THE LASTING EFFECTS OF IMPRISONMENT
The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of prisonization on inmates. Researchers believe that the longer inmates are confined to prison the more they become unfamiliar with the behavior of society (Clemmer 1958). Throughout this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of prisonization will be highlighted. The main focus of this paper is to determine the precise effects of prisonization upon release from prison.
Prisonization, as originally defined by Clemmer (1958), means that inmates have a harder time conforming to society. One reason for this could be that inmates might feel more accepted among those with a criminal history than among those without such a history. If they were accepted in society without being judged for their past, the better it would be for them to conform to a positive group of individuals. The advantages of prisonization accrue not for the inmates but for the victims and others in society. Victims feel safer and feel that justice has been served if their assailants are behind bars. On the other hand it is a disadvantage for the inmates. Prisonization can have a great influence on one’s life once they are released. Some people feel that they brought this condition on themselves so therefore they have to pay the consequences. Prisoners live day by day being aggressive in order to stay alive. When released from prison, they may feel that in order to survive on the outside they have to be just as aggressive as they were on the inside.
Many people in society feel that prisoners live the life of luxury, but prison is anything but luxurious. The life of luxury to an inmate would be to have the opportunity to make his or her own choices without someone dictating choices to them. There is also the problem of wrongful conviction. A person cannot be given back any freedom that has been taken away. To name just two cases, Earl Washington Jr. was wrongfully convicted for fifteen years of murder and rape, and Anthony Faison and Charles Shepherd served fourteen years for a murder they did not commit. In both situation these men were robbed of their freedom and privacy. It is important to ask whether these men are responsible for their behavior once released. The impact that prisonization may have on an innocent person is largely unexplored, and the effect could be overwhelming.
Everyone in prison may not deserve the conditions they live in, nor the impact that it may have on the rest of their lives. Being in prison could have a bad influence on later behavior in society. Different people handle situations in a different manner. Some inmates can live a normal and successful life after prison, but some may fall back into the same predicament, because that’s the only path they know.
Prisonization can be hypothesized to have different effects on a person’s life once released. Variation can be expected along the lines of rightfulness of imprisonment, environmental conditions, types of people, and behavior experienced while in prison. These factors, among others, will be explored in depth.
LITERATURE REVIEW
It is believed that prisonization is the best way to rehabilitate criminals. However, subjecting criminals to more crime is not considered rehabilitating. The lives of prisoners have been a topic for many researchers. Robert Johnson and Hans Toch wrote a book titled The Pains of Imprisonment. The topics discussed in this book are prison stress, stress over time, differential stress and stress reduction. Johnson and Toch (1982) found that inmates who were serving long-term sentences suffered more than those with short-term sentences. The loss of autonomy, loss of liberty, loss of security and sexual victimization is the causes of stress for inmates. (Kappeler 1996). Each day we are taken criminals off the street and placing them in the hands of other criminals. How are we rehabilitating criminals when we are putting them in an environment that does not set good examples for them?
Another issue that is looked at when discussing the lives of prisoners is privacy. Han Toch, the author of Living in Prison the Ecology of Survival, briefly discusses the privacy of our inmates. Toch conducted a research to analyze the environment of prisoners. He found that inmates had a preference for isolation, peace and quiet, absence of environmental irritants such as noise and crowding and a need for protection and safety (Toch 1992). Another problem with privacy is the problem of overcrowding. It is suggested that crowding is the cause of mental illness, violence, riots and recidivism (Toch 1992). Many people have a hard time adjusting to limited space. And not having enough privacy and space can only lead to worst situations with inmates.
The safety of our prisoners is another problem with living in prison. Being threatened, raped, murder and even beating are situations that inmates experience on a daily basis. Toch, Debs and Johnson discuss these types of behavior in their books. The stats on prisoners being victimized are incredible. Just randomly picking an institution to look at I chose the young offender institution, which holds 600 people. From Oct 2000 to April 2001 there have been 700 injuries reported due to violence. Inmates should be kept at a minimum to reduce the problems of most prisons.
RESEARCH METHODS
A proposed research plan would observe the behavior of subjects when ex-convicts try to hold a conversation with them. The subjects in this experiment are seated so they overhear a conversation being held between a decoy (inmate) and a friend. The decoy is directed to ask the following question, “You did tell your boss that I served 15 years in prison?”
The subjects being observed are female and males between the ages of 25-35. The decoys in this experiment are actually successful business owners.
There are two conditions: conversation being overheard and no conversation at all. The subjects are placed near a door that allows them to overhear a conversation being held in a hallway. After the conversation is over, the decoy is directed to accompany the subject and try to hold a conversation for 15 minutes with him or her. After 15 minutes the decoy is called out of the room and the subject is left alone again. Another subject will enter the same room and also attempt to hold a conversation with the subject for 15 minutes. This time subject will overhear no conversation.
Cameras will be set up to observe the behavior of the subject towards both decoys. We expect to find when a subject is aware that they are engaging in a conversation with an ex-convict, the conversation will not be as friendly as one held with a person whom no previous background is known.
The results of this experiment could be a reason that recidivism rates are high.
Former prisoners are treated as if they are still inmates. I feel that not
accepting them into our communities and offering them the lifestyles that others
have will worsen the situation. After
being released it is hard for ex-convicts to socialize with people, meet a
spouse or find a good job because they are constantly reminded of the past. In
order to decrease the rates on which they will return to prison, society need to
be more accepting and forgiving. Then the transition between prison and the real
world will become smoother.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The goals of the prison system are to rehabilitate, punish and deter criminals from committing crimes. Instead prisoners are taken out of society and placed in a facility that encourages or allow criminal acts to occur. Since researchers believe that television and other factors influence the lives of many viewers, it can be assumed that the prison environment can influence the lives of inmates. Inmates are faced with physical, sexually, mentally and emotional abuse through rape, riots and assaults from other inmates and guards each day. These types of conflicts take place mainly because our prison system is overcrowded and there is a lack of security and control. The recidivism rates will continue to be high as long as inmates are faced with the living conditions that are within the prison system.
REFERENCES
Diaz-Cotto,
J. (1996). Gender, Ethnicity, and the State. New York: State University
of New York press.
Debs,
E., (1927). Walls and Bars
Toch,
H., (1992). Living in Prison The Ecology of Survival.
Johnson,
R., & Toch, H., (1982). Pains of Imprisonment. London: Sage
Publications, Inc.
Kappeler,
V., (1996). The Mythology of Crime and Criminal Justice.
Last updated: 12/07/01