Deck 11: Prison Life, Inmate Rights, and Release

Question 1

Several factors have rendered the current inmate society unstable.Five are listed in your textbook,and three are listed here.Which one does NOT belong?

A) Increased staff size and training
B) The increased politicalization of inmates
C) Increasing racial heterogeneity
D) Court litigation

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Living in prison is fundamentally different from living in the free community in several ways,three of which are listed below.Which one does NOT belong?

A) Life is typified by greater insecurity, stress, and unpredictability.
B) There are rarely opportunities for any level of educational achievement.
C) There is less privacy.
D) Deprivation of personal freedom and material goods is more pronounced.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Researchers have observed that the work of correctional officers is characterized by both:

A) high pay and stimulus overload.
B) low turnover and boredom.
C) boredom and stimulus overload.
D) high turnover and high pay.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Ironically,the Eighth Amendment has done little to protect inmates from staff brutality because:

A) brutality is hard to prove without an adequate number of witnesses.
B) brutality is normally construed as a tort rather than a constitutional issue.
C) acts of brutality are frequently conducted in places where video cameras and other surveillance equipment are not present.
D) inmates are not allowed full constitutional rights in regard to the Eighth Amendment.

Question 5

The Supreme Court has ruled that censorship in prisons is legal only if it furthers one of three substantial government interests.Which of the following is NOT one of these interests?

A) Punishment
B) Order
C) Security
D) Rehabilitation

Question 6

In women's prisons,the ____ role is occupied by sophisticated professional criminals,who try to do easy time by manipulating other inmates and the staff to their own advantage.

A) cool
B) right guy
C) square
D) life

Question 7

Totality-of-conditions rulings have been handed down against prison systems in three states.Which of the following is NOT one of those states?

A) Texas
B) Florida
C) Alabama
D) Arkansas

Question 8

A distinguishing feature of the inmate society in many women's prisons is the presence of:

A) interpersonal conflict.
B) interracial tension.
C) pseudofamilies.
D) all of the choices are correct.

Question 9

Until the middle of the 20th century,the courts followed a ____ philosophy toward prison matters.

A) collective bargaining
B) hands-off
C) rights of access
D) inmates' rights

Question 10

The equal-protection clause under the ____ Amendment has led the Supreme Court to forbid racial discrimination and has led state courts to target gender discrimination.

A) Eighth
B) First
C) Fifth
D) Fourteenth

Question 11

Instances of prison sex can be divided into three basic categories,which are listed below.Which one does NOT belong?

A) Consensual sex for gratification
B) Sexual assault
C) Voyeurism
D) Prostitution

Question 12

Women's prisons are usually not characterized by the ____ found in men's institutions.

A) antistaff mentality
B) interracial tension
C) violence
D) all of the choices are correct.

Question 13

Entering the ____ of the prison means finding in the diverse environment of the institution a niche that will accommodate the inmate's unique combination of needs.

A) sub-rosa economy
B) private culture
C) indigenous origins model
D) public domain

Question 14

A high percentage of lawsuits filed by inmates are judged:

A) valid and are therefore won in the trial stage.
B) frivolous and are lost in the trial stage.
C) valid, but not taken to trial due to lack of funding.
D) frivolous and are therefore dismissed.

Question 15

Researchers have identified four general ways in which correctional officers respond to their jobs.Three are listed below.Which is NOT one of the four general ways discussed in your text?

A) Some officers become overly authoritarian and confrontational.
B) Some officers adopt a human-services orientation toward their work.
C) Some officers become alienated, cynical, and withdrawn.
D) Some officers become excessively gossipy and talkative, and attempt to pry into the personal lives of inmates.

Question 16

The ____ model holds that the inmate society is shaped by factors external to the prison environment-specifically,the preprison experiences and socialization patterns that inmates bring with them when they enter prison.

A) importation
B) indigenous origins
C) prisonization
D) deprivation

Question 17

Inmates skilled in legal matters are known as:

A) snitches.
B) jailhouse lawyers.
C) square johns.
D) lifers.

Question 18

Inmates who adopt the ____ lifestyle are primarily concerned with getting out of prison as soon as possible and avoiding hard time in the process.

