed a lot especially correctional professionals who have brought issues to crime and its political forefront.

This paper discusses three critical issues in the criminal justice system. It touches on the general issues of punishment philosophies, sentence decision making, and prison overcrowding and focused more specifically on the negative effects of each. Highlighted in this informational paper is the interrelated nature of the issues; each issue affects and is affected by the others. Data and information has been gathered from the FBI Uniform Crime Report, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Amnesty International, the NAACP Legal Defense

In the case of the California’s Corcoran State Prison the prisoners were being mistreated. The situation that brought this case to the forefront was Dryburgh (2009) found that “Preston Tate was shot and fatally wounded by a corrections officer after Tate and his cellmate fought against two rival Hispanic gang member. Tate death was at the hands of a prison guard prompted two whistle – blowers to approach the FBI with tales of abuse and brutality toward inmates by correction officers”. Moreover, this was not the first time that an inmate had been shot by a correctional officer.

Correctional organizations whether it is local, state, or federal will all have numerous different masteries as well as many different staff members that complete those different tasks. The text (Carlson) explains that prison and or jails are both expected to accomplish several sometimes-conflicting goals when dealing with inmates. Among many of those, punish, incapacitate, and rehabilitate as well as deter others from violating society’s rules (Carlson & Garrett, 2008, p. 195). The concept that "all employees of a correctional institution

At any given time, a single corrections officer, can expect to be outnumbered by upwards of 400 inmates (Conover, 2011). It can be chilling to work in the midst of hundreds of inmates, some of which initiate attacks and inappropriate relationships. However, other issues have impacted the psychological health and physical safety of the staff. Detrimental factors have included heavy workloads, the prisons physical structure, and a lack of support from both peers and superiors. Each workplace issue has been in addition to role problems, specifically role ambiguity and role conflict (Schaufeli & Peeters, 2011). It is believed that anyone of these undesirable facets of prison should be enough to deter the public from attempting to enter such

The book outlines ways in which to reduce riots in correctional institutions. Inmates want fair and consistent enforcement of rules and treatment by the staff, as well as, a sufficient ratio of staff and security for each inmate. Food quality is a major determinant factor, as well as, making sure with abrupt changes in prisoners or staff that there is someone to take over their position. If inmates are aware of the “No hostage” policy, they will be deterred from riots as their demands will not be considered if hostages are taken. Continuously having riot planning and training. alongside, communication between management, staff, and of course, the inmates. With a decrease in rumors, there is less animosity and a more peaceful environment for those who work and inhabit the facility. Finally, a good classification system, where incoming inmates can receive the necessary risk assessments.

When we think about prisons, jails, and courthouses, our minds are meant to draw a connection to cold, hard, justice and fair punishments for guilty and deserving parties. Yet, in our judicial and prison systems around the world, this idea is nowhere close to reality. From inhumane punishments, to mass incarceration, and “trapping” people in the system based on race or financial status, justice is far from being served.

However, the reality is that prisons are no longer designed as correctional facilities, but instead, obedience schools. Not only do prisons affect those incarcerated, they force society’s members into predefined roles (Anonymous, 2012). This is caused because prisons are designed

To first understand what causes a prison riot one must comprehend the definition. A riot occurs when a substantial number of inmates control a major portion of the prison for a significant period of time. Riots greatly differ from a disturbance or incident, which in most cases, are on a much smaller scale with the inmates having little or no control of the prison. Most would contend that riots or disturbances are not well organized when in fact, it is the prisons own disorganization and basic lack of concern for their inmates, that normally lead to the unrest (Barnhart, 2010). The inmate population has more that quintupled in the last 30 years while unrest has slightly decreased. The decrease is attributed to several reasons; court rulings defining livings conditions, in most prisons, as cruel and unusual punishment; better training for correctional staff; and the emergence of (CERT) Correctional Emergency Response Teams (Bernstein, 2013).

This piece is written by Mark Colvin, a professor of Sociology in the Department of Justice Studies at Kent State University, as the introduction to the book “Descent into Madness” by Mike Rolland. On February 2nd & 3rd, 1980 one of the maximum security prisons in New Mexico experienced one of the most violent riots in the history of American Correctional System. This is often referred to as The New Mexico State Penitentiary Riot. The riot lasted for 36 hours, and in those 36 hours there were 33 deaths. There was one other inmate who dies a couple of months later due to the injuries incurred in that riot. It is estimated that about 200 inmates were severely injured or raped in the riot. It is no surprise

Prison is an important place, because it takes away the power from individuals. This means that the criminal is no longer acting upon his will, but that of the officers, judge, guards, etc. “They are the foundation of society, and an element in its equilibrium.” (215) All the techniques, when created, they “attained a level at which formation of knowledge and the increase of power regularly reinforce the other.” (216)

This paper explores the topic of mental health within prisons and how it affects the inmates. The report of my findings were through research of twelve articles, two credible website sources, and a published textbook.

While dedicated research on the subject of psychological damage as a result of imprisonment is surprisingly sparse there are a few articles that touch on the subject. Prison is a ripe case study for many Psychology scholars due to its inherently insular nature and varied subcultures. Researchers have noticed frightening trends among inmates such as increased aggression, impairment of executive functions, and increased development of psychosomatic disorders.

In America’s tough economic society, over population has become an exceedingly hot topic issue. However, overcrowding in America’s prison system has been a severe problem since the 1970's. The majority of the changes have come from different policies on what demographic to imprison and for what reason. The perspective of locking up criminals because they are "evil" is what spawned this (Allen, 2008). Because of this perspective the prison system in America is in need of serious reorganization. Since 1980, most states have one or more of their prisons or the entire system under orders from the federal courts to maintain minimum constitutional standards (Stewart, 2006).

In prisons today, rehabilitation, deterrence, incapacitation, and retribution are all elements that provide a justice to society. Prisons effectively do their part in seeing that one if not more of these elements are met and successfully done. If it were not for these elements, than what would a prison be good for? It is highly debated upon whether or not these elements are done properly. It is a fact that these are and a fact that throughout the remainder of time these will be a successful part of prison life.