Prison Reform

Psychology is grounded in the ethical principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence, that is, "do no harm." Yet many have argued that psychology as a field is attached to carceral systems and ideologies that uphold the prison industrial complex (PIC), including the field of community psychology (CP). There have been recent calls in other areas of psychology to transform the discipline into an abolitionist social science, but this discourse is nascent in CP. This paper uses the semantic device of "algorithms" (e...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: Prior research consistently demonstrates that defendants convicted at trial are sentenced more harshly than those who plead guilty. Additionally, a vast literature has shown that Black and Hispanic defendants, and especially young minority males, are particularly disadvantaged in sentencing, though these effects may be conditional on various legal and case-processing factors. However, it remains unclear how the mode of conviction might moderate these inequalities according to offenders' combined race/ethnicity, gender, and age...

As a result of COVID-19, individuals have experienced situations that may help them relate to others, including more limited ability to interact with their environment. Thus, this survey experiment ( N = 2,229) tests whether perspective-focused interventions can help increase support for prison reform. Findings suggest that perspective-getting (providing the perspective of an incarcerated individual via a narrative description of dealing with confinement) increased self-reported support for prison reform initiatives, compared with information only...

INTRODUCTION: There is wide variation in the processes, structures and treatment models for dealing with mentally disordered offenders across the European Union. There is a serious lack of data on population levels of need, national service capacities, or treatment outcome. This prevents us from comparing the different management and treatment approaches internationally and from identifying models of good practice and indeed what represents financial efficiency, in a sector that is universally needed...

OBJECTIVES: To identify the financing and policy challenges for Medicare and universal health care in Australia, as well as opportunities for whole-of-system strengthening. STUDY DESIGN: Review of publications on Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and the universal health care system in Australia published 1 January 2000 - 14 August 2021 that reported quantitative or qualitative research or data analyses, and of opinion articles, debates, commentaries, editorials, perspectives, and news reports on the Australian health care system published 1 January 2015 - 14 August 2021...

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most significant public health challenges for this generation. Governments have been forced to undertake different measures to constrain the spread of the virus and protect the people. Restrictive and other measures have also been taken in correctional facilities to control the epidemiological situation. OBJECTIVE: The aims of this review are: 1) to contribute to knowledge by providing an overview of anti-COVID-19 measures that have been undertaken by the proper authorities in a few selected countries to control the epidemiological situation in prison; 2) to demonstrate proposals made in this respect by international organizations and scientific institutions and 3) to complete the most important bibliographical items for further studies...

BACKGROUND: Globally, about 450 million people suffer from mental disorders of which about 11% are assumed to be prisoners. The presence of mental illness among prisoners contributes to an increase in the risk of suicide, violence, morbidity, and mortality. In Ethiopia, there is a paucity of data particularly from resource-limited areas to assist policy maker's efforts in reforming mental health care. OBJECTIVE: This study is aimed at assessing common mental disorders and its associated factors among prisoners in North Wollo zone correctional institutions, Northeastern Ethiopia...

BACKGROUND: Nurses provide healthcare in prisons worldwide. Working within security restraints, in environments not designed for nursing care, custodial health nurses (CHNs) use specialist nursing skills and knowledge to do essential work. Rapid increases in prisoner age, infirmity and ill-health of prisoners mandate their access to these nurses. AIM: To raise awareness of the CHNs struggle for specialty status within the nursing profession, public health frameworks and prisons...

UNLABELLED: We examine how religion contributes to rehabilitation, which we conceptualize as moral reform and operationalize in terms of self-identity, existential belief, and character. We hypothesize that religion contributes to identity transformation, a sense of meaning and purpose in life, and virtue development. We also hypothesize that faith-based rehabilitation reduces negative emotions and the risk of interpersonal aggression. We conducted a quasi-experiment on a faith-based program in a state jail and a maximum-security prison in Texas, using a convenience sample of male inmates...

Michael Johnson or "Tiger Mandingo" as he referred to himself on social media, engaged in sexual acts with six different men, all of whom claimed that Michael lied about living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). As a result, the State of Missouri charged him with recklessly infecting a partner with HIV exposing or attempting to expose another with HIV. With contradictory trial testimony, no genetic fingerprint testing, and little to no questioning of his sexual partners' credibility, the jury found Michael Johnson guilty of five felony counts which resulted in a 30-year prison sentence...

