From Convict to Crazy, Journey Through American Prisons

4/27/2014
Tyler Lewis
Criminal Justice 1010
[Email address]

From Convict to Crazy, Journey through American Prisons
Over two million Americans are behind bars across the country (Gaines / Miller Pg. 432),
doing time in the hands of our correctional system. Throughout American history, prison systems
have been used to reform criminals and have them pay restitution to their victims. The business
of locking up criminals has evolved and changed along with the views of society and our
government. In current times, the prison system serves four main purposes; incapacitate,
deterrence, rehabilitation and retribution. (Gaines /Miller pg. 435) There are many contributing
factors that appear to hinder the prisons ability to achieve their goals and purposes. The culture
of our prisons can have the biggest impact and leaves inmates in a worse state than when they
were originally incarcerated. This is not to say that the recidivism rate has increased dramatically
over the past ten years; more inmates have left the confines of our institutions with new-found
mental health issues. With new mental disorders such as post incarceration syndrome (PICS)
being diagnosed; the question remains, do our prisons have the ability to rehabilitate those
convicted? The factors that result in an inmate leaving prison with new-found issues have not
been studied in depth and may vary from prison to prison. The negative outcome from being
institutionalized does not affect every inmate, and some become valuable members of society.
The inmates whom do become damaged by the effects of being institutionalized can pose a threat
to society and in many cases infect their community with a prison mentality. With so many
programs being offered within prisons to assist the inmates with everything from education to
counseling it is hard to understand why so many inmates leave in worse condition than when
they arrived.



A prison is like any other institution, in that it shapes the way people with in it act and
forms their values. Most institutions only affect the person while they are present in the
environment. A good example is school. The organizational institution of school tells the
students how to act, how to dress (to an extent) what is expectable behavior and what they can
have in their possession, but prisons are different because they are Total Institutions. This total
institution that prisons provide dictates everything that inmates do every day. Inmates lose the
ability to do everyday things such as turn a light on or off, choose what they are going to eat and
how to dress. The inmates are told when they can eat, sleep, shower, have free time and who they
can interact with. (Gaines / Miller pg. 463) This total institution is all encompassing and is hard
for anyone to adjust to. These restrictions are controlled by the prison officials and guards 24
hours a day. Having these basic abilities and choices stripped from the inmates and enforced by
others can cause tensions to run high throughout the system.
Once inmates are brought into prison theyre taken to a holding facility and evaluated
based on their crime, affiliation, age, race and criminal record to determine where they should be
placed within the prison. (Tyler, West Jordan Police) The inmates are then presented with an
orientation and provided with a handbook that covers the rules and policies in the prison. (Gaines
/ Miller Pg. 463) Once the orientation is complete the inmates are told to strip down for a search.
This strip search serves two purposes, the first is to find any contraband they may be hiding in or
on their body such as drugs or weapons. The second purpose is psychological, because most of
those who are sent to prison could be classified as Alpha Males the prison officials are
demonstrating their authority to the inmate. This act is meant to reinforce the idea that the
inmates must do whatever they are told, when they are told. (Tyler, West Jordan Police)
These are the first steps on being institutionalized. Then once the prison determines the best
fit for their placement with the goal of rehabilitation in mind based on the evaluation the inmates
will be assigned a unit in prison. (Tyler, West Jordan Police) Once the inmates have been booked
into prison they are provided with a number that will be used to identify them. This number will
be used for everything from summoning them, to directing their mail to them; if it is not present
in the mail, it will be returned. (Mikail DeVeaux)
The adjustment to life behind bars is called prisonization (Gaines / Miller pg. 463)
Sociologist John Irwin studied this effect and identified patterns of inmate behavior. He was able
to identify three types of prisonization through his research. First is the professional criminals,
they tend to follow rules and will do whatever it takes to get out early. This type of inmate
understands the workings of the prison system and will put on an act to appear as if the
rehabilitation is working. It is also common for this type of inmate to use prison as a resource to
gain knowledge of criminal skill and network with other criminals. The Second type, are
criminals who have a history behind bars. They view prison as home and find it more
comfortable than the outside world. Once introduced to a new prison, they will try to establish
themselves in prison and work their way up the hierarchy of the prison culture. The third type,
are inmates who utilize the resources available to better themselves, so that they have a better
chance outside of prison. They have an honest desire for change and will participate in
educational, drug and anger management programs in an attempt to resolve their problems.
