Crisis in Mexican Prisons: The Impact of the United States (From Comparing Prison Systems: Toward a Comparative and International Penology, P 99-113, 1998, Robert P. Weiss, Nigel South, eds. - See NCJ-178009)

• NCJ Number: 178012
• Author(s): J. Michael Olivero
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: Gordon and Breach Publishers
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Netherlands
• Note: International Studies in Global Change: Vol. 8

Annotation

This chapter examines the organization and administration of prisons in Mexico.

Abstract

The Mexican prison system suffers from a lack of adequate resources for associated social services, as well as political corruption, and those problems are exacerbated by the United States’ “War on Drugs.” The organization of life within Mexican prisons is a mirror image of life in Mexican society, with clear class and economic distinctions. Those who can afford the amenities of life can purchase them in prison. The hallmark of Mexican prisons appears to be overcrowding, which frustrates efforts at reform and increases the costs of the country’s criminal justice system. Overcrowded prisons are the result mainly of: (1) lack of resources to build additional facilities; (2) the presence of family members living within prison walls; and (3) Mexico’s placement next to a country harboring major drug problems, the United States, and the expediency of giving the appearance of participating in drug intervention. Tables, notes, references