Americas Correctional Crisis

The number of elderly prisoners is growing. This book provides a review and analysis of the issues that this population presents to correctional systems, covering the medical, gerontological, psychological and social aspects of aging in place in prison. Other topics covered inlcude: -- the current state of U.S. prisons, crime patterns among the elderly, problems associated with long-term inmates, the treatment of older women prisoners, and the possibility of an elderly justice system.

After 300 years of the American struggle with crime and punishment-related issues, the nation seems less able to deal with them now than at any other time in history. Why have we failed? Is the worst yet to come?In Crisis and Reform, criminology expert Alexis M. Durham III explores the most serious problems currently plaguing America's correctional system, their historical background, and possible solutions.Topics covered include:--Prison Crowding-AIDS in Prison-Difficulties Associated with Older Inmates-Women in Prison-Changing the Offender-Alternatives to Incarceration, including Electronic Monitoring, Intensive Supervision, House Arrest, Community Services, and Day-Reporting Centers-Boot Camps-Prison Privatization-The Death Penalty

These essays treat the legal, financial, ethical, political, institutional, and social dimensions of the most important element of America's correctional crisis: prison overcrowding. The collection may become a standard work in the field, especially for those who question the feasibility and wisdom of building more prisons. The need for rational policy-making that links prison sentences with available prison space comes through clearly and forcefully. Chapters by well-known authorities describe the extent of overcrowding in prisons and jails, review current law regarding the constituitonality of overcrowded prison facilities, and summarize research on causes and consequences. . . . Highly recommended. Choice Because of the recent explosion in the American prison population, which has risen more than 40 percent in just six years, overcrowding has reached crisis proportions and conditions within prisons continue to deteriorate. This book takes a close look at the policy implications of that crisis, addressing constitutional issues, economic and political questions, and a wide range of possible long- and short-term solutions. Written by some of the most experienced academics and consultants now working the field, it provides a theoretical orientation and up-to-date factual background for each of the issues and practical policy alternatives that are studied.

Lockdown America documents the horrors and absurdities of militarized policing, prisons, a fortified border, and the war on drugs. Its accessible and vivid prose makes clear the links between crime and politics in a period of gathering economic crisis.

Elsner presents an extraordinary, comprehensive, shocking expos of the American prison system. Readers learn why the prison epidemic matters to them, even if they've never met anyone who's gone to jail, and learn what it's really like on the inside with racial gangs, corruption, and sickness.

A politician's humorous memoir of his year in federal prison, with a viable prescription for a more productive, cost-effective corrections system.

Prison officials are in the midst of the biggest prison crisis. This book looks at prison life and conditions. It reviews ideas and policies, both at home and from abroad, that can be used to alleviate the crisis if we are able to muster the political courage and public support to put them into effect.

This report analyzes the origins of the American prison overcrowding crisis by examining the historical roots of incarceration, the use of incarceration in the last century, and the misuse and overuse of incarceration today. It then presents a plan to reduce the use of incarceration by placing more nonviolent offenders in expanded community-based programs.

Updated edition of the classic examination of the link between crime and politics.