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On this page, the Prison Policy Initiative has curated all of the research that we know of about the conditions of confinement in prisons and jails. You can see more research like this on our Exploitation page and Health page. For research on other criminal justice topics, see our Research Library homepage.
(New)Disability rights and disability justice in prison: the limits of state-protected rights and the possibilities of mutual support Stephen Meyers, September, 2024“The research subjects not only revealed the limits of disability rights in prison, but ways in which corrections officers used accommodations and personal assistance as means of harassing [the] disabled...”
Peer Education as a Tool to Improve Health Knowledge for People Who Are Incarcerated: A Secondary Analysis of Data From the Indiana Peer Education Program ECHO Andrea D. Janota, Patrick F. Hibbard, Meghan E. Meadows, et al, August, 2024“Training individuals who are [in prison in Indiana] as peer educators on relevant public health topics increases health knowledge and behavior intentions and likely results in improvements in personal and public health outcomes.”
Hungry and Malnourished: Food Service in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Pennsylvania Prison Society, May, 2024“70-80% of survey respondents in Pennsylvania prisons reported being hungry every day between meals, [...] menus likely contribute to diet-related illness, [... and] hunger forces people to buy expensive junk food from commissary.”
Workers Doing Time Must Be Protected by Job Safety LawsNational Employment Law Project, April, 2024“Excessive carceral costs and fees coupled with strong incentives for early release push incarcerated workers into accepting dangerous assignments.”
Hazardous heat exposure among incarcerated people in the United StatesCascade Tuholske, Victoria D. Lynch, Raenita Spriggs, Yoonjung Ahn, Colin Raymond, Anne E. Nigra, & Robbie M. Parks, March, 2024“The number of hot days per year increased during 1982-2020 for 1,739 carceral facilities. State-run carceral facilities in TX and FL accounted for 52% of total exposure to potentially hazardous heat, despite holding 12% of all incarcerated people.”
Elements of State and Federal Prison Suicide Prevention and Response PoliciesChristine Tartaro & Emily Alas, February, 2024“Results revealed that corrections department policies for suicide prevention and response contain about half of the recommended elements, and that most departments' suicide prevention policies are not included in departmental policy documents.”
Contraband and Interdiction Modalities Used in Correctional FacilitiesUrban Institute, February, 2024“Facilities participating in the [survey] reported on several strategies that were only used on incarcerated individuals, the most common of which included strip searches (91%), cell searches (98%), and opening and searching mail (97%).”
Overcharged: Coerced labor, low pay, and high costs in Washington's prisonsColumbia Legal Services, January, 2024“People in Washington prisons are paid as little as 6% of the state minimum wage...Their wages are then deducted from between 5 to 100% for mandatory fees such as "the cost of incarceration," while basic goods...can cost a day's worth of earnings.”
"They Need to Go in There": Criminalized Subjectivity among Formerly Incarcerated Black Men Lucius Couloute, January, 2024“When explicitly asked about what they would say to powerful state officials, these Black men argued for (1) increased criminal justice transparency, (2) improved prison conditions, (3) additional reintegrative supports...”
Addicted to punishment: Jails and prisons punish drug use far more than they treat it Prison Policy Initiative, January, 2024“Many people who use drugs and need care are arrested and jailed over and over until, finally, one event lands them in prison. We estimate that more than 578,000 people (47%) in prison in 2022 had a substance use disorder in the year prior to admission.”
Crisis in Corrections: The DOC Staff Shortage and the Inmate Experience Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC), January, 2024“An overwhelming 93% of respondents incarcerated in Colorado say there is a staffing shortage at their facility, and 85% say that the shortage is either significant or moderate.”
(New)Nutritional Criminology: Why the Emerging Research on Ultra-Processed Food Matters to Health and Justice Susan L. Prescott et al, January, 2024“Black people have the highest incarceration rates in the US, and given the emerging research on structural racism in food inequalities, including the clustering of fast food outlets...the topic should be more prominent within biopsychosocial discourse.”
"We're Hungry in Here": D.C. Department of Corrections Food Survey Results dcgreens, December, 2023“Six in ten residents responded that they "rarely" or "never" eat breakfast, seven in ten "rarely" or "never" eat lunch (most commonly bologna sandwiches) and six in ten respondents reported "rarely" or "never" eating dinner.”
Assessing Gender Differences in Prison Rule Enforcement: A Focus on Defiance Paywall :(Melinda Tasca, Erin A. Orrick, & H. Daniel Butler, October, 2023“Incarcerated women had an increased likelihood of receiving a defiance infraction by 39.7% compared to men, all else constant. Second, results revealed that females experienced a rate of defiance infractions that is 1.409 times greater than males.”
"Smoke Screen": Experience with the Incarcerated Grievance Program in New York State Prisons Correctional Association of New York, October, 2023“The survey data confirms that the IGP [incarcerated grievance program] is heavily used and seen as vital by the incarcerated population, even as it fails to provide recourse.”
The High Costs of Cheap Food: Eating in West Virginia Prisons West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, September, 2023“According to the Department of Agriculture, as of August 9, 2023, the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) has failed to submit any documentation required by the Fresh Food Act since 2019.”
Extreme Heat and Suicide Watch Incidents Among Incarcerated MenDavid H. Cloud, Brie Williams, and Regine Haardorfer et al, August, 2023“The incidence rate of daily suicide incidents increased by 29% when the heat index reached the level of caution and by 36% when reaching extreme caution.”
Cruel and Usual: An Investigation into Prison Abuse at USP Thompson The Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs, Uptown People's Law Center, and Levy Firestone Muse LLP, July, 2023“Hundreds of people held in in the Federal Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) Special Management Unit (SMU) endured years of unconstitutional and abusive conditions.”
Breaking news from inside: How prisons suppress prison journalism Prison Policy Initiative, June, 2023“46 states and the federal government maintain the right to read and censor communications with the media. These policies are broadly explained as maintaining "security and order" -- a vague justification left to the discretion of prison officials.”
Louisiana Deaths Behind Bars 2015-2021Incarceration Transparency, June, 2023“Since our last report analyzing deaths 2015-2019, an additional 375 incarcerated people have died behind bars. Our public records requests also produced documents on an additional 7 deaths that occurred 2015-2019.”
Systemic Failures: Conditions in California State Prisons During the Covid-19 Pandemic Prison Accountability Project at UCLA School of Law, June, 2023“According to respondents, the [California Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation] ignored over 80 percent of incarcerated people's requests for medical care and failed to protect people with pre-existing conditions from COVID-19.”
Calculating TortureSolitary Watch and Unlock the Box Campaign, May, 2023“State and federal prisons and local and federal jails in the U.S. have reported on a given day locking a combined total of more than 122,000 people in solitary confinement for 22 or more hours.”
The State of Prison Food in New England: A Survey of Federal and State Policy Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law, April, 2023“Cost reductions that result in nutritionally inadequate food may ultimately cost taxpayers more as healthcare in public prisons constitutes their largest expenditure--estimates suggest these costs amount to over $12 billion per year.”
Heat-related mortality in U.S. state and private prisons: A case-crossover analysis Julianne Skarha et al, March, 2023“A 10-degree (F) increase was associated with a 5.2% increase in total mortality and a 6.7% increase in heart disease mortality. The association between temperature and suicides was delayed, peaking around lag 3 (exposure at three days prior to death).”
You're Out!: Three Strikes Against the PLRA's Three Strikes Rule Kasey Clark, March, 2023“At a minimum, the PLRA has failed to achieve Congress's goal of garnering "better prisoner suits." The overall decrease in the proportion of wins by prisoner-plaintiffs...also suggests that more meritorious claims are being excluded from the courts.”
Banning Torture: Legislative Trends and Policy Solutions for Restricting and Ending Solitary Confinement throughout the United States Unlock the Box Campaign, January, 2023“Given that even a brief time in solitary can cause devastating harm--without any benefit--policymakers should finally and fully end solitary confinement for all people, other than for periods of minutes or hours for purposes of emergency de-escalation.”
That Time We Tried to Build the Perfect Prison: Learning from Episodes Across U.S. Prison History Paywall :(Ashley T. Rubin, December, 2022“While many of these endeavours are impressive...it is also possible to locate these ventures in a very long line of efforts to construct the perfect prison, a slippery goal that changes over time.”
Special Legislative Commission on Structural Racism in Correctional Facilities of the CommonwealthFormer Special Legislative Commission on Structural Racism in Correctional Facilities of the Commonwealth and African American Coalition Committee Structural Racism Commission, December, 2022“Structural racism in Corrections systems produces or perpetuates unfair treatment and impacts by race and other intersecting identities...it can be dismantled with intentional partnership between the Legislative and Executive branches.”
Provision of Air Conditioning and Heat-Related Mortality in Texas PrisonsJulianna Skarha et al, November, 2022“We found that 13% of mortality during warm months may be attributable to extreme heat in prisons without air conditioning in Texas. This is approximately a 30-fold increase in heat-attributed deaths when compared with estimates in the US population.”
Inside Illinois Civil Commitment: Treatment Behind Razor Wire Civil Commitment Working Group Illinois, November, 2022“While anecdotal reports do reflect incremental improvements to conditions after recent leadership changes at Rushville, the fact remains that Rushville is not a treatment center, it is a prison full of people who are serving de facto life sentences.”
Prison agriculture in the United States: racial capitalism and the disciplinary matrix of exploitation and rehabilitation Paywall :(Carrie Chennault and Joshua Sbicca, October, 2022“Prison agriculture embodies explicit forms of exploitation and claims of rehabilitation...At least 662 adult state prisons have agricultural activities, including an array of animal, food, and plant production.”
Voices from Within the Federal Bureau of Prisons: A System Designed to Silence and Dehumanize More than Our Crimes and Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, September, 2022“We hope these stories provoke deep thinking about what is going on behind all those fortress walls, to these invisible fellow Americans, and then compel you to demand both accountability for the FBOP and change in how we incarcerate in this country.”
Special Report: Summer Heat in New Jersey Prisons New Jersey Office of the Corrections Ombudsperson, September, 2022“The Ombuds office confirmed that ice was provided on hot days, however, some facilities provided ice free of charge several times per day while others required a minimal payment or provided ice only on a single shift each day.”
The state prison experience: Too much drudgery, not enough opportunity Prison Policy Initiative, September, 2022“The Survey data reveal that only 43% of people in state prisons have participated in educational programming (even though 62% had not completed high school upon admission).”
First Report of the Task Force on Issues Faced by TGNCNBI People in CustodyTask Force on Issues Faced by TGNCNBI People in Custody, August, 2022(This report details findings and recommendations of the Task Force on Issues Faced by Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, Non-Binary, and Intersex (TGNCNBI) People in Custody, created to assess conditions and policies in New York City jails.)
Time-In-Cell: A 2021 Snapshot of Restrictive Housing based on a Nationwide Survey of U.S. Prison Systems The Correctional Leaders Association & The Arthur Liman Center for Public Interest Law at Yale Law School, August, 2022“In 2012, few statutes focused on the use of restrictive housing. Between 2018 and 2020, when the last report was published, legislators in more than 25 states introduced bills to limit the use of restrictive housing, and some fifteen enacted legislation.”
Collection at all Costs: Examining the Intersection of Mass Incarceration and the Student Debt Crisis Student Borrower Protection Center, July, 2022“While advocates have long decried the harms that mass incarceration and the student loan debt trap inflict...the ways each of these crises amplify and worsen the abuses of the other is rarely in the national spotlight.”
