Much of the research on the effects of postsecondary education for incarcerated individuals has focused on men. However, given the increase in rates of women's imprisonment over the past two decades, it is imperative that scholars examine the impact of higher education in prison for women. In this qualitative study, the authors assess the social and personal benefits of participating in a college behind bars program delivered in a women's prison. Data gathered with both program participants and faculty suggest that students in the program experienced a reduction in criminogenic attitudes and behaviors as well as positive changes in self-perception.

Sentencing guidelines in the United States and elsewhere have been established for the purposes of eliminating disparity and increasing fairness in criminal sentencing; however, criminal justice actors retain some discretion in the determination of punishment. At the US federal level, the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 set specific guidelines for sentencing. As a result, only legally relevant variables should play a role in the determination of the enactment of sentences. In 2005, with the United States vs. Booker and subsequent judicial decisions, federal judicial discretion was increased when guidelines were deemed unconstitutional, as a result of which guidelines became advisory only. Research since the enactment of guidelines posits a variety of extralegal variables, including race and sex, as having influence throughout the sentencing process, from decision to prosecute through sentencing. Even when legal factors such as crime type, criminal history, and guideline recommendations are controlled, disparities in sentencing outcomes exist.