Reversing the Punitive Turn: The Limits and Promise of Current Research

Jacobson, Michael

doi:10.1111/j.1745-9133.2006.00377.x

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 3 publications

(3 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Currently, around 700,000 prisoners each year are released from custody and reenter society – nearly 2,000 inmates per day (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs). Sentencing laws and policies, such as ‘Three Strikes Law’, fixed or minimum sentences (determinate sentences), the overall ‘War on Drugs’ and the ‘tough on crime’ mentality have had an astonishing impact on incarceration rates (Jacobson 2006; Pager 2003; Travis 2005). Surprisingly, only 5 percent of prisoners are serving life sentences or on death row – this means that at some point 95 percent of prisoners will be released from custody and reenter society (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs; Pager 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Basic Challenges to Prisoner Reentry

Anderson-Facile

2009

Sociology Compass

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Crime, incarceration and prisoner reintegration are pressing issues facing the United States today. The U.S. prison population has increased from 330,000 in 1980 to over 2.2 million prisoners today. As the prison population grows at record rates so, in turn, does the reentry of prisoners into society. Currently, around 700,000 prisoners are released each year from custody and reenter societynearly 2,000 inmates per day. The transition from prison to the outside world is often difficult for post-release prisoners, their families, their communities and the larger society. Many formally incarcerated individuals do not have the skills or support to succeed outside prison walls. Unfortunately, when post-release prisoners are not successfully reintegrated, they are returned to prison and begin the cycle of incarceration.Practitioners and academics agree that the main components for successful reentry include proper housing, viable employment, and family and community support. However, while there is consensus regarding what post-release prisoners need for successful reentry there is debate as to which programs and policies work best. This paper examines the basic challenges to reentry and provides a brief summary of the problems with reentry program evaluation. Prisoner Reentry

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Basic Challenges to Prisoner Reentry

Anderson-Facile

2009

Sociology Compass

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Research has long documented the unprecedented numbers of individuals under correctional supervision, and the human and financial toll of twenty years of get‐tough strategies. The strain of these strategies on state budgets (Jacobson 2006; Braz et al 2000; Irwin, Austin and Baird 1998), offenders (Haney 2003; Irwin and Owen 2005; Johnson and Toch 1982; Sykes 1958; Zamble 1992), their families (Braman 2002, Hairston 2003; Kazuraa 2001; Murray 2005; Park and Clarke‐Stewart 2003; Western and McLanahan 2000), and communities (Clear, Rose and Ryder 2001; Hagan and Dinovitzer 1999; Lynch et al 2001; Rose and Clear 1998) have been especially implicated in the critical discourse on punitive justice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Just Measure of Forgiveness: Reforming Occupational Licensing Regulations for Ex‐Offenders Using BFOQ Analysis

Lucken

Ponte

2008

Law & Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the United States, over 600,000 offenders rejoin society annually, though little has been done to facilitate their transition from the prison to the community. Offender reentry into the workplace has emerged as a particular concern, given that many statutes prohibit public employment for ex-offenders and create obstacles to private-sector employment through occupational licensing requirements. These mandates may explicitly reject ex-offenders, or require "good moral character" or job/relationship tests that all but eliminate meaningful employment options. Several states are reconsidering the implications of these prohibitions, but a clear framework for assessing the validity of exclusionary occupational mandates is often lacking. This article proposes that the bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) defense found in employment discrimination law provides a helpful framework for guiding these reform efforts.

show abstract

“…Even though increased lengths of stay could be attributed to increased security levels, new treatment modalities, or enhanced risk assessment instruments, the rationale for initiating many such programs is often public demand for accountability and increased safety, similar to the impetus for tough on crime initiatives. It appears that although the get-tough-on-crime approach may not have had the intended punitive effect on correctional sentencing practices (Jacobson, 2006;Stolzenberg & D'Alessio, 1997), albeit the possibility of a potential modest deterrent effect for homicide rates (Chen, 2008;Kovandzic et al, 2004), it has affected, perhaps as an unintended consequence, those defendants that mount a successful affirmative defense of insanity and are indefinitely committed to one of Missouri's public psychiatric hospitals, as well as affecting all such acquittees, not simply those acquitted for murder.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another future research direction should focus on whether states begin to refine insanity statutes that require lengthy or indefinite hospital commitments postacquittal given decreasing state operating budgets, in the same pattern as those states who may reconsider three strikes legislation due to skyrocketing operating costs, as have Mississippi and Louisiana (Chen, 2008;Jacobson, 2006;Kovandzic et al, 2004). This is an important line of research as a critical component of such commitments is the release process.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tough on Crime or Beating the System

Dirks‐Linhorst

Kondrat

2012

Homicide Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Homicide defendants asserting the insanity defense make a volatile combination. Numerous studies review inmates with murder convictions, yet the literature is not rich regarding defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) for murder. This study analyzes 27 years of insanity acquittals in Missouri, finding significant differences between those defendants found NGRI for murder and those found NGRI for other crimes. The get-tough-on-crime initiatives found in the criminal justice system may have led to longer hospital stays post-1996 for NGRI murder acquittees, yet hospitalization lengths increased for all NGRI acquittees, a potential unintended consequence. Policy implications and future research directions are discussed.

show abstract

Reversing the Punitive Turn: The Limits and Promise of Current Research

Cited by 10 publications

References 3 publications

Basic Challenges to Prisoner Reentry

Basic Challenges to Prisoner Reentry

A Just Measure of Forgiveness: Reforming Occupational Licensing Regulations for Ex‐Offenders Using BFOQ Analysis

Tough on Crime or Beating the System

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About