Thesis (M.A.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-130). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

La prison, comme lieu atypique et milieu hors norme, est généralement perçue comme un isolat, qui crée une discontinuité dans son territoire d’implantation. En articulant des approches sociologique et géographique, cette thèse montre au contraire l’existence d’un continuum territorial entre le milieu carcéral et les milieux résidentiels d’origine des détenus. Celui-ci est appréhendé à différentes échelles et à partir de données quantitatives et qualitatives. Une étude statistique et cartographique permet d’identifier et de qualifier les milieux résidentiels d’origine des détenus en Île-de-France : elle dégage les structures démographiques et sociales, écologiques et spatiales du système de lieux que forme la prison avec ces lieux urbains. Des entretiens avec des détenus et d’anciens détenus ont également été réalisés dans une maison d’arrêt de banlieue parisienne et dans quelques-uns de leurs quartiers d’origine. Les récits recueillis relatent leurs expériences résidentielles avant, pendant et après leur séjour en prison, et donnent à voir de manière synchronique et diachronique leur vécu de la discontinuité entre l’intérieur et l’extérieur. Une analyse croisée de ces récits, assortie d’observations du quotidien en détention, montre comment la prison est marquée par les caractéristiques sociales et résidentielles de son peuplement. / Prison, as an unusual place and extraordinary habitat, is generally perceived as an isolate, which creates a discontinuity in its territory of implantation. This thesis articulates sociological and geographical approaches and shows instead the existence of a territorial continuum between prisons and inmates’ residential areas of origin. This phenomenon is studied at different scales, with quantitative and qualitative data. A statistical and mapping study identifies and describes inmates’ residential areas of origin in the Paris region: it shows the socio-demographic, ecological, and spatial structures of the system of places that the prison forms with these urban places. I also conducted interviews with prisoners and ex-prisoners inside a jail in the region and in some of their neighborhoods of origin. The stories collected recount their residential experiences before, during and after their stay in prison, and show synchronously and diachronically how they live the discontinuity between inside and outside. A cross analysis of these narratives, together with observations of everyday life in detention, reveals how the prison is marked by the social and residential characteristics of its population.