Cruel and Usual: Contaminated Water in New York State Prisons Shannon Haupt and Phil Miller, July, 2022“The lack of thorough and consistent testing of water quality in prisons, [and] significant obstructions of due process for incarcerated people who raise complaints about the water, allows prisons to minimize and deny any presence of contaminated water.”
A Different Way Forward: Stories from Incarcerated Women in Massachusetts and Recommendations Sarah Nawab, Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts, July, 2022“Nineteen (of 22) women interviewed and six (of 10) women surveyed reported that they had either experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct or harassment by correctional or other staff.”
Mental health disparities in solitary confinementPaywall :(Jessica T. Simes, Bruce Western, and Angela Lee, July, 2022“Disparities by mental health status result from the cumulative effects of prison misconduct charges and disciplinary hearings. We estimate that those with serious mental illness spend three times longer in solitary [than those without mental illness].”
Prison Labor in Arizona: A year-long investigation Paywall :(Arizona Republic and KJZZ News, July, 2022“The Republic's and KJZZ's five-part series reveals the detrimental effects of what happens when a state exploits some of its poorest people for their labor.”
The Cost of Solitary Confinement: Why Ending Isolation in California Prisons Can Save Money and Save Lives Berkeley Underground Scholars and Immigrant Defense Advocates, July, 2022“This report estimates the Mandela Act would save, at a minimum, an estimated $61,129,600 annually based on a conservative estimate of the costs associated with solitary confinement.”
A Deliberate Difference?: The Rights of Incarcerated Individuals Under the New Mexico State Constitution Carson Thornton Gonzalez, July, 2022“This Comment...encourages practitioners to be creative in their approach to prison conditions litigation under the [2021 New Mexico Civil Rights Act].”
Chronic Punishment: The unmet health needs of people in state prisons Prison Policy Initiative, June, 2022“In this analysis of a unique, large-scale survey of people in state prisons, we add to the existing research showing that state prisons fall far short of their constitutional duty to meet the essential health needs of people in their custody.”
Captive Labor: Exploitation of Incarcerated Workers ACLU and the University of Chicago Law School Global Human Rights Clinic, June, 2022“Our research found that the average minimum hourly wage paid to workers for non-industry jobs is 13 cents, and the average maximum hourly wage is 52 cents.”
Punishment of People with Serious Mental Illness in New York State Prisons: An Analysis of 2017-19 Disciplinary Data in Prison Residential Mental Health Treatment Units #HALTSolitary and Mental Health Alternatives to Solitary Confinement, May, 2022“Of the 399 people disciplined in a Residential Mental Health Treatment Unit during the 29-month review period, 99% were sanctioned with segregated confinement and 85% received at least six months or more of additional segregation time,”
Racial Bias and Prison Discipline: A Study of North Carolina State Prisons Katherine M. Becker, April, 2022“Holding other variables constant, a Black person incarcerated in North Carolina was 10.3% more likely than a similarly situated white person to receive at least one disciplinary write-up in 2020.”
In-Cell Dining During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of People in Pennsylvania State Custody Pennsylvania Prison Society, March, 2022“The survey found that 62% of respondents want to return to eating in dining halls, and 74% report being served rotten food in the last month.”
The Novel Coronavirus and Enforcement of the New Separate System in PrisonsMichael Klein et al, March, 2022“All regions report that they gave more [COVID-19] protections to officers as compared with inmates. Several regions also show substantial differences between the policy responses for these two groups.”
Canary in the Coal Mine: A Profile of Staff COVID Deaths in the Texas Prison System Alexi Jones, Michele Deitch, and Alycia Welch, Prison and Jail Innovation Lab, February, 2022“A total of 78 TDCJ employees have died from COVID... With 26 deaths for every 10,000 TDCJ employees, Texas has the highest rate of staff deaths among the largest prison systems in the country and the second highest rate of death nationwide.”
Investigation of New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Incarcerated Individual Drug Testing Program New York Office of the Inspector General, January, 2022“From January through August 2019, incarcerated individuals found to have positive drug test results at a disciplinary hearing received significant--and in some cases ultimately undeserved--punishments that jeopardized their rehabilitation and release.”
Thermal (In)equity and incarceration: A necessary nexus for geographers Paywall :(Alex R Colucci, Daniel J Vecellio, and Michael J Allen, December, 2021“In carceral spaces, thermal exposure agitates...complex situations, shaping a confluence of various economic, political, and ecological intersectionalities.”
Cold, Rotting & Moldy Meals: Food Oppression in the Orange County Jails Stop the Musick Coalition, December, 2021“The food served in Orange County jails has never been healthy, but before COVID, the jails served two hot meals a day...For almost two years, people incarcerated in Orange County jails have been eating three bagged, cold, spoiled meals every day.”
No Justice, No Resilience: Prison Abolition As Disaster Mitigation in an Era of Climate Change Paywall :(Carlee Purdum et al, December, 2021“Incarceration undermines individual and collective resilience needed to recover from disasters, whereas carceral infrastructure facilitates disaster harm to incarcerated persons and their communities.”
Custodial Sanctions and Reoffending: A Meta-Analytic Review Petrich, Damon et al., September, 2021“Compared with noncustodial sanctions, custodial sanctions, including imprisonment, have no appreciable effect on reducing reoffending. The studies tend to show that placing offenders in custody has a slight criminogenic effect.”
States of emergency: The failure of prison system responses to COVID-19 Prison Policy Initiative, September, 2021“It's telling that not one prison system in the U.S. scored higher than a C; as a whole, the nation's response to the pandemic behind bars has been a shameful failure.”
'I Refuse to Let Them Kill Me': Food, Violence, and the Maryland Correctional Food System The Maryland Food & Prison Abolition Project, September, 2021“Food in prison serves three fundamental functions: as an everyday mechanism of control, dehumanization, and punishment; as a site of exploitation and profit for private food service corporations; and as a form of violence and premature death.”(This report is divided into six parts, all of which are available at this link.)
Nutrition in Midwestern State Department of Corrections Prisons: A Comparison of Nutritional Offerings Mitchel K. Holliday and Kelli M. Richardson, September, 2021“Sodium was offered in excess across 14 of the 15 menus reviewed. The average daily offering was 3,625 mg or 158% of the recommended level for males and 3,059 mg or 133% of recommended levels for females.”
"Every Thought and Dream a Nightmare": Violence and Trauma Among Formerly Imprisoned Gang Members Paywall :(Shytierra Gaston, Faraneh Shamserad, and Beth M. Huebner, August, 2021“Although direct involvement in violence dissipated after prison, exposure to vicarious victimization was substantial and ongoing.”
Violence, Hunger, and Premature Death: How Prison Food in Maryland Became Even Worse During Covid-19 The Maryland Food & Prison Abolition Project, August, 2021“As atrocious as the correctional food systems were prior to 2020, however, the Covid-19 pandemic drastically exacerbated the crisis of prison food prison.”
Reducing Restrictive Housing Use in Washington StateKeramet Reiter, JD, PhD, August, 2021“A greater proportion of people in DOC experienced Intensive Management Unit confinement over time. In 2002, 24% of the prison population had spent at least one day in an IMU. By 2017, over one-third (34%) of the prison population had spent time in an IMU.”
Reforming solitary confinement: the development, implementation, and processes of a restrictive housing step down reentry program in Oregon Ryan M. Labrecque, Jennifer J. Tostlebe, Bert Useem and David C. Pyrooz, August, 2021“We focus on the task set forth by the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) to create a new unit that is committed to rehabilitative programming, increased socialization opportunities, and blunting some of the harsher conditions of restrictive housing.”
Unjust Isolation: The Diminishing Returns of Solitary Confinement of Pregnant Women and California's Need to Regulate It Richard Lee, July, 2021“When all the risk factors of pregnant prisoners intersect, it puts them in an especially ill-equipped position to protect themselves mentally against the potential harms of solitary confinement.”
New data: State prisons are increasingly deadly placesPrison Policy Initiative, June, 2021“New data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that state prisons are seeing alarming rises in suicide, homicide, and drug and alcohol-related deaths.”
Louisiana Deaths Behind Bars: 2015 - 2019 Incarceration Transparency, June, 2021“Prisons and jails should ideally have lower death rates than the general public due to the physical proximity of medical care behind bars, 24-hour staffing and supervision, and reduced probability of certain types of deaths, such as car accidents...”
"Not for Human Consumption": Prison Food's Absent Regulatory Regime Amanda Chan and Anna Nathanson, May, 2021“With the passage of the [Prison Litigation Reform Act]...Prisoners lost one of their tools for seeking humane food conditions, and they continue to suffer the consequences.”
Prison Visitation and Concerns about Reentry: Variations in Frequency and Quality of Visits are Associated with Reentry Concerns among People Incarcerated in Prison Paywall :(Thomas Baker, Meghan M. Mitchell Jill A. Gordon, May, 2021“The impact of visitation on incarcerated people's concerns about reentry has received little empirical attention.”
Adequacy of Healthcare Provided In Louisiana State PrisonsLoyola University, Louisiana State University, VOTE (Voices of the Experienced), May, 2021“The real-world minimum wage equivalent of [medical co-pays] for incarcerated people who earn incentive wages of $.02/per hour is: $1,087.5 for a routine visit, $2,175 for an emergency visit, and $725 for a prescription.”
Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 - Statistical TablesBureau of Justice Statistics, April, 2021“In 2018, a total of 4,135 state prisoners died in publicly or privately operated prisons, and an additional 378 federal prisoners died in facilities operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).”
A Better Path Forward for Criminal Justice: A Report by the Brookings-AEI Working Group on Criminal Justice Reform The Brookings Institution, American Enterprise Institute, April, 2021“The essays in this volume are intended to provide...research-grounded guidance and insight on core issues and strategies that can sustain bipartisan support for critically needed criminal justice reforms.”
Redefining the Narrative: On Behalf of the Statewide Women's Justice Task Force of Illinois Deanna Benos, Alyssa Benedict, The Women's Justice Institute, April, 2021“Prisons have been deployed as a default response to women's attempts to survive untenable social conditions, yet there is no evidence that any amount of time in prison is helpful or even improves public safety.”
The People's Plan for Prison ClosureCalifornians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB), April, 2021“Accomplishing our goal of closing ten prisons in five years will be hard. It will require political courage. But history is watching us...”
Mapping U.S. Jails' Use of Restrictive Housing: Trends, Disparities, and Other Forms of Lockdown Vera Institute of Justice, April, 2021“Units that are not classified as restrictive housing by corrections agencies also held people in their cells for 22 hours or more per day.”
The Impacts of Solitary ConfinementVera Institute of Justice, April, 2021“The widespread use of solitary does not achieve its intended purpose--it does not make prisons, jails, or the community safer, and may actually make them less safe.”
Slamming the Courthouse Door: 25 years of evidence for repealing the Prison Litigation Reform Act Prison Policy Initiative, April, 2021“The PLRA should be repealed. It was bad policy in the 1990s -- and allowing it to continue today is even worse policy.”
Authoritarian exclusion and laissez-faire inclusion: Comparing the punishment of men convicted of sex offenses in England & Wales and Norway Alice Ievins, Kristian Mjaland, March, 2021“Contrary to what might be expected, we find that the punishment of men convicted of sex offenses ismore paternalistic and interventionist in England & Wales, as well as more liberal--in that it respects the autonomy of the punished person--in Norway.”
