Contrasts in freedom: Comparing the experiences of imprisonment in open and closed prisons in England and Wales and Norway

Open prisons are portrayed as less harmful custodial institutions than closed prisons, and prison systems that rely more heavily on low security imprisonment are typically considered to have a more humane and less punitive approach to punishment. However, few studies have systematically compared the subjective experiences of prisoners held in open and closed prisons, and no study has yet compared the role and function of open prisons across jurisdictions. Drawing on a survey conducted with prisoners (N = 1082) in 13 prisons in England and Wales and Norway, we provide the first comparative analysis of experiences of imprisonment in closed and open prisons, conducted in countries with diverging penal philosophies (‘neoliberal’ vs. ‘social democratic’). The article documents that open prisons play a much more significant role in Norway than in England and Wales; that prisoners in both countries rate their experience significantly more positively in open compared to closed prisons; and that while imprisonment seems to produce similar kinds of pains in both types of prisons, they are perceived as less severe and more manageable in open prisons. These findings suggest important implications for comparative penology, penal policy, and prison reform.

A review and content analysis of U.S. Department of Corrections end-of-life decision making policies

Purpose With a rapidly growing population of older adults with chronic illness in US prisons, the number of people who die while incarcerated is increasing. Support for patients’ medical decision-making is a cornerstone of quality care for people at the end of life (EOL). This study aims to identify, describe, and analyze existing policies regarding EOL decision-making in U.S. Departments of Corrections. Design/methodology/approach This study performed an iterative content analysis on all available EOL decision-making policies in US state departments of corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Findings This study collected and reviewed available policies from 37 of 51 prison systems (73%). Some areas of commonality included the importance of establishing health-care proxies and how to transfer EOL decision documents, although policies differed in terms of which patients can complete advance care planning documents, and who can serve as their surrogate decision-makers. Practical implications Many prison systems have an opportunity to enhance their patient medical decision-making policies to bring them in line with community standard quality of care. In addition, this study was unable to locate policies regarding patient decision-making at the EOL in one quarter of US prison systems, suggesting there may be quality-of-care challenges around formalized approaches to documenting patient medical wishes in some of those prison systems. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first content analysis of EOL decision-making policies in US prison systems.

Views From the Inside: Insights About Restrictive Housing From Prison System Officials, Officers, and Staff

Restrictive housing substantially limits inmate movement and privileges. Proponents argue it creates safer prison systems, while opponents claim it does not and harms inmates. However, few studies have systematically examined restrictive housing through the perspective of those who work in prison systems or scrutinized the diverse dimensions relevant to its appraisal. This study addresses this gap by drawing on qualitative data to examine how such individuals view the housing, its operational challenges, effectiveness, possible improvements, and potential alternatives. We present findings along each of these dimensions and then discuss their implications for research and policy.

‘Lockdown's changed everything’: Mothering adult children in prison in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic occurred at a time when families of prisoners were gaining visibility in both academia and policy. Research exploring the experiences of families of prison residents has tended to focus on intimate partners and children, despite parents of those in prison being more likely than partners or children to maintain contact. The small body of work focusing on parents has identified their continued care for their children and highlights the burden of providing this care. With the ethics of care posing an ideological expectation on women to provide familial care, the care for adult children in custody is likely to fall to mothers. However, with restricted prison regimes, the pandemic has significantly impeded mothers’ ability to provide this ‘care’. Adopting a qualitative methodology, this paper explores the accounts of mothers to adult children in custody during the pandemic across two UK prison systems, England and Wales, and Scotland; exploring the negotiation of mothering in the context of imprisonment and the pandemic and highlighting important lessons for policy and practice.

COVID-19 in corrections: Quarantine of incarcerated people

Carceral settings in the United States have been the source of many single site COVID-19 outbreaks. Quarantine is a strategy used to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in correctional settings, and specific quarantine practices differ state to state. To better understand how states are using quarantine in prisons, we reviewed each state’s definition of quarantine and compared each state’s definition to the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) definition and recommendations for quarantine in jails and prisons. Most prison systems, 45 of 53, define quarantine, but definitions vary widely. No state published definitions of quarantine that align with all CDC recommendations, and only 9 states provide quarantine data. In these states, the highest recorded quarantine rate occurred in Ohio in May 2020 at 843 per 1,000. It is necessary for prison systems to standardize their definitions of quarantine and to utilize quarantine practices in accordance with CDC recommendations. In addition, data transparency is needed to better understand the use of quarantine and its effectiveness at mitigating COVID-19 outbreaks in carceral settings.

Transformation of the Image Status of the Penal System in the Context of the Cyclical Political Genesis of Russia

