Background The 1980 New Mexico Prison Riot is identified to be the most brutal riot in U.S. Penitentiary history. Thirty-three inmates died and more than two hundred inmates were treated for injuries And with many opinions and theoretical approaches attempting to understand how and why the riot occurred, many aspects are left buried. This case study attempts to recognize the dynamics that led to the emergence of the New Mexico Prison Riot as well as explain how this particular case can be explained through contemporary breakdown theory. The New Mexico Prison Riot As the state's only maximum security prison, the Penitentiary of New Mexico housed the highest security classification of offenders in the state of New Mexico. During the early …show more content…
Inmate power was accommodated by the prison’s administration directly through programs and indirectly through tolerance of illegal activities. Prior to the riot, the programs enhanced chances of parole, which led to increased participation. They were also crucial to “self-policing” process within the inmate environment. However, the prison also faced high levels of illegal drug trafficking within the prison. Drug consumption increased dramatically at New Mexico from about 1971 to 1976 (Colvin, 1982) The prison administration during this time were tolerable of the illegal trafficking, in some cases, involved. Beginning in 1975, the Governor of New Mexico appointed a new prison administration as the penitentiary came under scrutiny to raise performance and “shape up”. As a result, a more strict administration took office. The turnover rate within the administration doubled within the late 1970’s, and caused policies within the prison to be unclear, leaving both guards and inmates in a state of uncertainty. The new administration removed all inmate programs. They began to tighten restrictions on inmate movement, and increased drug searches. Major informal and formal incentive controls over inmates started to fall apart. The number of voluntary …show more content…
The prior incentives, now eliminated, provided opportunities for transfers to minimum security prisons, and as a result of their dissolution, the prison population began to skyrocket. The perceived conditions of the prisons began to worsen as a result of the overcrowding. In the early 1970’s, one cellblock housed the prison's disciplinary cases and its protection cases, containing about fifty inmates. Those fifty represented around five percent of the total prison population. In 1976, over twenty percent of the inmates were either in protective custody or in segregated units, forcing the utilization of two cell blocks. Each block had a capacity of 90 inmates, but held as many as 200 inmates. (Useem, 1982) It was no wonder the new administration began reporting a new “breed” of high profile inmates entering the
On March 15, 2017, at 9:10 p.m at the California Correctional Center located in Susanville,CA a riot occured resulting in the injuries of six prison guards and one inmate. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation stated that an inmate had assaulted an officer on Wednesday in the dining hall of the Prison, around 30 other prisioners rushed to the scene and began assaulting the officers with physical force and the use food trays against the officers. Officers regained control of the dining hall with the use of physical force, pepper spray and non-lethal projectiles to overcome the riot in minutes. Their were four correcitonal officers who were treated for minor cuts and bruises and a couneslor was treated for
Case Study Shane Bauer, an investigative journalist with Mother Jones, spent four months as a guard at Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, LA from November 2014 to February 2015. Winn Correctional is a private, for-profit prison that is owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). It is also the oldest privately operated medium-security facility in the country (Bauer, 2016). During his time there, Bauer discovered just how terribly some of these prisons are run and the awful conditions that inmates are forced to suffer through. Bauer discusses his experiences at Winn, the horrible conditions of the prison that he witnessed, as well as the nonchalance of the other guards when it came to the prisoners and their safety.
The Yuma Territorial Prison opened in 1875, but the first prisoners were not moved to the prison, in till 1876. Over three thousand prisoners were housed during the thirty-three years the prison was operational. Yuma Territorial Prison is perceived throughout its many roles as a luxury for the community in Yuma, Arizona. The community in Yuma, Arizona might think this because of the many benefits the prison gave the inmate’s and the town people. In view of the community the prison played many roles other than just being a prison.
The prison system prior to 1973 was seen as an ineffective way of controlling crime, and Congress was starting to loosen up the drug laws; crime was declining quite tremendously, federal prisons were starting to close, and drugs were seen more as more
Alexander uncovers the system of mass incarceration. A system of laws, rules, policies, and customs that control criminals both in prison and out of prison. The book also highlights major themes and issues in society today such as racism, inequality, and social justice. Alexander uses statistics and legal citations to argue that the approach Nixon administered, which was more of a get-tough approach to crime, and Reagan’s declaration of the War on Drugs, has devastated African Americans. The main idea that Alexander tries to make is that beginning with slavery and continuing with Jim Crow segregation, mass incarceration places entire groups of people of color into discriminatory positions in society,
There is a lot of Mexican Gangs is in United States prisons. For example Mexican Mafia, Latin Kings, Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos, Partido Revolucionario Mexicano, Raza Unida etc… The Mexican Mafia is the top #1 Mexican Prison Gang, it started in the streets in california and escalated to the prisons. Mexican Mafia is also known as “La Eme” They would usually join the gang so that they could be protected from other gangs that were racist toward hispanics. La Eme was established in 1957 by Luis Flores also known as “Huero Buff”. The Mexican Mafia grew fairly quickly in DVI.