Risk factors for suicide in prisons: a systematic review and meta-analysis Shaoling Zhong et al., February, 2021“Single risk factors are not sufficient to identify individuals at high risk of suicide.”
Federal Prisoner Statistics Collected Under The First Step Act, 2020Bureau of Justice Statistics, February, 2021“The portion of federal prisoners who were the parent, step-parent, or guardian of a minor child (defined as a dependent age 20 or younger by the BOP) grew from 45% to 49% from year-end 2018 to year-end 2019.”
Solitary: The Family Experience Open MI Door Campaign and Citizens for Prison Reform, February, 2021“Among those in administrative segregation and Level V cells, approximately 20 percent have been in for 6-12 months; 32 percent have been in for 1-2 years; and a shocking 47 percent have been in isolation for more than 2 years.”
Raising Arizona's Commitment to Health and Safety: The Need for Independent Oversight of Arizona's Prison System Michele Deitch, January, 2021“Over the last decade or so, Arizona's prisons have become synonymous with mismanagement, lack of safety, unconstitutional health care, and abysmal conditions for people in custody.”
Pregnant Women in DOJ Custody: U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Prisons Should Better Align Policies with National Guidelines United States Government Accountability Office, January, 2021“By taking steps to more closely align agency standards and policies with national guidance as feasible, USMS and BOP would be better positioned to help ensure the health of pregnant women in their custody.”
Reining in Solitary Confinement in Texas: Recent Progress and Next Steps Texas Public Policy Foundation, January, 2021“As of 2019, some 25.5% of those in solitary confinement in Texas have been there for 6 years or more, compared to the 5.7% average across the 33 surveyed states.”
Eating Behind Bars: Ending the Hidden Punishment of Food in Prison Impact Justice, December, 2020“Budget cuts and stagnant spending have led to fewer hot meals, smaller portions, lower-quality protein, fewer fresh fruits and vegetables, and more ultra-processed foods, as well as poorly equipped and ill-supervised kitchens that compromise quality.”
The research is clear: Solitary confinement causes long-lasting harm Prison Policy Initiative, December, 2020“Prisons and jails are already inherently harmful, and placing people in solitary confinement adds an extra burden of stress that has been shown to cause permanent changes to people's brains and personalities.”
Since you asked: Just how overcrowded were prisons before the pandemic and how overcrowded are they now? Prison Policy Initiative, December, 2020“41 states are currently operating at 75% or more of their capacity, with at least 10 of those state prison systems and the federal Bureau of Prisons operating at more than 100%.”
The Accreditation Con: A Broken Prison and Detention Facility Accreditation System That Puts Profits Over People Office of Senator Elizabeth Warren, December, 2020“It reveals that the ACA's private prison accreditation system is riddled with conflicts of interest, lacks transparency, and is subject to zero accountability even though millions in taxpayer dollars to flow to the ACA and private prison companies.”
Naming and Shaming: Violations of the Human Rights of Transgender Persons with Felonies in Texas Human Rights Clinic, Austin Community Law Center, and Trans Pride Initiative, November, 2020“By contributing to and facilitating an environment where the human rights of transgender persons are repeatedly and callously disregarded, Texas violates international treaties and the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.”
Death Traps An examination of the routine, violent deaths of people in the custody of the State of Alabama Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, November, 2020“2020 is on pace to be one of the most deadly years on record in Alabama prisons, with deaths by homicide between January and July at 10 compared to seven for the same time period in 2019.”
COVID and Corrections: A Profile of COVID Deaths in Custody in Texas COVID, Corrections, and Oversight Project, November, 2020“In one prison, the Duncan Unit, almost 6% of the incarcerated population has died.”
Investigation of the Massachusetts Department of CorrectionUnited States Attorney's Office District of Massachusetts, November, 2020“The conditions in Massachusetts Department of Correction's prisons (MDOC) violate the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
Officer Use of Force and the Failure of Oversight of New York City JailsJennifer Ferentz, November, 2020“Ultimately, this Note argues the actors responsible for changing the rules governing New York City jails and the practices carried out within them are abdicating that responsibility when it comes to this violence.”
But Who Oversees the Overseers?: The Status of Prison and Jail Oversight in the United States Michele Deitch, October, 2020“External oversight is a cost-effective tool that jurisdictions can adopt to combat negative correctional outcomes and maximize positive ones.”
The body in isolation: The physical health impacts of incarceration in solitary confinement Justin D. Strong et al, October, 2020“Physical symtpoms people experience in solitary confinement [include]: symptoms associated with deprivation conditions, associated with...limiting access to healthcare, and chronic pain exacerbated by...deprivation conditions and policies.”
Punishing status and the punishment status quo: Solitary confinement in U.S. Immigration prisons, 2013-2017 Konrad Franco, Caitlin Patler, and Keramet Reiter, October, 2020“Solitary confinement cases involving immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean are vastly overrepresented in comparison to the share of these groups in the overall detained population.”
Supporting Success: The Higher Education in Prison Key Performance Indicator Framework Institute for Higher Education Policy, September, 2020“Better understanding of student outcomes, academic quality, civic engagement, and soft skill development associated with higher education in prison will help both practitioners and policymakers.”
Solitary Confinement in the Pelican StateTexas Public Policy Foundation & Right on Crime, September, 2020“Louisiana ranks #1 in percentage of inmates in segregation in the United States.”
Time-In-Cell 2019: A Snapshot of Restrictive Housing Based on a Nationwide Survey of U.S. Prison Systems The Arthur Liman Public Interest Program at Yale Law School and the Association of State Correctional Administrators, September, 2020“As of the summer of 2019, an estimated 55,000 to 62,500 prisoners in the United States were held in isolation for an average of 22 hours a day for 15 days.”
Digital inequalities in time of pandemic: COVID-19 exposure risk profiles and new forms of vulnerability Laura Robinson, Jeremy Schulz, Aneka Khilnani et al, June, 2020“...Restrictions imposed in the name of security already sharply curtail communication beyond prison walls, yet...fresh provision for digital communication might deliver outsized benefits.”(This article covers digital and social inequalities for many groups, including older adults, gig workers, and incarcerated people.)
Solitary Confinement is Never the AnswerUnlock the Box, June, 2020“At least 300,000 people have reportedly been placed in solitary since the advent of the pandemic, an increase of close to 500 percent over previous levels.”
Long-term consequences of being placed in disciplinary segregationChristopher Wildeman and Lars Hojsgaard Andersen, March, 2020“The results from matched difference-in-differences analyses show that Danish inmates placed in disciplinary segregation experience larger drops in employment and larger increases in the risk of being convicted of a new crime in the 3 years after release.”
"Gladiator School: Returning Citizens' Experiences with Secondary Violence Exposure in Prison" Paywall :(Meghan A. Novisky & Robert L. Peralta, February, 2020“We find that secondary violence was frequently experienced in prison and often took the form of witnessing non-weaponized assaults, weaponized assaults, multi-perpetrator assaults, and homicide.”
Psychological Distress in Solitary Confinement: Symptoms, Severity, and Prevalence in the United States, 2017-2018 Keramet Reiter et al, January, 2020“Serious mental illness rates, typically estimated at 10% to 15% of prison populations, are measured at 9% in Washington's general prison population but 20% in our intensive management unit [(i.e. solitary confinement)] sample.”
Polluting our prisons? An examination of Oklahoma prison locations and toxic releases, 2011-2017 Paywall :(Maggie Leon-Corwin, Jericho R McElroy, Michelle L Estes, Jon Lewis, Michael A Long, January, 2020“Our results find that prison zip codes have greater TRI emissions compared to non-prison zip codes.”
Solitary Confinement and the U.S. Prison BoomPaywall :(Ryan T. Sakoda, Jessica T. Simes, December, 2019“Long stays in solitary confinement were rare in the late 1980s with no detectable racial disparities, but a sharp increase in capacity after a new prison opening began an era of long-term isolation most heavily affecting Black young adults.”
Summit Food Services Provides Inadequate Nutrition at Missouri JailKevin Bliss, Prison Legal News, October, 2019“[An independent registered dietitian's] report stated, "the food is too high in sodium, too high in processed, refined carbohydrates and sugars and too low in fiber."”
Torture By Another Name: Solitary Confinement in Texas Texas Civil Right Project, October, 2019“Our continued investigation has confirmed that people are still suffering severe harm in Texas' solitary confinement cells and are being deprived of minimal life necessities.”
Trapped Inside: The Past, Present, and Future of Solitary Confinement in New York New York Civil Liberties Union, October, 2019“40,000 solitary confinement sanctions were given in 2018. One-quarter were in the form of special housing unit, or SHU sanctions, the most restrictive form of isolation.”
Association of Restrictive Housing During Incarceration With Mortality After ReleaseLauren Brinkley-Rubinstein, Josie Sivaraman, David L. Rosen, et al., October, 2019“Compared with individuals who were incarcerated and not placed in restrictive housing, individuals who spent any time in restrictive housing were 24% more likely to die in the first year after release, especially from suicide and homicide.”
Literature Locked Up: How Prison Book Restriction Policies Constitute the Nation's Largest Book Ban Pen America, September, 2019“With over two million Americans incarcerated, the book-restriction regulations within the United States carceral system represent the largest book ban policy in the United States.”
Cashing in on Cruelty: Stories of death, abuse and neglect at the GEO immigration detention facility in Aurora ACLU of Colorado, September, 2019“The decision to stop Mr. Samimi's methadone, and subsequent failure to recognize and treat his withdrawal properly, exposes a critical lack of competency, compassion and proper medical care inside the facility.”
ISOLATED: ICE Confines Some Detainees with Mental Illness in Solitary for Months Project On Government Oversight, August, 2019“About 40 percent of the records show detainees placed in solitary have mental illness. At some detention centers, the percentage is much higher.”
Fulfilling the Promises of Free Exercise for All: Muslim Prisoner Accommodation in State Prisons Muslim Advocates, July, 2019“Despite Muslims constituting a significant and growing share of prisoners, many state departments of correction still have policies that are outdated, under-accommodating, or non-accommodating of Muslim prisoners.”
Cruel and unusual punishment: When states don't provide air conditioning in prison Prison Policy Initiative, June, 2019“13 famously hot states lack universal A/C in their prisons.”
Still Worse Than Second-Class: Solitary Confinement of Women in the United States ACLU, June, 2019“Nearly 70 percent of women in prison or jail have a history of mental health conditions--a much higher rate than for men in prison or jail. Solitary confinement has been shown to exacerbate underlying mental health conditions.”
Louisiana on Lockdown: A Report on the Use of Solitary Confinement in Louisiana State Prisons, With Testimony From the People Who Live It Solitary Watch, ACLU LA, and Jesuit Social Research Institute, June, 2019“The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections (LADOC) reported that 19 percent of the men in its state prisons--2,709 in all--had been in solitary confnement for more than two weeks. Many had been there for years or even decades.”
Not in Isolation: How to Reduce Room Confinement While Increasing Safety in Youth Facilities Stop Solitary for Kids, June, 2019“It is more critical than ever that youth justice facility and agency administrators develop alternatives to room confinement consistent with evolving best practices, professional standards, and an understanding of adolescent development.”
The Safe Alternatives to Segregation Initiative: Findings and Recommendations for the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections Vera Institute of Justice, May, 2019“17.4 percent of people incarcerated in Louisiana's state-operated prisons were housed in some form of segregated housing, which is approximately 3.9 times the estimated national average of 4.5 percent.”