Introduction: being a structural and functional element of the state mechanism (a kind of “state within the state”), the prison system is transforming along with it. Accordingly, the image status of the prison itself and representatives of “prison authorities” and “prison population” is also changing. We bring to the fore the problem of understanding the term “system” in the context of the image status of the social system in general and the penal system in particular. We highlight the formation of semantic images and image statuses on the example of three social institutions (school, army, prison), which are similar in terms of parametric characteristics and functioning and qualitatively different in image status. The article comprehensively examines the bipolar image of the penal system: on the one hand, prison is inextricably linked with human misfortune, an evil that cannot be treated positively; on the other hand, as an instrument of state law enforcement policy, the prison guarantees the inevitability of punishment for a crime, ensuring the execution of punishment, protecting law-abiding citizens, which is a good thing for society and the state. Research materials and methods: the features of formation and functioning of the image status of the Russian penal (“prison”) system are considered in the context of the concept of cyclic political genesis. In accordance with this concept, in relation to the history of the unified Russian state, three cycles should be distinguished (imperial, Soviet, post-Soviet). Within the framework of each, Russia was represented by qualitatively different forms of state government, economic order, social structure, etc. At the same time, in such “different” Russian states, there were different models of prison systems, the formation and functioning of which, as well as the transformation of the image status, was carried out under the influence of state prison policy and under the influence of public consciousness (national mentality). Results: the current state of the Russian penal system can be described as transitional. Along with the legacy of the “Soviet past”, we observe serious changes proceeding from democratization and humanization of the political and legal system of the Russian Federation. Transformation of the image of the penal system is aimed at increasing the level of openness and forming a positive opinion about the functioning of the penitentiary system (the Concept for development until 2030). It is important that in the public consciousness the image of the penal system as a predominantly punitive prison system gradually be replaced by the idea of it as a penitentiary system, which is concerned primarily with “revival of the essence of humanity” in a person through awareness and repentance. As for the image status of employees of the penal system, the state can optimize it first of all by equalizing their official status with that of military personnel and special services employees, who, like representatives of the prison system, serve the Russian state, but are in a privileged position in relation to them. Increasing the prestige of the service in the penal system in the eyes of actual or potential employees implies the rejection of such differentiation.

Recipes for resistance: Practical applications of restorative food justice in New Haven, Connecticut

In the United States, many people of color recently released from prison are likely to be food insecure. The intersections between race, food security, and release from prison are starting to be recognized. However, food justice should be informed by the perspectives and work being done by returning citizens and people of color. With the help of EMERGE CT, a transitional employment social enterprise for returning citizens in New Haven, Connecticut, I collected food access survey data and narratives of crewmembers at EMERGE to explore these issues. I merged restorative justice and food justice frame­works into one framework to develop an initiative that focuses on the availability of healthy, sustainable, and culturally appropriate food for returning citizens and addresses the social trauma that is perpetuated through both the food and prison systems. Further, I write about the importance of compensating food system leaders of color. I provide insight on the challenges in planning such a program. I discuss why we need to amplify the voices of returning citizens in food justice work. Lastly, I consider how these collaborative, cross-movement coalitions develop creative ways to re-envision equity.

Good neighbors or good prisoners? Non-uniformed staff beliefs about incarcerated people influence prison social climate

We analyzed results from semi-structured interviews and participant observation with educators, clinical staff, and administrators who worked at nearly 100 different correctional facilities centrally managed by eight separate state prison systems to understand how the beliefs they hold about the life experiences and future trajectories of incarcerated people influence prison social climate. We found that staff who regard incarcerated people as past and/or future neighbors are more likely to foster a safe, mutually respectful prison social climate conducive to positive personal transformation. Envisioning prison social climate as a product of the relationship between staff and incarcerated people demonstrates how prisons and communities interact with each other to shape the past and future possibilities for people who are incarcerated. Our results offer six policy implications, to (1) mandate administrative-institutional commitment to creating a positive prison social climate in which correctional staff and incarcerated people are partners in rehabilitation; (2) expand existing program opportunities in prison to ensure widespread availability of educational, vocational, and therapeutic treatment programs; (3) increase representation of staff who share experiential and demographic characteristics with incarcerated people to reduce or eliminate unconscious bias; (4) generate public awareness of, and support for, rehabilitative measures proven to better prepare incarcerated people for release from prison; (5) increase community engagement by publicizing graduation and other positive events; and (6) foster a mutually supportive work environment among educational, clinical, and administrative staff.

TMAP

The Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP), which featured atypical antipsychotics, was considered more of a commercial scam than science. TMAP had its beginning in 1995, when it was granted $1.7 million by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and various officials and academics in Texas to develop a model mental health treatment program for incorporation into public mental health and prison systems. The Foundation was related to the Johnson & Johnson company, and what they funded was a “guidelines” project for schizophrenia. The TMAP subverted scientific integrity; it appeared to be a purely scientific venture when it was actually a marketing venture for Risperdal. The guidelines produced by TMAP became the basis for the TMAP algorithms, giving a market edge to the J&J products in Texas.

The impact of the opioid crisis on U.S. state prison systems

Background Prior studies have documented limited use of medications to treat opioid use disorders (OUD) for people incarcerated within state prisons in the United States. Using the framework of the criminal justice OUD service cascade, this study interviewed representatives of prison systems in states most heavily impacted by opioid overdose regarding the provision of medications for OUD (MOUD). Methods A stratified sampling strategy included states with high indicators of opioid-overdose deaths. Two sampling strata targeted states with: 1) OUD overdose rates significantly higher than the per capita national average; or 2) high absolute number of OUD overdose fatalities. Interviews were completed with representatives from 21 of the 23 (91%) targeted states in 2019, representing 583 prisons across these states. Interviews assessed service provision across the criminal justice OUD service cascade, including OUD screening, withdrawal management, MOUD availability and provision, overdose prevention, re-entry services, barriers, and needs for training and technical assistance. Results MOUD (buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone) was available in at least one prison in approximately 90% of the state prison systems and all three medications were available in at least one prison in 62% of systems. However, MOUD provision was limited to subsets of prisons within these systems: 15% provided buprenorphine, 9% provided methadone, 36% provided naltrexone, and only 7% provided all three. Buprenorphine and methadone were most frequently provided to pregnant women or individuals already receiving these at admission, whereas naltrexone was primarily used at release. Funding was the most frequently cited barrier for all medications. Conclusion Study findings yield a complex picture of how, when, and to whom MOUD is provided across prisons within prison systems in states most heavily impacted by opioid overdose in the United States and have implications for expanding availability.