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CRIMINAL JUSTICE

RESEARCH PAPER
Dominick Iwaniec

Dominick Iwaniec CJ 1010 009 Due: 4.19.2012 The Effects of Incarceration on the Human Mind and Body: Rehabilitations or Criminal Elevation

Offenders emerge from prison afraid to trust, fearful of the unknown, and with a vision of the world shaped by the meaning that behaviors had in the prison context. For a recently released prisoner, experiences likemaking eye contact can be taken as a precursor to a physical attack. (Liebling, 1) Of the three branches forming the United States Justice System, it is the Corrections section that interests me most; the reason behind this being that I often wonder if it, as a whole, is being handled correctly. Included among some of the various concerns that the public observes are: the dramatically increasing rate of incarceration compared to available prison space, seemingly drastic enforcement of drug laws leading to imprisonment, and physical changes in those inmates who emerge from behind the walls of their cells. When taken into account with the, if not unstable, then certainly warped psyche of those imprisoned, one wonders how this current corrections system could be considered working. Such questions and views have led me to examine our corrections system and how its many processes and challenges both physically and mentally affect those who have been incarcerated. This includes the life of prisoners within the jail, relevant to how they think, and what they do, as well as the potential for dehumanization present in how this affects them. The first piece of understanding the life of a prisoner serving a long term stint in any prison is this; anywhere you turn, whether you visit a small town, a city, or even a business you will find that there exists a culture within the establishment of a place. Prisons function in much the same way. There may be a universal culture between all inmates and guards inside a given

establishment. This can then be broken down into multiple subcultures existing within the larger and yet including only certain groups of prisoners (races, gangs and other affiliations) or even guards. When entering an institution, an inmate will often be required to attend orientation sessions, and given a handbook on prison procedures and life. It is unfortunate that no handbook or orientation can cover the span of a prisons culture this inmate is sure to experience. Everything is different when you become an inmate, from the language you speak, the way you interact with others, to the way you attain amenities you desire, and even the process by which you think. Prisoners have been widely known to create their own variants of language. Some of these are not simply confined to verbal communication, but signs and body language can be widely known and used throughout the prison. The most dramatic methods of communicating are slightly more permanent however; an entire inmates life or attitude can be displayed over several feet of their skin. Perhaps the first effect visible to outsiders of the prison life such as a potential employer or citizen; a tattoo (or many tattoos,) done in the classic black and white prison motif can play many roles in the life of its owner. From a church with steeples representing prison terms served, to a bloody knife on the shoulder symbolic of a killer; the prison tattoo can be a language all its own. A way of disclosing affiliation or time served to friend; a way of declaring status or threat to foe. Another type of this tattoo represents a more personal aspect of an inmates life. These can be anything from a unique family symbol, to phrases and designs telling the story of a lifetime. To the inmate they are words of a book unfolding across the surface of his or skin, to a group overseeing their parole hearing or potential employer they are symbolic of the effects of prison life on this person. Should the average person want something, a new movie or article of clothing, they use money which they have earned to procure the item from someone who sells or manufactures it.

An inmate, however, cant exactly extricate him or herself from the prison to drop by the local Wal-Mart. Indeed it can be said that a piece of the prison culture unique to the inmate society is the economy. Prison jobs, should an inmate first be well-behaved, well-liked, and lucky enough to attain one, dont exactly reward the worker with a large yearly salary. Through various work programs in certain prisons inmates can earn anywhere from fifteen cents up to one dollar an hour building furniture, providing clean up services, or even low level administration jobs. This meager amount of money can either be used by the inmate to purchase small reliefs such as food, coffee chips, or minor hygiene products, or given to the inmate upon release depending on the prison program. Due to the lack of regular U.S. currency, or inability to spend it, the economy relies on other types of faux tender. Its doubtless youve probably heard of or seen movies portraying inmates trading cigarettes for other various objects; this actually doesnt stray far from the truth (Although the tobacco bans instated by many U.S. prisons has put an end to the so-called Cigarette Trade. Even though generally prohibited, it has been shown still possible for inmates to trade items and purchases. Such items can be used for trade behind bars including food, purchased amenities from the prison commissary, and even favors, sexual or otherwise. Inmates in many situations could even trade contraband including drugs, cell phones, and weapons. When the National Gang Crime Report surveyed prison administratorsalmost 95% said that gang recruitment took place at their institutions. (Gaines & Miller, 503) At this level within the prison a clear sub division of culture becomes visible. Separate worlds emerge and not without cause. Though gangs present behind bars may exist outside the prison as well, many can be a creation entirely comprised inside. These organizations are made up of people doing exactly what anybody on the other side of the prison walls would do when feeling threatened, alone and