Solitary Confinement: Inhumane, Ineffective, and Wasteful Southern Poverty Law Center, April, 2019“solitary is disproportionately used for people with mental illnesses, people of color, and people with disabilities.”
Ending Mass Incarceration: A Presidential Agenda Brennan Center for Justice, February, 2019(Presidential candidates should commit to tackling some of the most pervasive and damaging parts of our criminal justice system, including overly punitive sentences, bail practices that favor the rich, and drug policies that unfairly target people of color)
Can There Be Acceptable Prison Health Care? Looking Back on the 1970s Susan M. Reverby, January, 2019“[Formerly incarcerated physician Alan] Berkman's argument--that control rather than care underlies the medical rationale in prison health care--still undermines humane treatment of incarcerated people.”
Right to a Healthy Prison Environment: Health Care in Custody Under the Prism of Torture Juan E. Mendez, January, 2019“A healthy [prison] environment requires structural integrity of prison systems, access to medical care and treatment, health care services, including dental, psychological, and rehabilitative services, and opportunity for prisoners to exercise.”
Reforming Restrictive Housing: The 2018 ASCA-Liman Nationwide Survey of Time-in-Cell The Association of State Correctional Administrators & The Liman Center for Public Interest Law at Yale Law School, October, 2018“Across all the reporting jurisdictions, the median percentage of the population held in restrictive housing was 4.2%; the average was 4.6%.”
(New)"I Don't Believe You, So You Might as Well Get Used to It": The Myth of PREA Zero Tolerance in Texas Prisons Trans Pride Initiative, July, 2018“If the national [PREA] data is appalling, the data provided by [Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice] is even more atrocious...98% to 99% of all reports are either unsubstantiated or fabrications.”
Dying in East Baton Rouge Parish PrisonThe Promise of Justice Initiative, July, 2018“Focusing on data from 2012 to 2016, the report notes that inadequate medical and mental healthcare and insufficient staff training has left to a mortality rate among prisoners that is several times higher than the national average.”
Global Prison Trends 2018Penal Reform International, May, 2018(This report analyzes trends in criminal justice and the use of imprisonment, showing that while overall crime rates around the world have declined, the number of people in prison on any given day is rising.)
Rethinking Restrictive Housing Lessons from Five U.S. Jail and Prison Systems VERA Institute of Justice, May, 2018(This report examines the use of restrictive housing in five states, documenting important trends in practice, policy, and outcomes.)
Silent Injustice: Solitary Confinement in Virginia ACLU Virginia, May, 2018“This report discusses the negative impacts of solitary confinement as practiced in Virginia.”
The Company Store: A Deeper Look at Prison Commissaries Prison Policy Initiative, May, 2018(Incarcerated people spend an average of $947 per person annually through commissaries - mostly to meet basic needs - which is well over the typical amount they can earn at a prison job.)
Cruel and Usual: A National Prisoner Survey of Prison Food and Health Care Quality Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, April, 2018(This report examines survey responses from incarcerated people on unsanitary prison conditions, poor food quality, and inadequate health care treatment.)
The Psychological Effects of Solitary Confinement: A Systematic Critique Craig Haney, March, 2018“Solitary confinement not only is a common form of mistreatment to which prisoners of war have been subjected and been adversely affected, but is also associated with "higher levels of later life disability" among returnees.”
"Don't Look Around": A Window into Inhumane Conditions for Youth at NORCOR Disability Rights Oregon, December, 2017“A lack of oversight and accountability has allowed Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility (NORCOR) to neglect the basic mental health and social development needs of kids in custody.”
Officer Health and Wellness: Results from the California Correctional Officer Survey Amy E. Lerman, November, 2017(This report summarizes the results from a correctional officer study examining mental and physical wellness; exposure to violence; attitudes towards rehabilitation and punishment; job training and management; work-life balance; and training and support.)
The Darkest Corner: Special Administrative Measures and Extreme Isolation in the Federal Bureau of Prisons Center for Constitutional Rights, September, 2017“Special Administrative Measures are the darkest corner of the U.S. federal prison system, combining the brutality and isolation of maximumsecurity units with additional restrictions that deny individuals almost any connection to the human world.”
Review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Use of Restrictive Housing for Inmates with Mental Illness U.S. Department of Justice, July, 2017“BOP Policies Do Not Adequately Address the Confinement of Inmates with Mental Illness in RHUs, and the BOP Does Not Sufficiently Track or Monitor Such Inmates”
A "Rigged System": How the Texas Grievance System Fails Prisoners and the Public Prison Justice League, June, 2017(Prisoners in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice lack confidence in the available grievance system to adequately address their complaints, noting a range of issues such as delays in receiving a response and concerns about oversight.)
Sense of self and responsibility: a review of learning from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Prison Reform Fellowships â€" Part 5 Institute for Criminal Policy Research, Birkbeck, University of London, June, 2017“This report profiles interventions which encourage imprisoned people to develop a positive sense of self and a sense of responsibility for their own lives and towards others.”
America's Toxic Prisons: The Environmental Injustices of Mass Incarceration Earth Island Journal and Truthout, June, 2017“The toxic impact of prisons extends far beyond any individual prison, or any specific region in the United States. Mass incarceration in the US impacts the health of prisoners, prison-adjacent communities, and local ecosystems from coast to coast.”
Peer relations: Review of learning from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Prison Reform Fellowships â€" Part 4 Institute for Criminal Policy Research, Birkbeck, University of London, June, 2017(This briefing examines the importance of positive peer relations for promoting desistance and providing moral and practical support to people in prison and on release.)
When did prisons become acceptable mental healthcare facilities?Stanford Law School Three Strikes Project, May, 2017“While the overall state prison population has decreased dramatically, the number of prisoners with mental illness continues to climb and is expected grow in the years ahead.”
Using Time to Reduce Crime: Federal Prisoner Survey Results Show Ways to Reduce Recidivism Families Against Mandatory Minimums, May, 2017“An estimated 45 percent of federal prisoners have mental health and behavioral problems...Two-thirds of prisoners who responded to our survey said they had not received mental or behavioral health counseling while in federal prison.”
Aging alone: Uncovering the risk of solitary confinement for people over 45 Prison Policy Initiative, May, 2017“We estimate that more than 44,000 people 45 and older experience solitary in state prisons each year.”
The steep cost of medical co-pays in prison puts health at riskWendy Sawyer, Prison Policy Initiative, April, 2017“In Michigan, it would take over a week to earn enough for a single $5 co-pay, making it the free world equivalent of over $300. In 13 states co-pays are equivalent to charging minimum wage workers more than $200.”
Parent-Child Visiting Practices in Prisons and Jails A Synthesis of Research and Practice Urban Institute, April, 2017“This paper presents key findings on what is known about the design, implementation, and effectiveness of parent-child visits.”
How much do incarcerated people earn in each state?Wendy Sawyer, Prison Policy Initiative, April, 2017“[P]risons appear to be paying incarcerated people less today than they were in 2001. The average of the minimum daily wages paid to incarcerated workers for non-industry prison jobs is now 87 cents, down from 93 cents reported in 2001.”
Making Families Pay: The Harmful, Unlawful, and Costly Practice of Charging Juvenile Administrative Fees in California Stephanie Campos-Bui, Jeffrey Selbin, Hamza Jaka, Tim Kline, Ahmed Lavalais, Alynia Phillips, Abby Ridley-Kerr, University of California Berkeley School of Law, March, 2017“[W]e did not find a single county in which fee practices were both fair and cost-effective. Counties either improperly charge low-income families and net little revenue, or they fairly assess families’ inability to pay and net even less.”
Unlocking solitary confinement: Ending Extreme Isolation in Nevada State Prisons The ACLU of Nevada, Solitary Watch, Nevada Disability Advocacy & Law Center, February, 2017“In this report, we found that solitary confinement is, in fact, widely used in the state of Nevada, often for prolonged periods of time, and that many of the people held there are denied basic human needs like daily exercise and sufficient medical care.”
"She Doesn't Deserve to be Treated Like This": Prisons as Sites of Reproductive Injustice Rachel Roth, The Feminist Press, 2017 (updated), January, 2017“This essay explores prisons as sites of reproductive injustice by focusing on barriers to abortion and safe childbirth.”
Caged In: Solitary Confinement's Devastating Harm on Prisoners with Physical Disabilities American Civil Liberties Union, January, 2017“In Florida, only 44 of 792 grievances by prisoners with disabilities were resolved from 2013 to 2015.”
Creating a Culture of Safety: Sentinel Event Reviews for Suicide and Self-Harm in Correctional Facilities Vera Institute of Justice, December, 2016“Investigating the feasibility of using a sentinel events approach to review and learn from errors in the criminal justice system such as wrongful convictions, eyewitness misidentifications, or incidents of suicide and self-harm in custody.”
Aiming to Reduce Time-In-Cell: Reports from Correctional Systems on the Numbers of Prisoners in Restricted Housing The Arthur Liman Public Interest Program at Yale Law School and the Association of State Correctional Administrators, November, 2016“[T]he new 2016 Report found that 67,442 prisoners were held, in the fall of 2015, in prison cells for 22 hours or more for 15 continuous days or more.”
A Texas Sized Failure: Sexual Assaults in Texas Prisons Prison Justice League & the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, November, 2016“Regardless of claims that PREA standards are being implemented in Texas prisons, reports from prisoners themselves indicate that sexual assaults in Texas correctional facilities remain a serious problem.”
Responsible Prison Project: Reshaping The Texas Prison System for Greater Public Safety Aaron Flaherty, David Graham, Michael Smith, William D Jones, and Vondre Cash, October, 2016“It has often been said that those who are closest to a problem are closest to its solution. That is no less true for those who are in prison.”
Correcting Food Policy in Washington Prisons: How the DOC Makes Healthy Food Choices Impossible for Incarcerated People & What Can Be Done Prison Voice Washington, October, 2016“When the Department of Corrections turned over responsibility for food services to Correctional Industries (CI)...it substituted 95% industrialized, plastic-wrapped, sugar-filled "food products" for locally prepared healthy food.”
Locked Up and Locked Down: Segregation of Inmates with Mental Illness Anna Guy, Amplifying Voices of Inmates with Disabilities Prison Project, September, 2016“[Protection and Advocacy Agencies] have received countless reports of abuse and neglect of inmates in segregation, including prolonged isolation, deplorable conditions, inadequate care, increased self-harm and suicide attempts, and even death.”
National Survey of Prison Health Care: Selected Findings U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, July, 2016“This report presents selected findings on the provision of health care services in U.S. state prisons.”
Global burden of HIV, viral hepatitis, and tuberculosis in prisoners and detainees National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, July, 2016“The most effective way of controlling these infections in prisoners and the broader community is to reduce the incarceration of people who inject drugs.”
Making the Grade: Developing Quality Postsecondary Education Programs in Prison Vera Institute of Justice, July, 2016“[T]his report compiles lessons from the field, offering implementation guidance to programs seeking to develop, expand, or enhance postsecondary educational programming in corrections settings.”
Individuals With Serious Mental Illnesses in County Jails: A Survey of Jail Staff's Perspectives Public Citizen's Health Research Group and The Treatment Advocacy Center, July, 2016(This report uses data from 230 sheriff's departments in 39 states to examine how correctional staffs understand and deal with inmates struggling with serious mental illnesses.)
