Respecting Beasts: The Dehumanizing Quality of the Modern Prison and an Unusual Model for Penal Reform
31 Pages Posted: 17 Aug 2018
Date Written: January 1, 2008
Abstract
Through a lens carved with unfortunate personal experiences, but mindful that my experiences as an inmate may vary significantly from those of others, I examine the interpersonal climate inside the walls of prison. Focusing on the notion of withholding respect, this Article contends that current prison management practices do not foster a healthy sense of self-respect among inmates. Instead, I argue that the inmate culture, guided by the normative expectations of the convict code, is a prisoner‘s only source of recognition as a human being worthy of respect. Accordingly, I propose that those charged with running modern prisons look to this aspect of the inmate culture for guidance and treat those who exist behind concrete and steel as beings rather than beasts.
Keywords: Prison, Incarceration, Respect, Warehouse Prison, Prison Management
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