NCJ Number
97956
Journal
Justice System Journal Volume: 9 Issue: 3 Dated: (Winter 1984) Pages: 291-305
Date Published
1984
Length
15 pages
Annotation
More than two centuries ago, colonial Connecticut was experimenting with a prison-like regime when it experienced the first 'prison riot' in what is now the United States (McKay, 1983). Later in the 17th century, the inmates of Newgate Penitentiary in New York rioted to protest overcrowding, just three years after that prison opened. Since the invention of the penitentiary,
Abstract
Since the invention of the penitentiary, numerous riots, revolts, and insurrections have taken place in American prisons (Heaps,1970). There exists a rich history of the precipitation 'causes' of and proposed solutions to prison riots (American Correctional Association, 1981), but few efforts have been made to link these ideas together into systematic theory (Alpert,1977; Garson, 1972a and 1972b; Huff, 1983). This article seeks to address that deficiency by extending to prison riots a theory which has been applied to social revolution -- i.e., 'rising expectation' theory. Finally, we identify some of the organizational and system dynamics which can be affected by the growing federal court intervention in the management of prisons, and we emphasize the importance of improving judicial understanding of prisons as complex organizations. Our general focus is on court-ordered prison reform, with specific attention to the most sweeping prison conditions case in American history, Ruiz v. Estelle (1980). (Publisher abstract)