Iowa began building its first prison before achieving statehood, and women were sentenced to penitentiaries prior to the establishment of plans for their own housing. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, incarcerated women transitioned through a series of institutions and confinement environments, often as the result of persistent overcrowding, underfunding, discriminatory laws or practices or to make room for incarcerated men. Early in Iowa's correctional history, women disproportionately served time for crimes considered to be against public decency, such as prostitution, lewdness and incorrigibility. Over time, their conditions and crimes evolved, but incarcerated women continually faced obstacles, such as access to treatment and programming, adequate facilities and opportunities for reentry and reform. Author Erica Spiller dives deep into this intriguing history.
2023 Midwest Book Awards in Nonfiction - History, Regional, winner On a moonlit night in 1889, Iowa farmer John Elkins and his young wife, Hattie, were brutally murdered in their bed. Eight days later, their son, eleven-year-old Wesley Elkins, was arrested and charged with murder. The community reeled with shock by both the gruesome details of the homicides and the knowledge of the accused perpetrator—a small, quiet boy weighing just 75 pounds. Accessible and fast-moving, The Plea delivers a complete, complex, and nuanced narrative of this horrific crime, while shedding light on the legal, social, and political environment of Iowa and the country in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The women’s movement and increasing social consciousness regarding gender disparity and discrimination has helped to make gains over the past several decades to reduce gender disparity for women in the workplace. However, gender discrimination and disparity continue to exist. Women continue to receive lower wages, and fewer opportunities for promotion and professional advancement – and this is particularly true in male dominated professions such as criminal justice. Building on original qualitative data, this book explores the experiences of female criminal justice professionals who have risen to the top of their professional ladders. The book includes first-hand narrative accounts of high ranking successful professional women working across a range of fields such as policing, courts, corrections, victim and restorative justice services and criminal justice research agencies in the United States and Canada. This book highlights the barriers that successful female criminal justice professionals have to overcome to obtain their positions, and identifies key themes that these women see as having allowed them to break through those barriers and to navigate their professional environments. This book provides students interested in entering the criminal justice field – and working professionals already in the field – with knowledge about women who have risen through the ranks and up the professional ladder to break through the glass and the brass ceilings of their profession.
America's two million incarcerated men, women, and youth live in a hidden, isolated world filled with depression, anxiety, hostility, and violence. But the nation's soaring prison population has not been forgotten by a dedicated network of visual artists, writers, poets, dancers, musicians, and actors who teach the arts in correctional settings. This anthology compiles the narratives of several accomplished arts-in-corrections teachers who share their personal experiences, philosophies, and bittersweet anecdotes, as well as practical advice, survival skills, and program evaluation guidelines. Teaching the Arts Behind Bars is an invaluable tool for artists, program administrators, and corrections professionals, and a testament to the power of creative expression in promoting communication, positive social interaction, inner healing, and self-esteem.
A thorough bibliography with some annotations when the title does not describe the material. Arrangement is in 25 alphabetically sequenced subject categories. Four classes of material are excluded: genealogies, newspaper articles, manuscripts, audio-visual materials. Indexed by personal name and sub
Several encyclopedias overview the contemporary system of criminal justice in America, but full understanding of current social problems and contemporary strategies to deal with them can come only with clear appreciation of the historical underpinnings of those problems. Thus, this five-volume work surveys the history and philosophy of crime, punishment, and criminal justice institutions in America from colonial times to the present. It covers the whole of the criminal justice system, from crimes, law enforcement and policing, to courts, corrections and human services. Among other things, this encyclopedia: explicates philosophical foundations underpinning our system of justice; charts changing patterns in criminal activity and subsequent effects on legal responses; identifies major periods in the development of our system of criminal justice; and explores in the first four volumes - supplemented by a fifth volume containing annotated primary documents - evolving debates and conflicts on how best to address issues of crime and punishment. Its signed entries in the first four volumes--supplemented by a fifth volume containing annotated primary documents--provide the historical context for students to better understand contemporary criminological debates and the contemporary shape of the U.S. system of law and justice.
Exploring Corrections in America provides a thorough introduction to the topic of corrections in America. In addition to providing complete coverage of the history and structure of corrections, it offers a balanced account of the issues facing the field so that readers can arrive at informed opinions regarding the process of corrections in America. Each chapter is enhanced by an outline, "what you need to know," internet links, photos, boxes, "ethics focus," discussion questions, and further readings.
Beginning with sentencing and offender classification and proceeding to parole and reentry, American Corrections: Theory, Research, Policy, and Practice, Third Edition walks students through the entire correctional system and its processes and is the easy choice for undergraduate corrections courses. Important Notice: The digital edition of this book is missing some of the images or content found in the physical edition.
This book presents an up-to-date analysis of women as victims of crime, as individuals under justice system supervision, and as professionals in the field. The text features an empowerment approach that is unified by underlying themes of the intersection of gender, race, and class; and evidence-based research. Personal narratives supplement research and statistics to help students connect the text material with real-life situations. This new edition is informed by consideration of major ongoing social movements such as #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, and the fight to reduce mass incarceration. The text stresses contemporary topics such as recognition of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues in juvenile and adult facilities; the introduction of trauma-informed care in detention centers and prisons; the criminalization of Black girls and women; the effects of an increasingly militarized police culture; and the contributions of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and other influential women. With its emphasis on critical thinking, this text is ideal for undergraduate courses concerning women in the justice system.
This updated third edition of Legal Aspects of Corrections Management provides a current, informative, and reader-friendly discussion of the contemporary legal issues impacting corrections management. Through the use of case law, this text provides readers with a practical understanding of how the First, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments relate to the day-to-day issues of running a prison, jail, and other corrections programs, such as probation and parole. The authors' combined corrections experience included such positions as General Counsel, Regional Counsel, and Correctional Program Officer, as well as working within corrections facilities. Their work involved advising corrections staff and management on the legal issues associated with policies and procedures. The authors also have extensive teaching experience in corrections law, the criminal justice system, and criminology. The benefits of such experiences are reflected in the comprehensive coverage of topics in this accessible and updated Third Edition. New to the Third Edition: -Cases and statistical information have been thoroughly updated. -Contains many new photos and figures throughout -New sections include: *Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) *Double Jeopardy *DNA Collection *Searches of Non-Inmates *Legal Challenges to the Method of Execution *Standards of Employee Conduct *Fair Labor Standards Act *Portal-to-Portal Act *Title VII and Inmate-Created Hostile Work Environment *The Americans with Disabilities Act *Death Penalty for Juvenile Offenders Key Features: -Includes engaging real-world examples of common problems and occurrences in corrections to provide students and practitioners with a good understanding of the legal aspects of corrections management. -Provides insight into the legal steps that should be anticipated in a correctional lawsuit. -Provides an accessible and easy-to-understand collection of Supreme Court and significant lower court rulings on key issues in corrections. With the focus on Supreme Court cases, the text has applicability nationwide. -Focuses on constitutional issues affecting such areas as inmate correspondence, visiting, and religion (First Amendment); search and seizure, privacy (Fourth Amendment); due process (Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments); equal protection (Fourteenth Amendment); and the death penalty, conditions of confinement (cruel and unusual punishment), and health care (Eighth Amendment). -Includes coverage of statutory and administrative law, as well as chapters on probation and parole, jails, juveniles, privatization, and the loss of rights of convicted persons. -Includes examples of relevant documents, such as a civil complaint; a sample presentence investigation report; a listing of inmate rights and responsibilities; of misconduct charges; and of mission statements for departments of corrections.