Texas Custodial Death Report Police, jail, and prison deaths 2005-2015 Texas Justice Initiative, July, 2016(This report examines who is dying in the Texas criminal justice system and how they are dying.)
Disabled Behind Bars: The Mass Incarceration of People With Disabilities in America's Jails and Prisons Center for American Progress, July, 2016“This report highlights steps policymakers can take to combat inappropriate and unjust incarceration and criminalization of people with disabilities, as well as steps to ensure appropriate and humane treatment of people with disabilities[.]”
Isolated in Essex: Punishing immigrants through solitary confinement New Jersey Advocates for Immigrant Detainees, American Friends Service Committee, and New York University School of Law Immigrants Rights Clinic, June, 2016“This report completes the picture by presenting an analysis of previously unavailable data regarding the use of disciplinary solitary confinement ("disciplinary segregation") against immigrant detainees in Essex County Correctional Facility[.]”
20 years is enough: Time to repeal the Prison Litigation Reform Act Prison Policy Initiative, May, 2016“The Prison Litigation Reform Act, which made it much harder for incarcerated people to file and win civil rights lawsuits in federal court, was a key part of the Clinton-era prison boom.”
Breaking Promises: Violations of the Massachusetts Pregnancy Standards & Anti-Shackling Law The Prison Birth Project and Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts, May, 2016“Far too often Massachusetts prisons and jails violate the law in both policy and practice, undermining the public will and subjecting pregnant women to illegal, unsafe, and degrading treatment.”
Assessing Inmate Cause of Death: Deaths in Custody Reporting Program and National Death Index Bureau of Justice Statistics, April, 2016“The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has collected data annually on inmates who died in state prison and local jail and the circumstances surrounding these deaths since...2000.”
Get To Work or Go To Jail: Workplace Rights Under Threat UCLA Labor Center, April, 2016“The work-or-jail threat adds the weight of the criminal justice system to employers’ power, and turns the lack of good jobs into the basis for further policing, prosecution, and incarceration.”
"Do You See How Much I'm Suffering Here?" Abuse against Transgender Women in US Immigration Detention Human Rights Watch, March, 2016“[T]his report details the abuses that transgender women suffer in immigration detention and the US government’s inadequate efforts to address them.”
Partnering with Community Sexual Assault Response Teams: A Guide for Local Community Confinement and Juvenile Detention Facilities Vera Institute of Justice, March, 2016“Partnerships with SARTs can help facilities implement coordinated, victim-centered response policies and procedures that meet key requirements of the PREA standards.”
Administrative Segregation in U.S. PrisonsNational Institute of Justice, March, 2016“Across the political spectrum, there is growing concern about the efficacy and utility of administrative segregation practices[.]”
Report and Recommendations Concerning the Use of Restrictive HousingU.S. Department of Justice, January, 2016“At its worst, and when applied without regard to basic standards of decency, restrictive housing can cause serious, long-lasting harm. It is the responsibility of all governments to ensure that this practice is used only as necessary.”
Special Committee on Re-entryNew York State Bar Association, January, 2016“The cost of re-incarceration and the cost to victims of recidivism are far greater than the cost of providing the programs described in this report.”
You've Got Mail: The promise of cyber communication in prisons and the need for regulation Prison Policy Initiative, January, 2016(There are many benefits to electronic messaging in correctional facilities, but our analysis finds that the technology is primed to be just another opportunity for for-profit companies to exploit families and subvert regulations of phone calls.)
Growing Up Locked DownACLU of Nebraska, January, 2016“Before they are old enough to get a driver’s license, enlist in the armed forces, or vote, some children in Nebraska are held in solitary confinement for days, weeks--and even months.”
Sexual Victimization Reported by Juvenile Correctional Authorities, 2007-12Bureau of Justice Statistics, January, 2016“In 2012, juvenile correctional administrators reported 865 allegations of sexual victimization in state juvenile systems and 613 in local or private facilities and Indian country facilities.”
Locked Up & Shipped Away: Interstate Prisoner Transfers and the Private Prison Industry Winter 2016 Update Grassroots Leadership, January, 2016(Since the 2013 release of Locked Up and Shipped Away, the same four states (Vermont, California, Idaho, and Hawaii) continue to house a portion of their prisoners in private prisons out of state. And, a fifth state, Arkansas has also opted to do so.)
Paying the Price: Failure to Deliver HIV Services in Lousiana Parish Jails Human Rights Watch, 2016“The state of Louisiana is 'ground zero' for the dual epidemics of HIV and incarceration.”
Zero Tolerance: How States Comply With PREA's Youthful Inmate Standard Campaign for Youth Justice, December, 2015“Despite evidence based research highlighting the harms of placing youth in adult facilities and the long term costs of incarceration to youth and society, 1200 youth are in state prisons on any given day across the country.”
Does Prison Crowding Predict Higher Rates of Substance Use Related Parole Violations? A Recurrent Events Multi-Level Survival Analysis PLoS ONE, October, 2015“Prison crowding predicted higher rates of parole violations after release from prison. The effect was magnitude-dependent and particularly strong for drug charges.”
Coming Out of Concrete Closets: A report on Black & Pink's National LGBTQ Prisoners Survey Black & Pink, October, 2015“Close to two thirds (58%) of respondents' first arrest occurred when they were under the age of 18.”
Time-In-Cell: The ASCA-Liman 2014 National Survey of Administrative Segregation in Prison The Liman Program, Yale Law School, August, 2015“If that number is illustrative of the whole, some 80,000 to 100,000 people were, in 2014, in segregation.”
Improving the Food Environment in Washington State-Run Correctional Facilities: The Healthy Commissary Project Alyssa Auvinen et al., August, 2015“The Healthy Commissary Project demonstrates the feasibility of partnerships between health departments, corrections, and advocacy organizations to implement effective nutrition interventions in correctional facility commissaries.”
PREA Data Collection Activities, 2015Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2015“Administrators of adult correctional facilities reported 8,763 allegations of sexual victimization in 2011, a statistically significant increase over the 8,404 allegations reported in 2010 and 7,855 in 2009.”
Callous and Cruel: Use of Force against Inmates with Mental Disabilities in US Jails and Prisons Human Rights Watch, May, 2015“This 127-page report details incidents in which correctional staff have deluged prisoners with painful chemical sprays, shocked them with powerful electric stun weapons, and strapped them for days in restraining chairs or beds.”
Solitary Confinement: Common Misconceptions and Emerging Safe Alternatives Vera Institute of Justice, May, 2015“While the precise number of people held in segregated housing on any given day is not known with any certainty, estimates run to more than 80,000 in state and federal prisons--which is surely an undercount.”
Reckless Indifference: Deadly Heat in Texas Prisons Human Rights Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law, March, 2015(This report highlights the extreme heat conditions in Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities, the treatment of heat-sensitive individuals, and the failed grievance system employed by the TDCJ.)
Medical Problems of State and Federal Prisoners and Jail Inmates, 2011-12Bureau of Justice Statistics, February, 2015“In 2011-12, an estimated 40% of state and federal prisoners and jail inmates reported having a current chronic medical condition while about half reported ever having a chronic medical condition.”
Degrees of Freedom: Expanding College Opportunities for Currently and Formerly Incarcerated Californians Renewing Communities Initiative, February, 2015“Our colleges and criminal justice agencies must break out of their silos and share a commitment to high-quality education for all students whether they are learning in prison, jail, or the community.”
Reproductive Injustice: The State of Reproductive Health Care for Women in New York State Prisons Correctional Association of New York, February, 2015“Overall, however, we found that reproductive health care for women in New York State prisons is woefully substandard, with women routinely facing poor-quality care and assaults on their basic human dignity and reproductive rights.”
Cruel & Usual Punishment: Excessive Use of Force at the Estelle Unit Prison Justice League, February, 2015(This report reveals countless instances of Estelle correctional officers using excessive force on prisoners, causing serious bodily injuries. It is a pattern apparently well-known to prison officials, but ignored.)
A Solitary Failure: The Waste, Cost and Harm of Solitary Confinement ACLU of Texas, February, 2015“The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) confines 4.4 percent of its prison population in solitary confinement.”
An Expanding Strike Zone: Coleman-Bey and the Future of Civil Protections for Prison Inmates Alliance for Justice, February, 2015“The clear trend of courts is toward restricting inmates' rights to seek civil justice far beyond what was envisioned by the Prison Litigation Reform Act.”
"If They Hand You a Paper, You Sign It": A Call to End the Sterilization of Women in Prison Rachel Roth and Sara L. Ainsworth, Hastings Women's Law Journal, January, 2015“[A] number of states allow the sterilization of incarcerated women—flouting important policy norms—and that medical providers and their professional organizations play key roles in sanctioning and carrying out these procedures.”
Emancipate the FLSA: Transform the Harsh Economic Reality of Working Inmates Journal of Civil Rights & Economic Development, 2015“The Article calls for the application of the FLSA to all working inmates, leading to judicial uniformity, and the redistribution of wealth from the prisons to the working inmates thereby reducing recidivism.”
Medical Isolation and Solitary Confinement: Balancing Health and Humanity in US Jails and Prisons During COVID-19 David H. Cloud, Cyrus Ahalt, Dallas Augustine, David Sears MD & Brie Williams, 2015“Any effective and ethical medical isolation and quarantine program in US jails and prisons must be preceded by the immediate release of as many people as possible from jails and prisons to ensure that adequate physical space & medical staff are available.”
Designed to Break You: Human Rights Violations on Texas' Death Row Human Rights Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law, 2015“Every individual on Texas’ death row thus spends approximately 23 hours a day in complete isolation for the entire duration of their sentence, which, on average, lasts more than a decade.”
Federal Bureau of Prisons: Special Housing Unit Review and Assessment CNA, December, 2014“As of November 2013, approximately 5 percent of the entire Bureau’s prisoner population was being housed in one of these restrictive housing populations with the vast majority in the SHU status.”
Sexual Victimization In Prisons And Jails Reported By Inmates, 2011-12- Update Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2014“In 2011-12, an estimated 4.0% of state and federal prison inmates and 3.2% of jail inmates reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another inmate or facility staff in the past 12 months or since admission to the facility.”
Still Buried Alive: Arizona Prisoner Testimonies on Isolation in Maximum-Security American Friends Service Committee, December, 2014“The impacts on the men and women held in isolation are deeply damaging and long lasting. Yet Arizona has once again chosen to double down on solitary confinement with these 500 new maximum-security prison beds in the Lewis complex.”
The Use of Prolonged Solitary Confinement in United States Prisons, Jails, and Detention Centers Center for Constitutional Rights; Legal Services for Prisoners with Children; California Prison Focus, November, 2014“The US currently detains approximately 80,000 prisoners in solitary confinement in its jails, prisons, and detention centers.”
On Life Support: Public Health in the Age of Mass Incarceration Vera Institute of Justice, November, 2014(Research in epidemiology indicates that had the U.S. incarceration rate remained at its 1973 level, then the infant mortality rate would have been 7.8% lower than it was in 2003, and disparity between black and white infant deaths nearly 15% lower.)
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2012 - Statistical TablesBureau of Justice Statistics, October, 2014“In 2012, 4,309 inmates died while in the custody of local jails or state prisons-an increase of 2% (67 deaths) from 2011. The number of deaths in local jails increased, from 889 in 2011 to 958 in 2012, which marked the first increase since 2009.”