There are Disorganized inmates, who have issues adapting to the prison culture. This inmate
tent to have preexisting conditions such as mental illnesses and low IQs. Often this type of
inmate will avoid contact with anyone and withdrawal into themselves. They do not do anything
to better their situation and cant adapt to the prison culture on any level. (Gains/ Miller pg. 464)
Also, most prisons in America have a high gang population throughout all the units,
excluding the sex offender unit. This is another important factor in the culture. This type of
activity promotes a hierarchy system as well as an economic system. (Gaines /Miller Pg. 463)
The purpose of prison gangs are to provide support and safety to those with in it. This is one of
the main appeals for new inmates as they enter the system. Prison gangs can hold a lot of power
within the walls and can extend their reach outside. Some gangs have even gained control over
the guards. One such example of an inmate gaining influence over the guards was a man named
Tavon White. Tavon White was the leader on The Black Guerrilla Family; this man was able to
run his gang from behind bars with help from the guards. Thirteen prison guards were charged
with racketeering, conspiracy to distribute drugs and possession with intent to distribute. Of
those guards, Tavon white had sex with six; he got four of them pregnant, and two of them got
his name tattooed on their body. (Kirsten West Savali) This type of cooperation between guards
and inmates is rare but not unheard of. When this kind of corruption is present in prison, it can
make the prisoners afraid for their life, because the people who ensure their safety are working
for their enemy. Rival gang members are normally kept apart from one another because they are
instilled with a hatred of rival gangs and tend to lash out in violence. As the inmates progress to
the different levels of prison they are introduced to more and more rival gang members to see if
they have made progress with in the system. The gangs are generally the shot callers in prison
and will resort to violence if challenged, even if it is one of their own. (Tyler, West Jordan
Police) The economy in prison is built around illegal and legal Items as well as sexual favors. If
you have what someone wants, you can buy almost anything from services, to ordering a hit on
someone. Gangs are responsible for the majority of contraband smuggled into prison and it is
because of this that they hold a great deal of power within the walls.
The interpersonal communication that inmates share is one of the main influences on how
they leave mentally. Because of the impersonal nature of prison, many inmates feel that no one is
to be trusted. Keeping to you is a good way to avoid violence. Discussing what crime you are
serving time for could put a target on your head; especially if you have committed a sexual act
on a child. Acts of kindness normally lead to suspicion among other inmates, in some cases;
inmates will help one another and then demand to be repaid. While in prison an inmate always
has their guard up as if something could happen at any time. This feeling of unrest among
inmates can be caused by many factors such as, seeing someone get assaulted, murdered, being
threatened or even preconceived notions that they may have. Some inmates cope with this
feeling by demonstrating their power at any chance, while others would withdrawal into
themselves. Even making eye contact with another inmate could be viewed as a challenge of
their manhood. There is a common motivator for demonstrating power within a prison; if you are
viewed as weak, people will take advantage of you or target you. The way an inmate might take
advantage of another inmate could include taking food, assault, or even rape. (Gaines /Miller Pg.
472) To avoid confrontation inmates generally suppress their emotions as any emotion could
show weakness. Always being aware of their surroundings, the inmates are careful not to
disrespect or challenge another inmates manhood. If something is taken the wrong way it can
result in violence; when violence does occur, it will be met with equal or greater force by the
guards. When the prison guards break up a fight or a riot they dont only target guilty inmates;
they tend to target everyone so that they can gain control of the situation. The purpose of prison
guards is to keep order within the walls of a prison. This is achieved with the threat of violence,
if not actual violence to instill discipline. Because of this, there is a mutual distrust between the
guards and inmates. (Gaines /Miller Pg. 742) Interactions with the prison guards have been
described as hostile, with many reports of misconduct. The misconduct could be anything from
assault, mental abuse, to sexual abuse.
Isolation can play a major role in an inmates failure to adjust to the outside world. While
some inmates chose not to socialize with anyone else and go from their cell to the mess hall and
back to their cell; other inmates experience forced isolation, this is called solitary confinement.
This practice within jails and prisons in America is controversial internationally. Two inmates
got international attention regarding Americas use of solitary confinement. Wood fox and
Wallace, who are two to three former Panthers known as the "Angola 3" spent decades in
isolation for periods of typically 23 hours a day. U.N. special reporter Juan Mendez made a
statement on their case clearly show(s) that the use of solitary confinement in the U.S.
penitentiary system goes far beyond what is acceptable under international human rights
law."(CBS NEWS Oct 7 2013) As humans, we are social creatures; if you take away human
contact we start to have an increased sensitivity to stimuli, hallucinations, and other changes in
perception, as well as cognitive problems, including memory loss, difficulty thinking, and
impulsiveness. (Dr. Stuart Grassian, 1993)
When looking into who represents our prison population, the culture of the institution
becomes clearer. In 2012, about 1 in every 35 adults in the United States, or 2.9% of adult
residents, was on probation or parole or incarcerated in prison or jail, the same rate observed in
1997. (BJS Correctional Population) The age group that represents the highest percentage in our
prisons range from 26 to 36 years old. (BOS Inmate statistics) Overall Black males compose the
highest percent of those incarcerated at about 841,000, the second highest percentage is White
males at about 693,800, in third place are Hispanic males common in at about 442,000, (BJS
Statistic table 2009) No statistics for other races were listed on the government site. The high
number of incarceration can be attributed to the get tough on crime policy.
