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In the past two decades, the prison population has increased considerably in many industrialized countries. In the United States, for example, the prison population has more than quadrupled since 1980. As a response to the considerable incarceration costs, the number of private prisons and the number of prisoners working for private corporations have increased significantly. Proponents of private sector involvement in prison industries argue that inmate labour can reduce the incarceration costs and contribute to rehabilitation of prisoners. / The question of private sector involvement in prison facilities raises significant concerns as regards to international labour standards. Opponents of private sector involvement argue that private hiring of prison labour can involve exploitation. They also argue that the authority for punishment is a core governmental function that cannot be delegated to the private sector. Furthermore, in most cases, labour and social security laws are not applied to inmates. Therefore, prison labour can constitute unfair competition with free labour or even go as far as to replace free labour.

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Lightless Mornings: A Fine Legacy represents a personal interrogation and historical account of my great-great -great grandfather, W.D. McCurdy’s use of forced labor in his coalmines and cotton plantations in the Black Belt region of Alabama during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through personal research including interviews with other descendents of McCurdy, as well as scholarly research about the practice of convict leasing in Alabama, I explore dynamics of inheritance, economics, power, privilege, race, class, geography, history, family, and identity.

The overarching question under investigation in this thesis is the extent to which the ideals of penal management as espoused by both British and Colonial authorities were implemented in the day to day administration and management of a convict work force. The focus of the examination is the construction of Major Thomas Mitchell’s line of road between Mt. Victoria and Bathurst in the 1830’s. Specifically the thesis documents the various sites on the line of road with a particular emphasis on the administrative centre and principal facility, No. 2 Stockade Cox’s River, to explain the dynamic interaction of the network and its role in the penal repertoire of New South Wales. In bringing together a large range of sources the thesis has enabled the first thorough reading of the convict sites associated with the Western road. This has led to a multi-dimensional understanding of the place, its people, and the process of its construction. It provides a basis for future scholarship on this neglected network, located almost at the doorstep of greater Sydney, on the western fringe of the Blue Mountains. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Univ., Diss.-2005--Würzburg, 2004. / Literaturverz. S. 182 - 204.

This master's thesis aims to identify the issues that prisons' caretakers face in their workplace. Furthermore, the thesis analyzes approaches and methods used to resolve the issues. Following the findings, this thesis aims to summarize the prison caretakers' needs to make their work more comfortable and the caretakers more competent when facing described issues. The theoretical part summarizes the findings on prison caretakers' work with convicted persons during the execution of custodial sentences in a perspective of social pedagogy. The empirical part presents the results of qualitative research aiming to answer the main research question "What kind of issues the prisons' caretakers face and how do they resolve these issues?". To answer this question, the qualitative research based on semi-structured interviews with nine prisons' caretakers from different prisons was selected. The open-ended interview answers were coded and analyzed. The main finding of this research is that prisons' caretakers are facing two different kinds of issues. Firstly, there are issues closely connected to contact with convicted persons such as conflicts, aggression, and drug abuse, and drug dealing. Secondly, unrelated to the contact with convicted persons, the prisons' caretakers are facing excessive administration,...

Almost 2,000 males, who have been convicted of crimes covering the gamut of criminal activities, are institutionalized in the state prison in Johnson County, Tennessee. These inmates, housed in the confines of a few concrete buildings, represent a society that is dissimilar from the free-world society. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine the characteristics of an inmate leader. Research data were collected through interviews with 20 prisoners located in the Northeast Correctional Complex in Mountain City, Tennessee. Inmate leaders, selected for the study, included gang leaders and non-gang leaders. Interviews were tape recorded and transcribed for the data analysis. To capture the essence of the interviews, interpretivism was used for the analysis. A holistic view allowed certain overlapping themes to be isolated. Findings were presented thematically as they answered specific research questions. Past experiences of inmates and the prisonization process gave them a unique and different understanding of leadership. To serve in a leadership role, the inmates determined that the person had to be trustworthy, follow the code of silence and show respect for fellow inmates in the carceral setting. Gang leaders had a greater focus on coercion and power in their roles as leaders. The controlled prison environment conditioned the inmates to a survival mode. Inmate Larry encapsulated life on the other side of the fence: “Prison is what you make it.” Recommendations included researching the leadership traits of juveniles in the correctional system. This data could be useful in re-directing the leadership energies of these youths. A study of leadership traits identified by females in the correctional justice system would provide information on how the traits are shaped by gender, prisonization, or a life with little exposure to leadership role models.

