America's jails : the search for human dignity in an age of mass incarceration / Derek S. Jeffreys.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jeffreys, Derek S., 1964- author.

Series:

Alternative criminology series.

Alternative criminology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Prisoners--United States--Social conditions.

Prisoners.

Prisoners--Mental health--United States.

Prisoners--Abuse of--United States.

Imprisonment--Moral and ethical aspects--United States.

Imprisonment.

Stigma (Social psychology)--United States.

Stigma (Social psychology).

Jails--United States.

Jails.

Discrimination in criminal justice administration--United States.

Discrimination in criminal justice administration.

Dignity.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York, New York : New York University Press, [2018]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

A look at the contemporary crisis in U.S. jails with recommendations for improving and protecting the dignity of inmates Twelve million Americans go through the U.S. jail system on an annual basis. Jails, which differ significantly from prisons, are designed to house inmates for short amounts of time, and are often occupied by large populations of legally innocent people waiting for a trial. Jails often have deplorable sanitary conditions, and there are countless records of inmates being brutalized by staff and other inmates while in custody. Local municipalities use jails to institutionalize those whom they perceive to be a threat, so hundreds of thousands of inmates suffer from mental illness. People abandoned by families or lacking health insurance, or those who cannot afford bail, often cycle in and out of jails. In America’s Jails, Derek Jeffreys draws on sociology, philosophy, history, and his personal experience volunteering in jails and prisons to provide an understanding of the jail experience from the inmates’ perspective, focusing on the stigma that surrounds incarceration. Using his research at Cook County Jail, the nation’s largest single-site jail, Jeffreys attests that jail inmates possess an inherent dignity that should govern how we treat them. Ultimately, fundamental changes in the U.S. jail system are necessary and America’s Jails provides specific policy recommendations for changing its poor conditions. Highlighting the experiences of inmates themselves, America’s Jails aims to shift public perception and understanding of jail inmates to center their inherent dignity and help eliminate the stigma attached to their incarceration. A look at the contemporary crisis in U.S. jails with recommendations for improving and protecting the dignity of inmates Twelve million Americans go through the U.S. jail system on an annual basis. Jails, which differ significantly from prisons, are designed to house inmates for short amounts of time, and are often occupied by large populations of legally innocent people waiting for a trial. Jails often have deplorable sanitary conditions, and there are countless records of inmates being brutalized by staff and other inmates while in custody. Local municipalities use jails to institutionalize those whom they perceive to be a threat, so hundreds of thousands of inmates suffer from mental illness. People abandoned by families or lacking health insurance, or those who cannot afford bail, often cycle in and out of jails. In America’s Jails, Derek Jeffreys draws on sociology, philosophy, history, and his personal experience volunteering in jails and prisons to provide an understanding of the jail experience from the inmates’ perspective, focusing on the stigma that surrounds incarceration. Using his research at Cook County Jail, the nation’s largest single-site jail, Jeffreys attests that jail inmates possess an inherent dignity that should govern how we treat them. Ultimately, fundamental changes in the U.S. jail system are necessary and America’s Jails provides specific policy recommendations for changing its poor conditions. Highlighting the experiences of inmates themselves, America’s Jails aims to shift public perception and understanding of jail inmates to center their inherent dignity and help eliminate the stigma attached to their incarceration.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Introduction

1. Degradation and Disorientation

2. What Is the Purpose of a Jail?

3. A Matter of Dignity

4. Why Do We Stigmatize Inmates?

5. What Can We Do?

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Notes

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [201]-218) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4798-4378-4

OCLC:

1030892872