United States' Compliance with the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment American Civil Liberties Union, October, 2014“The ACLU report also highlights key aspects of the criminal justice system that do not comply with article 16 of the Convention, which requires the prevention of acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Parsons v. Ryan, CV 12-00601: Arizona Class Action Prison Conditions Lawsuit Expert Reports ACLU of Arizona, September, 2014“Every week, on average, a patient who has been neglected or mistreated dies in the Arizona prison system, according to these expert reports.”
Study of the TDCJ Offender Visitation PoliciesTexas Department of Criminal Justice, August, 2014“A temporary online survey was conducted from November 2013 to March 2014 to obtain feedback from the public regarding their past visitation experience.”
Solitary Confinement - Understanding Restrictive Housing Unit Practices Within the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Prisons Out4Good, July, 2014“First and second line supervisors, mainly GS9 and GS11 lieutenants, have far too much discretion when it comes to placing offenders in the SHU. The general criterion for SHU placement is that an inmate is disrupting the orderly running of the institution.”
The Crisis of Violence in Georgia's PrisonsSouthern Center for Human Rights, July, 2014“Prison officials violate the Constitution if they know that people in prison face a substantial risk of serious harm, but disregard that risk by failing to take reasonable measures to protect prisoners.”
The Double Edged Sword of Prison Video Visitation Claiming to Keep Families Together While Furthering the Aims of the Prison Industrial Complex Patrice A. Fulcher, Associate Professor at John Marshall Law School, July, 2014“The use of inmate video visitation services must not be oppressive, so fees must be affordable and transparent so that there are no hidden costs.”(published in 9 Fla. A&M. U. L. Rev. 83 (2014))
Illusion of Justice: Human Rights Abuses in US Terrorism Prosecutions Human Rights Watch and Columbia Law School, July, 2014“This report documents the significant human cost of certain counterterrorism practices, such as aggressive sting operations and unnecessarily restrictive conditions of confinement.”
State Prison Health Care Spending: An Examination of Female Offenders Released from State Prison in the First Year of Public Safety Realignment Pew Charitable Trusts, July, 2014“In fiscal 2011, states spent a total of $7.7 billion on correctional health care—likely about a fifth of overall prison expenditures.”
Reentering Women: The Impact of Social Ties on Long-Term Recidivism Kelle Barrick, Pamela K. Lattimore, and Christy A. Visher, July, 2014“Results from this study suggest that in-prison family contact and post-release family support are protective whereas in-prison non-family contact is a risk factor.”
Entombed: Isolation in the US Federal Prison System Amnesty International, July, 2014“This report will detail how conditions in ADX breach international standards for the humane treatment of prisoners.”
Cruel Confinement Abuse, Discrimination and Death Within Alabama's Prisons Southern Poverty Law Center, June, 2014“This extraordinary understaffing has led to a multitude of problems. The vast majority are easily predictable: delays, failures to diagnose and treat problems, failure to follow up with patients, errors and decisions to not treat seriously ill prisoners.”
PREA Data Collection Activities, 2014Bureau of Justice Statistics, May, 2014“Administrators of adult correctional facilities reported 8,763 allegations of sexual victimization in 2011, a statistically significant increase over the 8,404 allegations reported in 2010 and 7,855 in 2009.”
Deadly Heat in Texas PrisonsHuman Rights Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law, April, 2014“Since 2007, at least fourteen inmates have died from extreme heat in nine different TDCJ prisons. All fourteen inmates had preexisting health circumstances that rendered them more vulnerable to heat-related illnesses...”
A meta-analysis of the prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in incarcerated populations Cambridge University, March, 2014“Compared with published general population prevalence, there is a fivefold increase in prevalence of ADHD in youth prison populations (30.1%) and a 10-fold increase in adult prison populations (26.2%).”
Prison Visitation Policies: A Fifty State Survey Chesa Boudin, Trevor Stutz, & Aaron Littman, February, 2014“This paper presents a summary of the findings from the first fifty-state survey of prison visitation policies.”
Sexual Victimization Reported by Adult Correctional Authorities, 2009-11Bureau of Justice Statistics, January, 2014“Between 2009 and 2011, females represented about 7% of all state and federal prison inmates, but accounted for 22% of inmate-on-inmate victims and 33% of staff-on-inmate victims.”
A Program Evaluation of In-Prison Components The Colorado Department of Corrections Sex Offender Treatment and Monitoring Program Central Coast Clinical and Forensic Psychology Services, Inc., January, 2014“Many sexual offenders who could successfully be managed in the community, had they effectively participated in treatment, may instead spend additional years in prison. This will represent a great cost to the Colorado taxpayer...”
Solitary Confinement as TortureUniversity of North Carolina School of Law Immigration/Human Rights Clinic, 2014(The conclusion reached is stark and straightforward: solitary confinement is ineffective at decreasing violence within prisons; it is ineffective at preserving public safety; it is ineffective at managing scarce monetary resources.)
Standing with LGBT Prisoners: An Advocate's Guide to Ending Abuse and Combating Imprisonment National Center for Transgender Equality, 2014“According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, 16% of transgender adults have been in a prison or jail for any reason.”
Gender Differences in the Determinants of Prison Rule ViolationsKatarzyna Celinska & Hung-En Sung, 2014“Women averaged 1.96 infractions per person who violated a rule as compared with the rate of 2.27 infractions per person who violated a rule found among men. Women in prison were not only less likely to break rules but also did so less frequently than men.”
Selected Issues in Mental Health and Corrections: A Collection and Summary of Research Disability Rights Nebraska, 2014“Although only 7% of inmates were in solitary confinement, they accounted for 53% of acts of self-harm.”
Facilitating Access to Health Care Coverage for Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth Models for Change, December, 2013“Youth involved in the juvenile justice system have extensive physical and behavior health needs. The majority have at least one mental health condition and substance abuse is also very common.”
Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) Health Care EvaluationCourt Medical Experts, December, 2013“We find that the Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) is not providing adequate medical care, and that there are systemic issues resulting in preventable morbidity and mortality and that present an on-going serious risk of harm to patients.”
Fishkill Correctional Facility: 2012 Correctional Association of New York, December, 2013“Despite these positive aspects, the Visiting Committee was disturbed to observe so many people at Fishkill who were so physically and/or cognitively impaired that there no longer seemed to be any justifiable reason to keep them in prison.”
The Choice is Yours: Early Implementation of a Diversion Program for Felony Offenders Urban Institute, Justice Policy Center, October, 2013“As of June 30, 2013, of consented participants in the The Choice is Yours (TCY) who progressed beyond orientation and into the full enrollment phase, 4.6 percent (N=3 of 65) have been rearrested”
Juvenile Facility Staff Responses to Organizational ChangeAlexandra Cox, SUNY New Paltz, October, 2013“Staff and youth perceptions of fairness were rooted in their desire for participation and voice in the organizational landscape.”
Inside the Box: The Real Costs of Solitary Confinement in New Mexico's Prisons and Jails The New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty; The ACLU of New Mexico, October, 2013“New Mexico urgently needs to reform the practice of solitary confinement in its prisons and jails.”
Managing Prison Health Care SpendingThe Pew Charitable Trust, The MacArthur Foundation, October, 2013“Pew found that prison health care spending in these 44 states totaled $6.5 billion in 2008, out of $36.8 billion in overall institutional correctional expenditures.”
A Death Before Dying: Solitary Confinement on Death Row ACLU, July, 2013“93 percent of states lock up their death row prisoners for 22 or more hours per day. Most of these prisoners live under conditions of extreme social isolation and enforced idleness.”
Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Colorado's continued warehousing of mentally ill prisoners in solitary confinement ACLU of Colorado, July, 2013“As of March 2013, CDOC housed at least 87 seriously mentally ill prisoners in solitary confinement, 54 of whom have been living in isolation for over a year and 14 of whom have been in solitary confinement for more than 4 years.”
Improvements Needed in Bureau of Prisons' Monitoring and Evaluation of Impact of Segregated Housing Government Accountability Office, May, 2013“Without an assessment of the impact of segregation on institutional safety or study of the long-term impact of segregated housing on inmates, BOP cannot determine the extent to which segregated housing achieves its stated purpose.”
Buried Alive: Solitary Confinement in the US Detention System Physicians for Human Rights, April, 2013“...solitary confinement can cause severe and lasting physiological/psychological harm. Moreover, in many cases, the resulting harm rises to the level of torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, in violation of domestic and international law.”
The Federal Bureau of Prisons' Compassionate Release ProgramU.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector, General Evaluation and Inspections Division, April, 2013“Procedures and timeliness standards do not reference the compassionate release program or acknowledge the special circumstances of an inmate requesting compassionate release (particularly those with terminal medical conditions/limited life expectancies).”
The Dose-Response of Time Served in Prison on Mortality: New York State, 1989-2003 Evelyn J. Patterson, University of Vanderbilt, March, 2013“After controlling for a variety of demographic and offense-related factors...each year in prison increased the odds of death by 15.6% in this 1989 to 1993 parole cohort...an increased odds of death of 78% for somebody who spent 5 years in prison.”
Massachusetts Department of Correction - 2012Gordon Haas, Norfolk Lifers Group, March, 2013“Report compares the MA Department of Corrections's stated goals with current practices and outcomes, making suggestions for improvements to promote rehabilitation and reduce recidivism.”
Return to Sender: Postcard-only Mail Policies in Jail Prison Policy Initiative, March, 2013“Postcard-only policies run contrary to prevailing correctional standards and best practices, and the vast majority of jail facilities around the country, as well as all prisons, successfully manage mail systems without postcard-only policies.”
California's Urban Crime Increase in 2012: Is "Realignment" to Blame? Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, January, 2013“The 11 counties that realigned offenders at lower rates showed greater increases in violent and property crime than the 10 counties that realigned offenders at higher rates.”
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010 Statistical TablesBureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2012“The suicide rate in local jails declined over time from 49 per 100,000 inmates in 2001 to 36 per 100,000 in 2007. Since 2007, the rate has increased slightly to reach 42 per 100,000 inmates in 2010.”
The Answer is No: Too Little Compassionate Release in US Federal Prisons Human Rights Watch and Families Against Mandatory Minimums, November, 2012“To satisfy human rights requirements, prisoners should have access to judicial review or review by a similarly independent, objective tribunal that applies basic due process requirements to decisions regarding the lawfulness of their ongoing detention.”
Prison Visitation Policies A Fifty State Survey Chesa Boudin, Trevor Stutz & Aaron Littman, November, 2012(This memorandum presents a summary of the findings from a survey of prison visitation policies in the fifty states and in the system run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Note: There is a 2014 version of this paper that is slightly different.)
The Disparate Treatment of Native Hawaiians In the Criminal Justice System Office of Hawaiian Affairs, November, 2012“An analysis of data, controlling for age, gender, and type of charge, found that for any given determination of guilt, Native Hawaiians are much more likely to get a prison sentence than almost all other groups, except for Native Americans.”
Lake Erie Correctional Institution Full Internal Management AuditOhio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, September, 2012“Employees interviewed could not demonstrate the following: a knowledge of the local fire plan; a knowledge of the rapid release of inmates from cells in locked areas [...] and many simply stated they had no idea what they should do.”
USA: The Edge of Endurance Prison Conditions in California's Security Housing Units Amnesty International, September, 2012“Studies have found that negative effects from prolonged isolation can continue long after release, including sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety, phobias, anger, impaired memory and problems with normal social interaction.”
