Stephen C. Richards

The Use of Incarceration in the United States

The past two decades have produceda profound increase in imprisonment in theUnited States, resulting in a prison populationof two million and expenditures of over

Perpetual Incarceration Machine Structural Impediments to Postprison Success

35billion annually on corrections, while otherimportant government services are underfunded. Imprisonment is highest for minority maleslargely because of the War on Drugs, which hasalso dramatically increased the incarcerationof women and created nearly 1.5 millionchildren having a parent incarcerated. Inresponse to this trend, the American Society ofCriminology (ASC) directed the ASC NationalPolicy Committee (NPC) to draft a policy paperon the incarceration issue. This articleexplains the main ideas, themes, andrecommendations of the full policy paper. Itanalyzes the sources and effects of theincreased use of imprisonment, drawingattention to the negative effects of excessiveincarceration. The paper and itsrecommendations reflect a concern that the ASCneeds to set a research agenda that isindependent of the federal government andconventional wisdom. The NPC hopes this paperwill stimulate a healthy and much overduedebate on the role of the ASC in public policyin general, and the merits of widespreadincarceration in particular.

Prison Research From the Inside The Role of Convict Autoethnography

The prison system is a perpetual incarceration machine growing on failure. This article explores structural impediments that contribute to parole failure and recidivism. Prisoners exit prison with few material resources and many obligations. Upon arrival at the work release centers, they are subjected to the demands of “collection counselors.” They complain about deductions from their employment checks, including restitution, court costs, fees for public defenders, and rent for work release beds. The correctional system perpetuates itself: Failures in work release, probation, and parole account for the majority of new prison admissions. Recommendations are provided for effective prison release programs.

USP Marion: The First Federal Supermax

A perspective that has often been absent in criminal justice research is that of former prisoners. This article discusses the establishment, in 1997, of “convict criminology,” a group of scholars producing research informed by their experiences of crime and the criminal justice process; that is, either those who have served time themselves or who have operated alongside prisoners as professionals in custodial settings. It is argued that such scholars face similar dilemmas to others in terms of emotionalism, but suggests that their emotions are of a different nature. While an “insider” perspective cannot lay claim to scientific “objectivity,” the article argues that the existence of emotion does not invalidate an “insider” criminologist’s views. Rather, the passion engendered by the experience of incarceration can add color, context, and contour to data collection, findings, and analysis and may therefore be regarded as an essential thread in the tapestry of criminological inquiry.

The Electronic “Scarlet Letter”: Criminal Backgrounding and a Perpetual Spoiled Identity

The U.S. Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois (USP Marion) was the first federal supermax prison. The “mean little house” is one of the most significant U.S. prisons built in the past century. It has served as a model for high-security detention confinement and been copied worldwide. Marion also has a history of violence, mistakes, and inflicting serious damage on prisoners. This article employs a “convict criminology perspective” to discuss the history of Marion, the profile of federal prisoners, control units, programs and services, prisoners released from Marion, the prison camp, transfer of high-security prisoners, and comparable supermax penitentiaries. Early in 2007, USP Marion was converted to medium security, closing one of the most infamous chapters in recent American penal history.

The Inviting Convicts to College Program

Crimes are multifaceted events that are not adequately explained with basic descriptors, yet a considerable amount of significance is afforded to relatively few simplistic labels that make up the contemporary “scarlet letter.” Todays criminal records create a lifetime of stigmatization for a person. These public records employ a limited range of information. By acknowledging the deleterious effects of even one documented criminal event on an individuals self-concept and status in society, we cannot avoid being faced with a serious moral dilemma in light of societys prevalent reliance upon electronic criminal records. The electronic brand carried for life poses great challenges to offender rehabilitation and reintegration.

Behind Bars: Surviving Prison

While we know formal education is an important variable for reducing recidivism, there are few prison systems still offering college courses. We introduce the Inviting Convicts to College Program that deploys undergraduate student-teachers as instructors of college level courses inside prisons. The student-teachers are supervised by professors. The course taught is Convict Criminology. This article describes the program, and uses quantitative and qualitative methods to assess four semesters taught at a medium-security state prison. The methodology uses both a survey and focused interviews of prisoners and student teachers. Findings indicate the program goals were met, and the courses taught served as valuable educational experiences for convicts and student-teachers.