Then the people with mental health issues are being sent to prisons at an alarming rate.
Between 1950 and 1960 nearly 600,000 people with mental illnesses were being held in public
hospitals. After the media shined a spot light on the conditions of these facilities, they were
closed. Now prisons have become a dumping ground for these individuals with mental health
issues. More that 56 percent of the prisons population come into the prison with preexisting
mental health issues. (Gaines / Miller pg. 465) Considering the toxic environment of our prisons,
it is no wonder as to why the programs that are designed to help rehabilitate the inmates can be
ineffective. When so many people in prisons suffer from disorders like bipolar, depression and
schizophrenia the picture of a violent uncontrollable population can be better understood. Terry
Gorski has studied the effects of long term incarceration and believes that the process of being
institutionalized can cause Post Incarceration Syndrome (PICS) in inmates who had no major
prior mental illness problems before hand. He points out that this disorder is not present in every
inmate released but the environment the inmate experiences plays a direct role in the severity of
the disorder. The symptoms are most severe in prisoners subjected to abuse and prolonged
solitary confident. The Post Incarceration Syndrome (PICS) is a mixed mental disorders with
four clusters of symptoms:
(1) Institutionalized Personality Traits resulting from the common deprivations of
incarceration, a chronic state of learned helplessness in the face of prison authorities, and
antisocial defenses in dealing with a predatory inmate milieu,
(2) Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from both pre-incarceration trauma and trauma
experienced within the institution,
(3) Antisocial Personality Traits (ASPT) developed as a coping response to institutional
abuse and a predatory prisoner milieu, and
(4) Social-Sensory Deprivation Syndrome caused by prolonged exposure to solitary
confinement that radically restricts social contact and sensory stimulation.
(5) Substance Use Disorders caused by the use of alcohol and other drugs to manage or
escape the PICS symptoms.
PICS often coexists with substance use disorders and a variety of affective and personality
disorders. (Terry Gorski)
So we go back to the original question, can the prisons achieve their goals to incapacitate,
deterrence, rehabilitation and retribution with the culture the way that it is? Incapacitate means to
make an individual incapable of committing another crime. Within prisons crimes are,
committed every day; anything from drug trafficking to assault. Steps can be taken on those who
violate the rules to achieve this goal. Deterrence means to stop someone from being a repeat
offender and to persuade others from committing the same crime. This is achieved to an extent,
the threat of prison can deter someone from committing a crime. Being sentenced to time in
prison can be bad enough that the person wont re commit an offence. But the rates of achieving
this goal on those in prison vary depending on the individual and the prison culture itself.
Rehabilitation means to restore something to its original state. Prison offers many programs to
achieve this goal. The success depends mainly on the inmates desire for change. Although with
the experience of mental, physical and sexual abuse within the prison, this goal is hard to
achieve. Retribution means something given or demanded as repayment; retribution is what
prisons are all about, the inmates are giving their time to the state for the crimes they committed.
The inmates can be forced to provide compensation to their victims, but they make vary little
money while working for prisons.
To one degree or another no inmate leaves prison unaffected. Though how noticeable this
change may be depends on the individual person and the experience of the total institution.
Prison generally amplifies the original problem that the inmate entered with. A gang member
is likely to leave with a stronger belief in their gang. Someone that has a mental disorder is
likely to leave with the symptoms worsened. The mentality of defensive and or aggressive
behavior can be amplified. This outcome does not only affect the inmates themselves once
released, it can affect their friends and families in the form of abuse and manipulation. It can
affect their communities in the form of recruiting their youth into a gang. It is easy to take the
stance that these criminals are getting what they deserve as they get raped and abused, but as
a society we should be focusing more on how to effective achieve the prisons four purposes;
incapacitate, deterrence, rehabilitation and retribution.
I believe that if we started to view these inmates as misguided humans and made the
experience more personalized we could effectively change the prison culture and avoid
exacerbation the issues of our prison population. Adding rehabilitation and treatment
programs for mentally disabled individuals is another important step that goes with
personalizing the experience for our inmates. By addressing this problem we would be able
to control what effect interactions between crazy people and normal inmates would have on
the inmates as a whole. The prison guards are another important factor to this culture that
needs changed. Right now, to become a prison guard little experience is needed. The pay is
low for prison guards. Higher expectations and training for the guards would promote a more
professional atmosphere. By raising the pay of the guards it could deter questionable
behavior, like smuggling drugs for inmates; if the problems within the system are not
addressed and the prison population continues to grow the overflow of the prison culture
could have a lasting effect on the cultures of cities and towns across America.
Bibliography

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th
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