BACKGROUND: The constraining prison culture is not, for the most part, conducive to the provision of palliative care for people in prison. AIM: This study aimed to explore patterns of palliative and end-of-life care provision for hospitalised prison patients. DESIGN: A retrospective qualitative review of hospital medical records to explore the quality of end-of-life care provision for patients experiencing incarceration who died within hospital...

Data on the magnitude of mental illnesses and associated factors among inmates in Ethiopia, in general and in the Amhara region in particular are scarce. The available studies either focused on specific type of mental illness or include inmates from a single correctional center and leave aside the role of rehabilitation service use in inmates' mental illness. Therefore, the present study was conducted to look into the prevalence of mental illnesses and to examine the associated demographic, imprisonment related and rehabilitation service use related factors among inmates in Northwestern Ethiopia...

This paper presents an experience report on the supervision of deinstitutionalization of the prison system through the articulation of the Psychosocial Care Network (RAPS) conducted from 2014 to 2021 within the Superintendence of Mental Health/Municipal Health Secretariat of Rio de Janeiro. This work of deinstitutionalizing people deprived of liberty with mental health problems consists of actions at the exit and entrance doors of the prison system and actions for the care of unimputable and imputable people with mental disorders...

This text discusses people with mental disorders in conflict with the law in Brazil and the Custody and Psychiatric Treatment Hospitals, institutions included in the prison system and considered a hybrid between health and justice. When we present the reality in the national context, we show that the Psychiatric Reform did not reach these institutions, and these individuals continue to be stigmatized, and their human rights are violated. We substantiate the need to advance the debate and raise some questions to establish new solutions to tackle the issue and ensure well-structured, scientific evidence-based health care...

Approximately 2.2 million people are incarcerated in the United States. The carceral population is aging due to strict sentencing laws, which has increased the frequency and acuity of off-site medical care. Inpatient providers must follow departments of correction procedures when treating incarcerated patients, which often prevents adherence to standards of care and puts the health of patients at risk. Shackling is a common requirement during hospitalization and is associated with increased risk for complications...

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, in the Italian prison of Santa Maria Capua Vetere (SMCV), prison police repressed a riot with extreme violence, bringing the state of prisons and the conditions of prisoners back to the attention of the Italian public opinion. OBJECTIVE: This exploratory study aimed to collect the experiences and the competent opinions of the social and health personnel of Italian prisons regarding the episode of violence that happened in SMCV; the general state of health of the Italian prison system was explored, too, together with the collection of proposals for interventions aimed at the eradication of violence in prison...

IMPORTANCE AND OBJECTIVE: Women represent about 6% of the global prison population of 11 million. The female prison population has increased significantly in the past decade. Where attention is devoted to women's unique sexual and reproductive health needs in prison, this is largely focused on menstruation management and ante/postnatal care. There is no explicit guidance regarding imprisoned menopausal women's health care in the United Nations normative standards of detention (Mandela Rules, Bangkok Rules)...

Purpose: One in fourteen children in the United States experiences the incarceration of a parent with whom they have lived. Although prior research has established that witnessing the arrest of a parent is a common occurrence for children of criminal justice-involved parents, child outcomes following such an event are understudied. Little is known about the long-term impacts of witnessing an arrest on children and the extent to which they may vary by child age. Methods: Using longitudinal data from the Parent Child Study of mothers and fathers incarcerated in state prison, we examine the witnessing of parental arrest as an acute traumatic event and identify the extent to which this type of trauma predicts externalizing and internalizing symptoms for children during their parents' incarceration and following release...

The food served in Canadian penitentiaries was scrutinized following food service reform where Correctional Service Canada (CSC) created a standardized menu to feed incarcerated male individuals. Food in prison is a complex issue because penitentiaries are responsible for providing adequate nutrition to the prison population, who are vulnerable to poor health outcomes but are often seen as undeserving. This study aimed to analyse the national menu served in Canadian penitentiaries, in order to compare them with Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for male adults and the internal nutritional assessment reported by CSC...