Punishing the Vulnerable - Discrimination in American Prisons

Few studies look at the treatment of those inside America's prisons. Discussing race discrimination alongside gender, ethnic, and religious discrimination in contemporary American prisons, this book finds that correctional staff are swayed by stereotypes in their treatment of inmates.

The American Dream is that anyone who works hard enough can be successful. It is a dream premised on equal opportunity; however, millions of racial, ethnic, religious, and gender minorities have found their opportunities for success limited-even in prison. What accounts for the discriminatory treatment of people who are already imprisoned? Relying on national data and interviews conducted by the author, this book argues that American prisons are not a tool for justice but a tool for the persecution of the weak by the powerful.



The book details how African American, American Indian, and Hispanic inmates receive harsher punishments, including solitary confinement, and fewer rehabilitative programs, such as substance abuse treatment and mental health counseling. It also examines other injustices, including how female inmates suffer from a lack of rehabilitative services, Muslim inmates are placed in solitary confinement for practicing their religious beliefs, American Indians are disproportionately punished, and undocumented immigrants are forced from prison to prison in the middle of the night.

List of contents

Acknowledgments
A Brief Note on Language and Identity
Introduction: America's Prisons: A Portrait of the Vulnerable
Chapter 1 "Crime" and Moral Panics
Chapter 2 Discretion and Punishment
Chapter 3 Punishing the Poor
Chapter 4 Punishing the Sick
Chapter 5 Punishing Race
Chapter 6 Punishing Immigrants
Chapter 7 Punishing Drug Use
Chapter 8 Punishing Families
Chapter 9 Instead of Prisons
Technical Appendix
References
Index

About the author

Jeremiah Wade-Olson is assistant professor at the University of Michigan, Flint. He has a PhD in political science from the University of Kentucky. His work focuses on race and incarceration.

Product details

• Authors: Jeremiah Wade-Olson
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 10.05.2019
• EAN: 9781440858086
• ISBN: 978-1-4408-5808-6
• No. of pages: 200
• Weight: 454 g
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Social sciences (general); Human Rights, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Human Rights, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Minority Studies, LAW / Labor & Employment, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Civil Rights, LAW / Discrimination, Social discrimination & inequality, Ethnic groups and multicultural studies, Ethnic minorities & multicultural studies, Civil rights & citizenship, Human rights, civil rights, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Discrimination, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Biracial & Multiracial Studies, Social discrimination and social justice, Discrimination in employment and harassment law, Discrimination in employment law