Growing Inmate Crowding Negatively Affects Inmates, Staff, & InfrastructureUnited States Government Accountability Office, September, 2012“[T]he growth of the federal inmate population and related crowding have negatively affected inmates housed in BOP institutions [and] institutional staff [...] and have contributed to inmate misconduct, which affects staff and inmate security and safety.”
HIV In Prisons, 2001-2010Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2012“The rate of HIV/AIDS among state and federal prison inmates declined from 194 cases per 10,000 inmates in 2001 to 146 per 10,000 at yearend 2010.”
Unasked Questions, Unintended Consequences Fifteen Findings and Recommendations on Illinois' Prison Healthcare System John Howard Association of Illinois, September, 2012“[I]ncarceration is overused as a primary means to manage drug and non- violent offenders [...]. This comes at great cost to taxpayers and has little positive impact on recidivism or public safety.”
For Better or for Profit: How the Bail Bonding Industry Stands in the Way of Fair and Effective Pretrial Justice Justice Policy Institute, September, 2012“With the personal liberty of accused people held by a profit-driven private industry, for-profit bail bonding is systemically prone to corruption, criminal collusion, and the use of coercion against bonded people.”
Boxed In The True Cost of Extreme Isolation in New York's Prisons New York Civil Liberties Union, September, 2012“New York has nearly 5,000 SHU beds located in 39 prisons, including two dedicated extreme isolation prisons which cost about $76 million a year. From 2007-11, New York issued more than 68,100 sentences to extreme isolation for violations of prison rules.”
Invisible in Isolation The Use of Segregation and Solitary Confinement in Immigrant Detention Heartland Alliance and Physicians for Human Rights, September, 2012“This report, the first of its kind, aims to examine the use of segregation and solitary confinement in the immigration detention system, share individual experiences, and provide concrete recommendations to eradicate the use of solitary confinement [...].”
Lifetime Lockdown How Isolation Conditions Impact Prisoner Reentry American Friends Service Committee, August, 2012“ADC policies limiting visitation and prohibiting maximum-security prisoners from participation in education, treatment, and employment have a negative impact on these prisoners' reentry prospects.”
A Performance Audit of Inmate High School EducationUtah Legislative Auditor General, August, 2012“In fiscal year 2011, over 5,200 inmates were enrolled in adult education, which is about 22 percent of Utah's entire adult education program.”
Collateral Consequences of Interstate Transfer of PrisonersCenter on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, July, 2012“In addition to breaches in facility security, out-of-state private prisons create significant barriers to rehabilitation and humane conditions of care.”
"She Doesn't Deserve to be Treated Like This": Prisons as Sites of Reproductive Injustice Rachel Roth, Center for Women Policy Studies, July, 2012“[T]he well-established nature of women’s rights has not stopped prison and jail personnel from trying to deny women abortion care, or at least obstruct women’s access to abortion.”
Performance Audit Report Evaluating the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex, Part I State of Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit, July, 2012“Overall, the environment at KJCC has not been conducive to ensuring the safety and security of juvenile offenders and staff.”
At America's Expense The Mass Incarceration of the Elderly ACLU, June, 2012“Based on statistical analyses of available data, this report estimates that releasing an aging prisoner will save states, on average, $66,294 per year per prisoner, including healthcare, other public benefits, parole, and any housing costs or tax revenue.”
PREA Data Collection Activities, 2012Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2012“An estimated 9.6% of former state prisoners reported one or more incidents of sexual victimization during the most recent period of incarceration in a jail, prison, and post-release community-treatment facility.”
Squeeze Play The history of canteen prices and inmate pay The Prison Mirror, May, 2012“Not since 1960s have Minnesota Inmates been paid so little compared to outside wages. This makes it hard to afford canteen, which ultimately limits the money that could be flowing into programs that ultimately make Minnesota safer.”
Religion in Prisons A 50-State Survey of Prison Chaplains Pew Research Center, Forum on Religion & Public Life, March, 2012“Nearly all chaplains either favor (46%) or strongly favor (46%) dealing with non-violent, 1st-time offenders through other kinds of sentences (such as community service or mandatory substance-abuse counseling) rather than prison terms.”
Eligibility and Capacity Impact Use of Flexibilities to Reduce Inmates' Time Government Accountability Office, February, 2012“Increased funding would have reduced the Residential Drug Abuse Treatment Program wait lists and enabled eligible inmates to enter the program early enough to earn their maximum allowable sentence reductions.”
Community Reentry After Prison Drug Treatment Learning from Sheridan Therapeutic Community Program participants Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, January, 2012“Younger participants engaged in criminal activity and relapsed sooner than older participants. Younger participants also reported being less engaged in the Sheridan program than older participants.”
Old Behind Bars the Aging Prison Population in the United States Human Rights Watch, January, 2012“Between 1995 and 2010, the number of state and federal prisoners age 55 or older nearly quadrupled (increasing 282 percent), while the number of all prisoners grew by less than half (increasing 42 percent). There are now 124,400 prisoners age 55+.”
Receipt of A(H1N1)pdm09 Vaccine by Prisons and Jails United States, 2009-10 Influenza Season Center for Desease Control, January, 2012“This report summarizes the results of that survey, which found that 55% of jails did not receive A(H1N1) pdm09 vaccine during the pandemic period, whereas only 14% of federal prisons and 11% of state prisons did not receive the vaccine.”
2011 Adult Institutions Outcome Evaluation ReportState of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, November, 2011(Participation in in-prison substance abuse programs, combined with post-release community-based aftercare results in recidivism rates (29.3 %) that are much lower than those that did not participate in any substance abuse treatment program (65.3 %).)
Colorado Department of Corrections Administrative Segregation and Classification Review National Institute of Corrections, October, 2011“Currently about 7% (1,427) of the prison population is in administrative segregation, which is significantly above the national average of 1-2 %.”
Improved Evaluations and Increased Coordination Could Improve Cell Phone Detection Government Accountability Office, September, 2011“77% of all cell phones confiscated at BOP institutions are found at prison camps, despite the fact that prison camps have accounted for only about 13 percent of BOP's inmate population from fiscal years 2008-2010.”
Life in Limbo An Examination of Parole Release for Prisoners Serving Life Sentences with the Possibility of Parole in California Stanford Criminal Justice Center, September, 2011“When victims attend hearings, the grant rate is less than half the rate when victims do not attend.”
Inmate Fees as a Source of Revenue Source of Challenges Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, July, 2011“[A]dditional fees would increase the number of inmates qualifying as indigent, increase the financial burdens on the inmate and their family, and jeopardize inmates' opportunities for successful reentry.”
Medicine and the Epidemic of Incarceration in the United StatesNew England Journal of Medicine, June, 2011“[The Affordable Care Act] could redirect many people with serious illness away from the revolving door of the criminal justice system, thereby improving overall public health in the communities to which prisoners return and decreasing [recidivism] costs.”
PREA Data Collection Activities, 2011Bureau of Justice Statistics, May, 2011“State prison administrators reported 589 substantiated incidents of sexual victimization in 2008, up 28% from 459 in 2005.”
Prison Crowding: The Long View, with Suggestions Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission, March, 2011“That puts the prison system 31% over its rated capacity, with about 12,500 more inmates than the prisons were built to hold.”
Out and Down: The Effects of Incarceration on Psychiatric Disorders and Disability Jason Schnittker, Michael Massoglia, and Christopher Uggen, February, 2011“Incarceration has a robust relationship with subsequent mood disorders, related to feeling”
Examination of Cook County Bond Court Report of the Justice Advisory Council Justice Advisory Council of the County of Cook, 2011“A cash bond for the release of over 66% of pretrial detainees, a full two-thirds, has been set by the Court at a bond hearing. However, the large majority of pretrial detainees, who procedurally have not been adjudicated guilty, are unable to post [bail].”
No Better Off An Update on Swanson Center for Youth Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, November, 2010“Lack or programming in the facility and on overreliance on lockdown result in youth's being”
Independent Correctional Oversight Mechanisms Across the United States: A 50-State Inventory Pace Law Review, September, 2010(Although this report is thick with examples of entities that perform (or have the authority to perform) some kind of oversight function, it should be clear upon closer examination that formal and comprehensive external oversight is truly rare.)
Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, 2008-09Bureau of Justice Statistics, August, 2010“An estimated 4.4% of prison inmates and 3.1% of jail inmates reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another inmate or facility staff in the past 12 months or since admission to the facility if less than 12 months.”
Mortality in Local Jails 2000-2007Bureau of Justice Statistics, July, 2010“Suicide was the single leading cause of unnatural deaths in local jails, accounting for 29% of all jail deaths between 2000 and 2007, but the suicide rate declined from 48 to 36 deaths per 100,000 inmates.”
PREA Data Collection Activities, 2010Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2010“Among youth victimized by staff, 5% reported physical injury; fewer than 1% had sought medical attention.”
Women in Law Enforcement 1987-2008Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2010“Overall, the precent of sworn federal law enforcement officers who were women increased slightly from 1998 to 2008.”
Sexual Victimization Reported by Former State Prisoners, 2008Bureau of Justice Statistics, May, 2010“An estimated 9.6% of former state prisoners reported one or more incidents of sexual victimization during the most recent period of incarceration in jail, prison, and post-release community-treatment facility.”
Parental Incarceration, Termination of Parental Rights and Adoption: A Case Study of the Intersection Between the Child Welfare and Criminal Justice Systems Justice Policy Journal, 2010“We found that less than a fifth of all parents, and only two percent with a history of incarceration, attended the dependency court hearings in which their children were detained, reunification requirements imposed, or parental rights terminated.”
HIV in Prisons, 2007-08Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2009“Findings include the number of AIDS-related deaths in state and federal prisons, a profile of those inmates who died in state prison, and a comparison of AIDS rates between prison inmates and the general population.”
HIV/AIDS among Inmates of & Releasees from US Correctional Facilities 2006 Declining Share of Epidemic but Persistent Public Health Opportunity PLoS One, November, 2009“. Although the proportional share of HIV/AIDS borne by those passing through CFs has declined since 1997, the total number of HIV infected persons who are in this flow has remained steady at roughly 150,000 individuals.”
Michigan Breaks the Political Logjam A New Model for Reducing Prison Populations ACLU, November, 2009“[Michigan's] new policies are designed to provide offenders with individualized programing in prison, and re-entry services upon release, that are most likely to assure success on parole, based on evidence of what works to reduce crime and save money.”
America's Problem-Solving Courts The Criminal Costs of Treatment and the Case for Reform National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, September, 2009“Conditioning treatment on an arrest and entry in the criminal justice system sends a perverse message to the person and is an enormous waste of scarce public and court resources.”
PREA Data Collection Activities, 2009Bureau of Justice Statistics, July, 2009“The National Inmate Survey (NIS) gathers data directly from inmates on the incidence of sexual assault in correctional facilities.”
National Prison Rape Elimination ReportNational Prison Rape Elimination Commission, June, 2009“Many victims cannot safely and easily report sexual abuse, and those who speak out often do so to no avail. Reporting procedures must be improved to instill confidence and protect individuals from retaliation without relying on isolation.”
The Health and Health Care of US Prisoners: Results of a Nationwide Survey Andrew P. Wilper et al, August, 2008“Among [incarcerated people] with a persistent medical problem, 13.9% of [people in federal prison], 20.1% of [people in state prison], and 68.4% of [people in jail] had received no medical examination since incarceration.”
Sexual Victimization in Local Jails Reported by Inmates, 2007Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2008“An estimated 5.1% of female inmates, compared to 2.9% of male inmates, said they had experienced one or more incidents of sexual victimization.”