A) gleaning
B) public domain
C) jailing
D) doing time

Question 19

The term parole can

A) a way of being released from prison before the entire sentence has been served.
B) a type of sentence in which the offender must submit to intensive supervision in lieu of imprisonment.
C) both of the choices are correct.
D) none of the choices are correct.

Question 20

A ____is an institutional setting in which people are cut off from the wider society and are expected to live according to institutional rules and procedures.

A) medium-security prison
B) jail
C) furlough programs
D) total institution

Question 21

According to a recent national study of recidivism among state prisoners,what percent of nearly 300,000 former inmates released from prisons in 1994 were rearrested for a new offense within 3 years of their release?

A) 14.5
B) 46.5
C) 67.5
D) 81.5

Question 22

Shifting patterns in prison release indicate the strong emphasis placed on ____ during the 1980s and the use of ____ to structure early-release decisions.

A) determinate sentencing; statistical guidelines
B) parole boards; mandatory release
C) statistical guidelines; parole boards
D) determinate sentencing; parole boards

Question 23

One study on recidivism demonstrated that the inmates who adjusted most successfully to prison ____ to life in the free community upon release.

A) had the least difficulty adjusting
B) adjusted slowly, but most thoroughly
C) adjusted better than others
D) had the most difficulty adjusting

Question 24

Which of the following characteristics is common in both women and men's prisons?

A) high levels of violence
B) high levels of depersonalization
C) high levels of interpersonal conflict
D) high levels of interracial tensions

Question 25

Mandatory release is similar to ____ in that people let out under either arrangement ordinarily receive a period of community supervision.

A) maxing out
B) parole
C) commutation
D) determinate sentencing

Question 26

According to a recent comprehensive review of research that evaluated the effects of correctional interventions on recidivism rates,what percent of correctional interventions,on average,reduced recidivism rates?

A) 0
B) 10
C) 30
D) 50

Question 27

The parole authority may consist of three different people or groups of people,which are listed below.Which one does NOT belong?

A) A representative of the parole board
B) Members of a parole board
C) A probation officer
D) A parole board

Question 28

The results of research on recidivism indicate that the factor most strongly related to the likelihood of rearrest was:

A) socioeconomic class.
B) educational achievement.
C) prior arrest history.
D) family life and living conditions.

Question 29

Approximately what percent of all prison inmates will eventually be released from prison?

A) 74
B) 86
C) 93
D) 99

Question 30

According to a recent comprehensive review of research that evaluated the effects of correctional interventions on recidivism rates,which of the following types of interventions was most successful in reducing recidivism rates?

A) punishment-oriented correctional interventions
B) milieu therapies
C) work-study programs
D) cognitive-behavioral treatments

Question 31

What is the cause of death for the vast majority of prison inmates who are not eventually released from prison?

A) natural causes
B) execution
C) suicide
D) AIDS

Question 32

Depending on the jurisdiction,convicted felons lose a variety of civil rights.Which of the following is NOT a civil right commonly forfeited by convicted felons?

A) the right to vote
B) the right to hold public office
C) the right to serve on a grand or petit jury
D) all of the choices are rights that are commonly forfeited

Question 33

Which of the following items most often assumes the symbolic value of money in the sub-rosa economy of the prison?

A) food items
B) cigarettes
C) alcohol and other drugs
D) pornography

Question 34

According to a recent national study of recidivism among state prisoners,which of the following is NOT true?

A) men were more likely than women to be rearrested, reconvicted, resentenced to prison for a new crime, and returned to prison with or without a new prison sentence
B) blacks were more likely than whites to be rearrested, reconvicted, resentenced to prison for a new crime, and returned to prison with or without a new prison sentence
C) Older persons were more likely to be rearrested than younger persons
D) all of the choices are true

Question 35

According to a recent national study of recidivism among state prisoners,which of the following types of released prisoners had the highest rearrest rate?

A) motor vehicle thieves
B) murderers
C) rapists
D) people convicted of DUI

Question 36

According to a recent national study of recidivism among state prisoners,what percent of nearly 300,000 former inmates released from prisons in 1994 were returned to prison within 3 years of their release for a new offense or for a technical violation of release conditions?