This study focuses on opportunities and difficulties for ex-convicts who want to leave the criminal lifestyle behind and to reintegrate into society. The most effective way of staying out of criminality is getting employment. But with today's stigmatisation of ex-convict in the labour market it is challenging for them to even get an interview or an employment. Because of this it leaves them no choice for them but to continue on the criminal pathway. In this study we will be interviewing employers of organisations who work with ex-convicts who want to leave that lifestyle behind them. What challenges are ahead of the ex-convicts, what setbacks they may meet and how they can help ex-convicts to be appealing in the labour market. The results show us that if the ex-criminals are committed enough they can definitely turn their life around and get employment. With the help of organisations who specialise in helping ex-convicts finding employment there is definitely a way. These organisations also help and guide them to live a drug and criminal free lifestyle to help them not recidivism.

Existe-t-il un mythe littéraire du forçat ? Peut-on dire que le roman de forçat est un genre voire un sous-genre littéraire ? A ces deux problématiques nous tentons de répondre dans notre thèse. Nous donnons tout d’abord une définition historique, sociale et physiologique du forçat, puis, en nous appuyant sur la notion de « bassin sémantique » établie par Gilbert Durand, nous analysons différents mythes et mythèmes tels que le diable, Napoléon ou encore le surhomme. Ce qui nous amène à la conclusion suivante que le forçat est bien un mythe littéraire. En prenant ensuite comme paradigme le roman de Ponson du Terrail, Le Bagne de Toulon, nous établissons une grille de lecture des thèmes et motifs récurrents – le bagne, l’évasion, la paternité, la poursuite ou encore la vengeance - que l’on peut trouver dans les romans où cette figure apparaît. Nous voyons enfin comment ce personnage est représenté dans la littérature étrangère et les formes qu’il a pu prendre depuis la période classique jusqu’à nos jours, galérien, bagnard et prisonnier. Nous montrons également qu’il a trouvé sa place aussi bien dans le théâtre que le cinéma et qu’il s’est imposé en tant que héros de la paralittérature : polar, science-fiction, western, roman d’aventures, bande-dessinée, etc. Par ailleurs, nous examinons, à travers l’œuvre d’Albert Londres et Henri Charrière, comment le récit de témoignage a contribué à la renaissance du roman de forçat. Le roman de forçat a encore de beaux jours devant lui comme l’illustrent les réécritures d’œuvres célèbres telles que Les Misérables ou Le Comte de Monte Cristo. / Is there such thing as a literary myth about the convict ? Can we say that literature dealing with convicts is a genre or even a sub-genre? These are the two issues we will adress in our thesis. First we give a historical, social and physiological definition of the convict ; the notion of “bassin sémantique” as established by Gilbert Durand, helps us analyse different myths and mythemes, such as the devil, Napoleon or even the superman and this leads us to the conclusion that the convict as a literary myth does exist. Secondly, we use the Bagne de Toulon by Ponson du Terrail as a pattern to discuss the recurrent themes and motives pervading the novels where such a figure appears : penal colony, escape, paternity, pursuit or even revenge. At last ,we consider the way this character is represented in foreign literature and the different forms it has taken since the classical period until to-day, whether it be galley slave, convict or prisoner. We also show that it is also present in other genres such as the theatre or the cinema and that it features prominently in marginal literature : detective novel, science-fiction, western, adventure story, comic strip. Besides, we examine how the accounts of Albert Londres and Henry Charrière contributed to a rebirth of the convict novel for which , as is illustrated by the rewriting of famous works such as les Misérables or The Count of Monte Cristo there are good times ahead .