Medical Problems of PrisonersBureau of Justice Statistics, April, 2008“An estimated 44% of state inmates and 39% of federal inmates reported a current medical problem other than a cold or virus.”
HIV in Prisons, 2006Bureau of Justice Statistics, April, 2008“The overall rate of estimated confirmed AIDS among the prison population (0.46%) was more than 2½ times the rate in the U.S. general population (0.17%).”
Health and Prisoner Reentry: How Physical, Mental, and Substance Abuse Conditions Shape the Process of Reintegration Urban Institute, February, 2008“Nearly all returning prisoners—8 in 10 men and 9 in 10 women—had chronic health conditions requiring treatment or management.”
Expert Report by Dr. Noel on Medical Care at Ely State PrisonAmerican Civil Liberties Union, December, 2007“[T]he medical care provided at Ely State Prison amounts to the grossest possible medical malpractice, and the most shocking and callous disregard for human life and human suffering, that I have ever encountered in the medical profession...”
HIV in Prisons, 2005Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2007“There were 22,480 state and federal inmates who were HIV infected or had confirmed AIDS on Dec. 31, 2005, which was a decrease from 22,936 at the end of 2004... [t]he 2005 decline was the sixth consecutive year the number has fallen.”
Sexual Violence Reported by Correctional Authorities, 2006Bureau of Justice Statistics, August, 2007“There were 2.91 allegations of sexual violence per 1,000 inmates held in prison, jail, and other adult correctional facilities in 2006, up from 2.46 per 1,000 inmates in 2004.”
Medical Causes of Death in State Prisons, 2001-2004Bureau of Justice Statistics, January, 2007“Overall, 89 percent of all state prisoner deaths were attributed to medical conditions and 8 percent were due to suicide or homicide.”
Release from Prison A High Risk of Death for Former Inmates New England Journal of Medicine, January, 2007“The mortality rate among former inmates was 3.5 times (95% CI, 3.2 to 3.8) that among state residents of the same age, sex, and race. The attributable-risk percentage was 71%, amounting to 316 excess deaths.”
Rates of Sexual Victimization in Prison for Inmates With and Without Mental Disorders Psychiatric services, 2007“Approximately one in 12 male inmates with a mental disorder reported at least one incident of sexual victimization by another inmate over a six-month period, compared with one in 33 male inmates without a mental disorder.”
African Americas, Health Disparities, and HIV/AIDS Recommendations for Confronting the Epidemic in Black America National Minority AIDS Council, December, 2006“The U.S. Department of Justice found that in 2003 the AIDS rate among U.S. prisoners was three times that of the general population.”
Medical Problems of Jail InmatesBureau of Justice Statistics, November, 2006“More than a third of jail inmates reported having a current medical problem.”
HIV in Prisons, 2004Bureau of Justice Statistics, November, 2006“The overall rate of confirmed AIDS among the prison population (0.50%) was more than 3 times the rate in the U.S. general population (0.15%).”(Although the percentage of prisoners with HIV has decresed, problems remain.)
The Culture of Prison Sexual ViolenceNational Institute of Justice; Mark S. Fleisher, Jessie L. Krienert, November, 2006“A majority of inmates reported that inmates' safety -- protection from physical and sexual assault, was the personal responsibility of inmates, independent of institution efforts to protect them.”
Cruel and Degrading: The Use of Dogs for Cell Extractions in U.S. Prisons Human Rights Watch, October, 2006“The use of dogs to threaten and attack prisoners to facilitate cell extractions has been a well-kept secret, even in the world of corrections.”
Toxic Sweatshops: How UNICOR Prison Recycling Harms Workers, Communities, the Environment, and the Recycling Industry Prison Activist Resource Center, October, 2006“UNICOR facilities repeatedly failed to provide proper recycling procedures to captive laborers and staff supervisors.”
Abandoned & Abused: Orleans Parish Prison in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina ACLU National Prison Project, August, 2006
Sexual Violence Reported by Correctional Authorities, 2005Bureau of Justice Statistics, July, 2006“[There were] 885 [substantiated] incidents of sexual violence in 2005... 38% of allegations involved staff sexual misconduct; 35% inmate-on-inmate nonconsensual sexual acts; 17%, staff sexual harassment; and 10% inmate-on-inmate abusive sexual contact.”
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Supermax PrisonsUrban Institute, March, 2006“[This report] suggests grounds for skepticism as well as concerns about the fiscal and human costs of [supermax prisons]. At the same time, it is clear that states and wardens believe supermax prisons can be effective correctional management tools...”
Benefit-Cost in the California Treatment Outcome Project Does Substance Abuse Treatment Susan L. Ettner, David Huange, Elizabeth Evans, et. al. (Published in Health Services Research, Volume 41), January, 2006“Our best estimate is that on average, substance abuse treatment costs $1,583 and is associated with a societal benefit of $11,487, representing a 7:1 ratio of benefits to costs.”
Ethical Considerations for Research Involving PrisonersInstitute of Medicine of the National Academies, Board on Health Sciences Policy, 2006(A review of current research practices regarding prison subjects with recommendations.)
Offender Work Report, 2004Washington State Jail Industries Board, October, 2005“Work within correctional facilities totaled 2,674,877 labor hours in 2004. Jails reported 113,560 labor hours performed on behalf of not-for-profit community organizations...”
Department of Corrections: It Needs to Better Ensure Against Conflicts of Interest and to Improve Its Inmate Population Projections California State Auditor - Bureau of State Audits, September, 2005(The report found conflict-of-interest problems in no-bid contracts for re-opening prisons. The decision to re-open the facilities, were in turn based on population calculations that were not made through statistically valid forecasting methods.)
PREA Update Stop Prisoner Rape's Report on the Prison Rape Elimination Act Stop Prisoner Rape, May, 2005
Deterring Staff Sexual Abuse of Federal InmatesOffice of the Inspector General, April, 2005“This report examines sexual abuse of federal inmates by correctional staff and the current law's impact on deterrence of staff sexual abuse”
Penny-Wise & Pound-Foolish: Assaultive offender programming and Michigan's prison costs Citizens Alliance on Prisons and Public Spending and American Friends Service Committee, Criminal Justice Program, April, 2005(Michigan Department of Corrections offers assaultive offender programming for people in prison for assault, the report examines the administrative shortfalls of this program and proposes solutions.)
Correctional Industries Programs for Adult Offenders in Prison: Estimates of Benefits and Costs Washington State Institute for Public Policy, January, 2005“We find that correctional industries programs for adult offenders in prison can achieve a statistically significant reduction in recidivism rates, and that a reasonably priced program generates about $6.70 in benefits per dollar of cost.”
Washington's Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative: An Evaluation of Benefits and Costs Washington State Institute for Public Policy, January, 2005“[O]ur overall finding is that [Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative] is an effective criminal justice policy for drug offenders but neutral for drug-involved property offenders.”
Prison Needle Exchange: Lessons from a Comprehensive Review of International Evidence and Experience Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, October, 2004
Custodial Sexual Misconduct Laws: A State-by-State Legislative Review Stop Prisoner Rape (now known as Just Detention International), July, 2004(Check justdetention.org for more recent information)
Correctional Health Care: Addressing the Needs of Elderly, Chronically Ill, and Terminally Ill Inmates National Institute of Corrections, 2004“While 50 may seem young to be classified as elderly in the free world, several important factors seem to speed the aging process for those in prison.”
Drug Treatment in the Criminal Justice System The Current State of Knowledge Urban Institute, January, 2003“Prisoners are not getting the drug treatment programs that would reduce their drug abuse and criminal behavior.”
The Prison Inside the Prison: Control Units, Supermax Prisons, and Devices of Torture American Friends Service Committee, 2003
Mental Health Treatment in State PrisonsBureau of Justice Statistics, July, 2001(None of the prison systems have any idea how many mentally ill prisoners they have. Using the BJS reports for anything other than whether or not prisoners identified as mentally ill are actually receiving services would be a mistake.)
Medical Problems of Inmates, 1997Bureau of Justice Statistics, January, 2001“Presents survey data on offenders who were in prison who reported a medical problem since admission or a physical impairment or mental condition”
Women in Prison: Sexual Misconduct by Correctional Staff General Accounting Office, June, 1999
Red Onion State Prison: Super-Maximum Security Confinement in Virginia Human Rights Watch, May, 1999
Not Part of My Sentence Violations of the Human Rights of Women in Custody Amnesty International, March, 1999
Prisons and Jails: Hospitals of Last Resort: The Need for Diversion and Discharge Planning for Incarcerated People with Mental Illness in New York Correctional Association of New York and the Urban Justice Center, 1999
Nowhere to Hide: Retaliation Against Women in Michigan State Prisons Human Rights Watch, September, 1998
Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn't, What's Promising National Institute of Justice, July, 1998
Beyond the Walls: Improving Conditions of Confinement for Youth in Custody Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, January, 1998
Cold Storage: Super-Maximum Security Confinement in Indiana Human Rights Watch, October, 1997
HIV in Prisons and Jails, 1995Bureau of Justice Statistics, August, 1997“Between 1991 and 1995 about 1 in 3 inmate deaths were attributable to AIDS-related causes.”
The State of Corrections in Massachusetts: A Warning Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services, January, 1997“[T]he Department of Correction and many county jail administrations have increased the use of segregation and punishment as the primary method of control. Ironically, these policies which purportedly increase security do the opposite.”
Report on the Psychiatric Management of John Salvi in Massachusetts Department of Correction Facilities 1995-1996 University of Massachusetts Medical Center Department of Psychiatry, January, 1997“...in our opinion, the number of full-time equivalent psychiatrists within the DOC is far too low to meet the psychiatric needs of the inmate population.”
Mental Illness in US Jails: Diverting the nonviolent, low-level offender Center on Crime Communities and Culture, November, 1996
Factories with Fences: The History of Federal Prison Industries Bureau of Prisons, May, 1996
Prison Suicide: An Overview and Guide to Prevention U.S. Department of Justice, June, 1995“During the past 10 years, the rate of suicide in prisons throughout the country was 20.6 deaths per 100,000 inmates. States with small prison populations appear to have exceedingly high rates of suicide -- often more than 2.5 times the national average.”
Challenging the Conditions of Prisons and Jails: A Report on Section 1983 Litigation, Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 1994“extent and outcomes of Federal civil suits by prisoners against correctional authorities”
Literacy Behind Prison Walls: Profiles of the Prison Population from the National Adult Literacy Survey National Center for Education Statistics, October, 1994(the literacy levels of prisoners, by population and offense groups, with comparisons to demographically similar adults not in prison)
Prisoner Labor: Perspectives on Paying the Federal Minimum Wage General Accounting Office, May, 1993(GAO testimony based on report is at the end of the PDF)
The Debate on Rehabilitating Criminals: Is it True that Nothing Works? Jerome Miller, National Center for Institutions and Alternatives, March, 1989(The easiest thing to say is that rehabilitation has never been seriously tried. There are, however, some studies of small programs cited in Miller's footnotes that deserve attention.)
Discretion in the Prison Justice System: A Study of Sentencing in Institutional Disciplinary Proceedings Paywall :(Timothy J. Flanagan, July, 1982“Only about 3% of the [prison disciplinary infraction] cases in the sample resulted in dismissal of charges. Confinement to cell for a period of time was the modal disposition category, representing almost 30% of the outcomes.”
