NCJ Number
130362
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1991) Pages: 37-57
Date Published
1991
Length
21 pages
Annotation
Drawing on data collected from the collective prison experiences of the authors, observations of 150 adjustment committee hearings in several Illinois prisons, tickets submitted by inmates as possible evidence in a class action suit, and other related documents, this article studies how prison staff use due process rules in exacting control.
Abstract
The authors contend that, although Federal laws were mandated to protect prisoners from abusive staff members or unjust control procedures, they can be rendered ineffective when prison staff use legal prescriptions and proscriptions to exact discipline and inadvertently preserve rather than alter power relations. The introduction of procedural guarantees has a minimal effect in facilities where the rules of due process maintain staff power by providing legitimation. 6 notes and 42 references (Author abstract modified)