NCJ Number
137547
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 17 Issue: 3/4 Dated: (1992) Pages: 123-132
Date Published
1992
Length
10 pages
Annotation
In ruling on the meaning of the eighth amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment with regard to prison overcrowding, Federal courts have held that the total conditions of an institution must be considered before the cumulative effects of overcrowding on inmate behavior can be understood.
Abstract
There are two theories of inmate behavior in terms of adaptation to the confinement experience. The functional model holds that the internal conditions of a prison produce antisocial behavior and the formation of an inmate subculture. The importation model argues that factors external to the prison shape inmate reactions to the deprivations of the institution. This author argues that overcrowding, while an internal condition of prisons, affects the institution's total conditions in conjunction with the ethnicity, age, and prior violence of the inmates. Buffer zone experiments which suggest that penetration of an individual's space can lead to heightened anxiety, aggression, and stress have demonstrated that violent offenders have significantly larger body buffer areas than nonviolent offenders. Blanket decisions on square footage per inmate cannot account for individual body buffer zone needs. The author urges correctional officials to allocate institutional space after considering prior inmate violence and buffer zone tolerance as an integral part of the classification process. 1 note and 26 references