Race and Punishment in American Prisons

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Olson, Jeremiah C.
• 署名单位: University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; University of Michigan Flint
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH AND THEORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1053-1858
• DOI: 10.1093/jopart/muw026
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: 758-768
• 关键词: racial stereotypes; decision-making; incarceration; black; POLITICS; crime; explanations; deprivation; populations; importation

摘要

American prison staffs face the difficult challenge of maintaining order in an often overcrowded, potentially dangerous environment. Prison staffs are given wide discretion over treatment decisions inside prisons, including the decision to punish prisoners. Staffs are forced to make quick decisions in an uncertain environment and are likely to use commonly understood heuristics to simplify their decision-making. These heuristics include stereotypes regarding race and criminality. This article uses data on nearly 11,000 prisoners to examine the determinants of one of the harshest punishments available, the use of solitary confinement in American prisons. Consistent with the broader literature on race and criminal justice, I find that black inmates report higher rates of placement in solitary confinement than white inmates.