vulnerable; ally with others for the protection and feeling such a thing offers. Unfortunately the purpose of prison gangs spans a fair bit farther than just this. They can be methods of running drug trades, loan sharking, carrying out violence, and even managing prostitution. Due to these groups of people the prison environment becomes increasingly hostile towards any individual not aligned with one or another group. Violence and antagonism can be produced between groups who see each other as rivals, or by certain people defending a friend a member from those belonging to another group. Even taking gangs out of consideration many inmates can potentially develop violent tendencies towards others in everyday prison situations. This can be where the making of provisional weapons can come into play and aid in prison violence. In addition this gang type environment leads to a high division of people by race and even a condescending view of races or peoples other than the inmates own. When taking these aspects of prison culture into account its easy to believe the popular saying, you can adapt to anything. The question in this scenario, however, is not whether the inmate can leave the prison, but whether the prison will ever leave the inmate. People behind bars can experience up to a life time of prison behavior. When entering a new environment, the way in which things are perceived and choices are made has a way of adapting to said environment in order to better ensure survival and success. A mind that has been treated to the intensities of prison violence, segregation and constantly repressed in the sense of freedom has either certainly adapted to handle these situations, or has failed to do so and does not truly survive in prison. A mind so warped by such tendencies would surely suffer massive amounts of trouble readapting to a less threatening and lonely world outside prison walls. Re-entry to the outside worlds culture alone could be enough to drive a person insane; leaving the customs, and habits of prison life behind.

A popular belief concerning the life of inmates segregated behind prison walls concerns the sexual nature of their lives. Studies done for the book The Effects of Imprisonment contradict the view of many inmates turning to homosexuality in the extreme segregation of prison life. Indeed a life in prison leads many men to an extreme and open dislike of all homosexual acts or people. This is due to the constant concern many of the inmates have for their own safety in this sense. A small percent of the population does turn to this type of behavior, and often acts it out in forceful and even violent methods of rape. In 2007 60,500 reports of inmate rape between federal and state prisons were released. The nature of the act, embarrassment and loss of status has been predicted by many to cut the actual number to a third of what it actually is. Its no wonder that years of fear of, or receiving such abuse can lead to an openly opposing attitude to related acts and people; which could lead to potential disconformity in blending into society. The acclimatization of non-violent or less criminally active inmates can be a common thing in long term imprisonment; one of the largest group of prisoners subject to this are those incarcerated for drug-related offenses. In fact an article written on drug related incarcerations states, In the same year [2000], nearly one in four persons imprisoned in the US was imprisoned for a drug offence and the number of persons behind bars for drug offences was roughly the same as the entire US prison and jail population in 1980. (Bewley-Taylor, Trace & Stevens, 2005)
Knowing that just under half of drug related arrests made are for the use or selling of marijuana you see that most of these arent the murderer or person guilty of sexual assault. They are, however, in the same establishment as these people, dealing and interacting with them on a daily basis. The man or woman who sold a large amount of pot to their friend is now becoming a hardened inmate in a state or federal prison in the same fashion that someone who committed armed robbery is. Rather than

