CJ Chapter 14

A regimented, dehumanizing institution, such as a prison, in which like-situated people are kept in social isolation, cut off from the world at large.

A correctional policy that stipulates that prisons are intended to punish, not coddle, inmates. This usually means a strict regimen of work and discipline and reduced opportunities for recreation and education.

The loosely defined culture that pervades prisons and has its own norms, rules, and language.

An unwritten code of behavior, passed from older inmates to younger ones, that serves as a guideline for appropriate inmate behavior within the correctional institution.

Assimilation into the separate culture of the prison. This loosely defined culture that pervades prisons has its own norms, rules, and language. The traditional prison culture is now being replaced by a violent gang culture.

In female prisons, substitute family groups with a faux father, mother, and siblings.

Programs designed to help people who have become dependent on anger as a primary means of expressing themselves and those who inappropriately use anger or the threat of violence to get their way.

A prison treatment program that allows inmates to be released during the day to work in the community, returning to prison at night.

A correctional policy that allows inmates to leave the institution for vocational or educational training, for employment, or to maintain family ties.

The legal practice of allowing prison administrators a free hand in running the institution, even if correctional practices violate inmates' constitutional rights; this practice ended with the onset of the prisoners' rights movement in the 1960s.

Civil rights that include the right of inmates to receive mail and medical benefits and to practice their religion.

An inmate trained in law, or otherwise educated, who helps other inmates prepare legal briefs and appeals.

Physical punishment or punishment that far exceeds that given to people under similar circumstances and is therefore banned by the Eighth Amendment. The death penalty has so far not been considered cruel and unusual if it is administered in a fair and nondiscriminatory fashion.

A defense which protects government officials from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.

To grant a prisoner an early release from prison, with certain restrictions.

A form of parole characterized by smaller caseloads and closer surveillance; it may include frequent drug testing and, in some cases, electronic monitoring.