School programs were without supplies, inmate classifications weren’t distinguishable, detailed treatment plans fell short, and harsh fines depleted the worth and value of paid labor. Due to the lack of guidelines for indeterminate sentencing the original promise and purpose was lost and abused by officials seeking to gain further control over insubordinate inmates. Parole board members were unqualified and failed at adequately reviewing offenders progress or failures. Overcrowding pushed for early release, rendering requirements lax and often overlooked. Once released, parole officers failed at physically supervising offenders, relying on paperwork and formalities to monitor their progress and reform (Blomberg & Lucken, 2010, pp.
The prison hasn’t just been used to provide a building, but its been used for it’s material and has been slowly torn apart. Piece by piece through time, parts of the prison have been torn down. In 1916, there was a flood in Yuma and what the townspeople used to rebuild were parts from the prison (Murphy 1). In order for the Southern Pacific Railroad to be built the western walls and the woman's cells had to be destroyed in 1923 (The Yuma Territorial Prison). More destruction was made when the hospital in the prison and the Mes Hall were burned down in 1924 (The Yuma Territorial Prison).
Ever since the beginning of the prison system, people could argue that riots were the cause of either the guards being too strict or the guards being too lenient. When analyzing the California hunger strike of 2013, and why so many inmates decided to participate, we can clearly see inmate-balance theory at work. The California hunger strike lead by Todd Ashker is best explained by inmate-balance theory because the criminal justice system was too harsh by giving confirmed gang members life sentences in solitary confinement. Inmate-balance theory can be defined as “maintain[ing] that riots and related forms of collective protest occur when prison officials take abrupt action to reassert control” (Useem and Reisig, p.320). When we take this definition
“Welcome home, welcome to Alcatraz”(“Alcatraz History”). The island of Alcatraz, located off the west coast of San Francisco, was home to many of America’s most hardened criminals and gangsters. The island earned its name in 1775 from a Spanish Lieutenant by the name of Juan Manuel de Ayala who named it “La Isla de los Alcatraces” or “Island of the Pelicans” (Klein). What makes this place such an interesting attraction is its rich history, crazy prison life, and of course, its famous inmates.
After World War II, many states replaced Big Houses with correctional institutions. (Irwin) Correctional institutions were organized differently, housed different types of prisoners, and nurtured different prison social worlds. (Irwin) Due to the growing body of college-educated employees and administers of prisoners, parole, and probations, the government was convinced
Standing on the hill overlooking the colorado river is the well known Territorial Prison, located in Yuma Arizona. The prison was built in yuma because there was no other prison to keep criminals behind bars also because other prisons were easy to escape from. In 1875 the prison was authorized by the legislature, its budget for the project was 25,000.The prison is now a historic park where people can visit and experience the prisoners life’s within the dark walls as they serve their time. The yuma territorial prison was the first state penitentiary in Arizona. In this research paper I will look into the territorial prison, also have vivid descriptions on its history and background from my primary sources.
Over 2 million people are currently being held in United States prisons, and while the U.S. may only hold 5% of the world’s population, it houses 25% of its prisoners. In the past few years, America’s prison system has fallen under public scrutiny for it’s rising incarceration rate and poor statistics. Many Americans have recently taken notice of the country’s disproportionate prisoner ratio, realized it’s the worst on the planet, and called for the immediate reformation of the failing system. The war on drugs and racial profiling are some of the largest concerns, and many people, some ordinary citizens and others important government figures, are attempting to bring change to one of the country 's lowest aspects.
Although the infamy of Alcatraz Federal Prison has faded over the decades, the mere mention of its name fifty years ago would make a prisoners’ ears tingle. From its start as a military prison, its reputation as a cruel and unforgiving penitentiary made it feared by criminals throughout America. When Alcatraz, also known as “The Rock,” opened in 1934, it was proclaimed to be an “unescapable prison,” meant for the worst convicts in America. Throughout its history, thirty-six inmates tried to escape, all of who failed… except for possibly three. The fate of these men has been under investigation for almost fifty years now.
Atlanta prison riot, and leadership skills Special agent Weldon Kennedy of the Atlanta force, was in charge of the whole operation. The go to man though, was tactical leader Danny Coulson, alongside was lead negotiator Dee Rosario, and Leon Blakeney who was in charge of the Atlanta field office. These four men and SWAT teams from Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, D.C, and San Francisco, the US Military, and BOP guards. They had to use leadership principles in order to resolve the situation without any civilian loss of life. In the end, keeping their team informed, holding people accountable for their actions and jobs, making sound and timely decisions, knowing the team, and looking out for the welfare of everyone on the team, and using the team to the capabilities that it has.