incarcerating or helping this person, they have now been subject to an environment easily capable of giving them much higher criminal habits then they had come to the establishment with. There has been one plus I have noticed to the way that inmates serve portions of their life behind bars, and that is the musculature typically gained. This of course touches again on the objective of an inmate to create a status or image of him or herself to be portrayed to the rest of prison society. The reason many of the inmates seen are so muscular is simple; there really isnt anything else to do behind bars for the majority of time. Even lacking weights and proper gym equipment many inmates make do with objects and fixtures of their own cells. When you live in constant fear, or constantly trying to instill fear into others it becomes important to maintain levels of physical appearance capable of deterring others from harming you. It is for this reason that many body building guides commonly claim to give you that prison built body. Society inside the prison may exist in such a way that those who cannot make themselves, or appear to be strong cannot survive among the general population, but the outside society is less hostile; another prison tendency gained from environmental factors which would become irrelevant or harmful to the inmate in life outside. Many individuals being incarcerated already suffer from some type of mental deficiency or lower than average level of intelligence and by the end of a prison term, some of the most stable inmates can leave with some type of psyche disorder. A person entering a prison from the outside world must find a way to adapt to the segregation this presents, and the newer, very different people they will be dealing with. For the most part this means a retreat into ones own mind; an uncomfortable visit for some when it lasts long enough. Staying away from diagnosable disorders, there are many types of simple ways the inmate mind is warped after doing time. Some of these include: A need or dependence for a structured regimen, distrust or suspicion of people in general, alienation of others, extreme emotional control, lowered view of self-worth, and a gradual social withdraw.

The psychological consequences of incarceration may represent significant impediments to post-prison adjustment. They may interfere with the transition from prison to home, impede an ex-convict's successful re-integration into a social network and employment setting, and may compromise an incarcerated parent's ability to resume his or her role with family and children. ("From Prison to Home) Looking at how a person handles being released back into society, recidivism must be taken into account. This being the acts leading to rearrests, incarcerations and imprisonments in a repeat fashion. Studies by the Pew Center on States refer to the corrections system as a revolving door and thats easy to see when the statistics for most states show a twenty plus percentage of recidivism in comparison to the amount of inmates released per year. Certain states such as Utah demonstrated even higher rates in the sixty plus percentile range; these studies being conducted in the 2004-2007 timeframe. These rates serve only to further the idea of a once an inmate, always an inmate train of thought; and gives fact to the theory of prison as a gateway to harder or at least more crime. (State of Recidivism) Humans as a species are very adaptable in most cases, part of which is the reason inmates are able to stay sane and cope with not just a generally hostile and segregated prison environment, but an increasingly overcrowded environment on top of everything else. Taking all subjects and information gained in this small portion on prison life, however, I would have to deem the corrections system more adequate at dehumanizing and institutionalizing individuals as they serve their sentence, then they are at rehabilitating individuals into societally capable people. The fault I cannot rightly give to the corrections system in itself, or even the prisons, due to a lack of ability to create a better plan. I can however see how other countries can deem the U.S.A., the Great Incarcerator and state that there must be a better way to reduce crime in existence somewhere. As is, I do not believe that most inmates leave the corrections system fully capable of living a normal life on the outside. Rather their ability to

assimilate with society has been drastically decreased and they have been left with not only unsocial tendencies, but potentially extreme discrimination towards certain races or people of different sexual orientations. Years of confinement will have left such an impact on a persons worldly views that if they were to rehabilitate in outside society, it would take another lifetime or amount of time equal to that spent incarcerated. Even just looking at the chances of a person with a criminal record to be employed it is clear that employers are six times less likely to give a job to a person with past criminal offenses than to someone with none. Ultimately I would have to deem prison as impairment towards a persons societal conformation.

Citations: Liebling, Alison, and Shadd Maruna. "Introduction: The Effects of Imprisonment Revisited'" The Effects of Imprisonment. Cullompton, Devon, UK: Willan, 2005. 1. Print. Gaines, Larry K., and Roger L. Miller. Criminal Justice: Salt Lake Community College. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Bewley-Taylor, Dave, Mike Trace, and Alex Stevens. "Incarceration of Drug Offenders: Costs and Impacts." The Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme (2005): 2. Print. Haney, Craig. "From Prison to Home: The Effect of Incarceration and Reentry on Children, Families, and Communities." Hhs.gov. University of California, Dec. 2001. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. <aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/prison2home02/Haney.htm>. Pew Center on the States, State of Recidivism: The revolving Door of Americas Prisons (Washington, DC: The Pew Charitable Trusts, April 2001).

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