Debunking the Myths of American Corrections: An Exploratory Analysis

Ross, Jeffrey Ian

doi:10.1007/s10612-012-9158-z

Cited by 13 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Although people who volunteer to work with offenders within the justice system may share some similar motivations or characteristics, those volunteers who choose to enter prisons may be qualitatively different than those who choose to volunteer in other capacities. The prison setting is unique, bearing a certain social mystique, and prisoners are subject to a range of negative stereotypes (Freeman 2001, Ross 2012. In short, prisons are deemed scary and dangerous, and prisoners are othered.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizen volunteers in prison: bringing the outside in, taking the inside out

Kort‐Butler

Malone

2014

Journal of Crime and Justice

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The United States correctional system relies heavily on citizen volunteers, but there is little contemporary research on prison volunteers, which is further limited by sample and geographic region. The purpose of this project was to explore the role of citizen volunteers, including investigating why they volunteer and what their experiences with inmates and prison staff are like. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with citizen volunteers in the penal system of a Midwestern state. Volunteers had altruistic or faith-based motivations, viewing themselves as 'seed planters' but not saviors, and placing priority on building relationships. They described how volunteering transformed their views on inmates and the prison system. Volunteers appeared to gain awareness of and appreciation for the problems associated with both serving time and reentry. Additional research on the role of citizen volunteers is needed to improve recruiting and retention of volunteers, and to better evaluate and develop programs for current and reentering inmates.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizen volunteers in prison: bringing the outside in, taking the inside out

Kort‐Butler

Malone

2014

Journal of Crime and Justice

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“…Why is this concept and process important? Prison voyeurism perpetrates myths and misconceptions about corrections (Ross, 2012a), and these myths and misconceptions frustrate society's ability to reform corrections. 3 More generally, this article has a number of interrelated goals.…”

Section: Argumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Approximately 95 prison museums are in operation around the world (Ross, 2012a). In the United States, these include infamous and decommissioned prisons, such as Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco, California (Levy, 2001; Loo & Strange, 2000); Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the Louisiana State Prison at Angola, Louisiana (Adams, 2001; Schrift, 2004).…”

Section: The Range Of Engagement With the Prison Experiencementioning

confidence: 99%

Varieties of Prison Voyeurism

Ross

2015

The Prison Journal

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The public learns, experiences, and knows about jails, prisons, and the people who live and work there through a variety of mediums and/or methods. Not all situations are equal in terms of the cost to the individual, the reality of the experience, and the effect it may have on the participant. In an effort to better contextualize this process, this article develops a typology to better understand these methods of participation. Ten methods by which people can experience correctional facilities include, on one end of the spectrum, the highly personal experience of incarceration, and on the other end, attempts by individuals to understand and/or experience corrections without intimately engaging with the subject matter. This latter method, termed prison voyeurism, fails to contextualize the myths, misrepresentations, and stereotypes of prison life rather than clarifying or explaining them. The author develops a framework to interpret the jail and prison experience. Examples are drawn primarily from the American prison experience.

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“…that can be easily grasped, but it is often a distortion of the truth about who criminals and victims are, what law breaking is, and the role, purpose, and accomplishments of jails and prisons. This communication is disproportionately full of myths, misconceptions, misrepresentations, and misinformation (Ross, 2012). 2 This process has been accomplished through a variety of actors and communication channels.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How American-based Television Commercials Portray Convicts, Correctional Officials, Carceral Institutions, and the Prison Experience

Ross

Sneed

2017

Corrections

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The manner in which deviant and marginalized groups are portrayed in popular culture shapes public perceptions and policy responses. These messages are communicated through a variety of channels. Over the past decade, scholarly interest in the portrayal of prisoners, correctional officers, and correctional institutions has increased. One of the unexplored, important, and relatively contemporary mediums through which inmates, correctional officers, and carceral spaces have been portrayed is through commercials. These messages appear via print, television, and the Internet. In an attempt to understand the content and context of these commercials, the following article presents the results of a content analysis of American-based television commercials that feature convicts, correction officials, prison settings, and/or the carceral experience.

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Debunking the Myths of American Corrections: An Exploratory Analysis

Cited by 13 publications

References 21 publications

Citizen volunteers in prison: bringing the outside in, taking the inside out

Citizen volunteers in prison: bringing the outside in, taking the inside out

Varieties of Prison Voyeurism

How American-based Television Commercials Portray Convicts, Correctional Officials, Carceral Institutions, and the Prison Experience

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