Prisons in Crisis: The American Experience

Abstract

Over the past two decades, an increasingly lengthy roster of commentators has characterized prisons in the United States as being in ‘crisis’ (see, for example, Blumstein, 1989; Colvin, 1992; Cullen and Gilbert, 1982; Gottfredson and McConville, 1987; Selke, 1993; Sherman and Hawkins, 1981; Simon, 1993). The term has been invoked to describe virtually every aspect of the American correctional system, but two uses have been most prominent and will occupy our attention here.¹ Most obvious and most often, commentators speak of the ‘crowding crisis’ — how escalating inmate populations tax system resources and create an unrelenting administrative nightmare. Less clearly articulated but perhaps more fundamental, there is a sense that the very purpose or ‘conscience’ (Rothman, 1980) of the correctional enterprise is up for grabs or, still worse, undergoing a disquieting transformation.