A) 25.8
B) 51.8
C) 69.8
D) 84.8

Question 37

Which of the following is NOT a value or norm of the convict code?

A) inmates should mind their own affairs and do their own time
B) inmates should not inform the staff about the illicit activities of other prisoners
C) inmates should be indifferent to the staff and loyal to other convicts
D) all of the choices are values or norms of the convict code

Question 38

Which of the following statements is NOT true about the restoration of convicted felons' civil rights?

A) some rights are restored automatically
B) some rights are restored by executive or judicial proceedings
C) some rights are lost permanently
D) all of the choices are true

Question 39

What are vulnerable prison inmates known as?

A) "stiffs"
B) "gomers"
C) "punks"
D) "schmucks"

Question 40

Which of the following is NOT commonly cited as a reason for high rates of prison violence?

A) improper management and classification practices by staff
B) high levels of crowding and competition over resources
C) the young age of most inmates in many prisons
D) all of the choices are cited

Question 41

Match the Amendment with the inmates' right issue to which it is related.Answers may be used more than once.
a.First Amendment
b.Eighth Amendment
c.Fourteenth Amendment
Religious freedom

Question 42

Few inmates suffer from any psychological maladies.

Question 43

The process of importation occurs when an inmate enters prison for the first time,and is socialized into the customs and principles of the inmate society.

Question 44

Relatively few inmates adopt the gleaning lifestyle.

Question 45

In the modern prison,it is impossible to rely exclusively on force to gain compliance if mass inmate rebellion is to be avoided.

Question 46

Match the Amendment with the inmates' right issue to which it is related.Answers may be used more than once.
a.First Amendment
b.Eighth Amendment
c.Fourteenth Amendment
Staff brutality

Question 47

Your textbook names four types of victimization that occur in prisons.Name all four of them.

Question 48

Match the Amendment with the inmates' right issue to which it is related.Answers may be used more than once.
a.First Amendment
b.Eighth Amendment
c.Fourteenth Amendment
Totality of prison conditions

Question 49

The U.S.Supreme Court has moved to ensure that inmates receive all of the elements of due process during the disciplinary process.

Question 50

Match the Amendment with the inmates' right issue to which it is related.Answers may be used more than once.
a.First Amendment
b.Eighth Amendment
c.Fourteenth Amendment
Medical care

Question 51

Ordinarily,inmates want to get their cases into the state courts because they perceive those courts as more receptive to their claims than federal courts are.

Question 52

Research has shown that newly incarcerated offenders frequently express a preference for probation sentences over prison.

Question 53

Match the Amendment with the inmates' right issue to which it is related.Answers may be used more than once.
a.First Amendment
b.Eighth Amendment
c.Fourteenth Amendment
Equal protection under the law

Question 54

Match the Amendment with the inmates' right issue to which it is related.Answers may be used more than once.
a.First Amendment
b.Eighth Amendment
c.Fourteenth Amendment
Due process

Question 55

Central to the inmate society of traditional men's prisons in the United States is the convict code.

Question 56

Family activity and homosexual activity appear to be deeply connected in women's prisons.

Question 57

Match the Amendment with the inmates' right issue to which it is related.Answers may be used more than once.
a.First Amendment
b.Eighth Amendment
c.Fourteenth Amendment
Free speech

Question 58

Perhaps the strongest argument against court intervention for inmates' rights is that the monies being spent on inmate lawsuits and to comply with court orders could have been spent better to reform the unacceptable practices that sparked the suits in the first place.

Question 59

The Supreme Court has found that staff use of force against an inmate must cause a significant physical injury to violate the Eighth Amendment.

Question 60

Prisons long had the right to provide only the minimal conditions necessary for human survival.

Question 61

Explain the four typical ways in which inmates may be released from prison.

Question 62

Your textbook names five main problems and issues that affect the efforts to professionalize prison work.Name and explain four of these five problems.

Question 63

The Supreme Court has stated that inmates facing a loss of good time for a rule infraction are entitled to certain rights,but not to others.Name two rights to which they are entitled,and two to which they are not entitled.

Question 64

What has research revealed about the increase,decrease,or stability of recidivism rates? Give one statistical example to support this.