A la fin du XIXème siècle, sauf à l’intérieur de quelques garnisons et forts de traite européens de la côte, les prisons étaient méconnues en Afrique. Aujourd’hui, 50 ans après les indépendances, les Etats africains utilisent encore massivement le système pénitentiaire légué par les colonisateurs. Comme le rappellent toujours les prisons surpeuplées, le système carcéral s’étend désormais sur l’ensemble des sociétés au sud du Sahara. Aujourd’hui encore ce réseau architectural colonial n’a point été détruit ni remplacé. Il fournit d’ailleurs la majeure partie des bâtiments utilisés par le régime pénal des Etats contemporains. D’autre part, les arsenaux juridiques utilisés s’inspirent de ceux du système colonial et la prison fait partie d’un ensemble plus vaste d’institutions héritées de la colonisation qui sont toujours fonctionnelles dans ce contexte où la tradition est toujours présente. C’est au regard du surpeuplement des prisons au Mali, des conditions inhumaines d’incarcération et de détention et des textes dépassés et inadaptés qui les régissent que nous avons voulu réfléchir à une possible réforme dont les autorités ont toujours parlé, mais qui n’est jamais faite. Il s’agit, dans les présentes recherches, d’examiner l’histoire sociale, culturelle et politique des arsenaux répressifs apparus au Mali depuis l’esclavage au XIXème siècle jusqu’aux prisons actuelles. Il s’agit d’une tentative de compréhension des aspects intellectuels et philosophiques de la prison et l’enfermement dans la tradition des ethnies et des terroirs du Mali, ce qui nous permettra de réfléchir sur la pratique des institutions coloniales de répression dans la vie quotidienne des populations et d’analyser l’actualité des prisons au quotidien pour voir s’il est possible d’avoir des prisons humanisées reposant sur des concepts de justice traditionnelle d’une part, et d’autre part, sur des normes internationalement reconnues en la matière. Cette recherche vise surtout à comprendre les supports sociologiques d’une réforme des prisons au Mali et à répondre à des questions de légitimité qui cherchent à savoir sur quoi doit reposer la réforme : sur la tradition ou sur la modernité ou sur les deux ? En outre, elle sert à se faire une idée sur la faisabilité d’une réforme et à édifier sur l’utilité sociale de la prison dans une société qui ne l’a pas toujours connu et dont la pauvreté incite à imaginer des solutions novatrices et simples qui visent à donner un mieux vivre aux populations, à toutes les populations aussi bien à l’extérieur qu’à l’intérieur des centres de détention. L’objectif visé est de contribuer à un projet global de bonne gestion de la société malienne, car les programmes de développement initiés dans nos pays africains, mettent en marge le développement de la vie en prison. Pourtant, en prison, vivent aussi des hommes qui doivent être pris en compte par les Etats dans les programmes, les projets de réforme. C’est là, notre ambition de contribuer aux initiatives pouvant aider à développer le pays, à donner aux populations partout où elles se trouvent, le sens de la vie, la considération, enfin à permettre de cerner la place de la prison dans le vaste chantier de la réforme de l’État. Il s’agit donc de réfléchir au lien entre réforme de l’Etat et réforme de la prison, d’autant plus que la réforme pénitentiaire est transversale et ne peut atteindre la légitimité souhaitée sans toucher à beaucoup d’autres secteurs de la société comme la sécurité, la santé, la pauvreté, l’emploi etc. / At the end of the twentieth century, prisons were unknown in Africa except in a few garrison towns and European forts involved in slave trade. Today, fifty years after they achieve their independence, African countries are massively applying the prison system left by the former colonizers. Overpopulated prisons are good indicators that the penitentiary system extends to the whole of the societies in the Southern part of Sahara. Today still, this colonial architectural network has not been demolished or replaced as shown by the majority of the buildings still in place in contemporary States. Legal arsenals have also been inspired by those of the colonial system; the prison is part of a larger grid of institutions inherited from the colonization, which are still functional in an environment where tradition remains vibrant.In view of the overcrowded prisons, inhuman conditions of detention and incarceration, and inadequate and outdated legal texts, we aim at reflecting on a possible reform, which authorities have always desired to institute but never did. We seek to examine the political, cultural and social history of the repressive arsenals that have been in use in Mali since the period of slavery in the 20th century to the present prisons. Our objective is to understand the intellectual and philosophical aspects of the prison -and imprisonment- in the ethnic and regional tradition of Mali; such research will allow us to consider the influence of the colonial repressive institutions in the everyday life of the population, and to analyze the daily agenda of the prisons so as to evaluate the possibility of making prisons more human on the basis of traditional justice concepts and internationally recognized norms. Such research aims at understanding the sociological basis for a prison reform in Mali and answer those who question the legitimacy of such a reform: shall it be based on tradition or modernity or both? Moreover, this research will help to determine whether such reform would be feasible, and to enlighten on the social utility of prisons in a society that has not always known them and whose poverty incites to envision new and simple solutions, which aim at giving a better life to the population, both inside and outside detention centers. Our ultimate objective is to contribute to a global project for a good management of Malian society while we observe that the development programs that have been initiated in African countries put improvement of life in prison at the margin. Yet, human beings also live in prison and therefore, States must take them into account in their programs and reform projects. This is precisely our motivation, which is to contribute to initiatives that may impact on the development of this country, and give to the population the sense of life and consideration as well as an understanding of the place of the prisons in the vast area of State reforms. This means that we need to reflect on the link between State reform and prison reform, even more as the prison reform is a transversal issue, which cannot be legitimate if it does not consider many other sectors in society including security, health, poverty, employment, etc.

In Japan, the prison population has been aging at a pace far exceeding the general population. This rapid aging has increased the costs in all aspects of prison administration, which has become a great burden on the Japanese prison system. However, little has been clear about the causes of the current explosion of elderly prisoners. This study explores factors affecting the aging prison population, and examines the extent to which three main possible causes affect the aging prison population: the elderly population growth in general society, increased criminal behavior of elderly people, and legal harshness by the criminal justice organizations, such as kinds of sentences and lengths of imprisonment. This study adopts a longitudinal design, using three kinds of cross-sectional annual data sources aggregated for the whole country of Japan during 20 years from 1988 to 2007. The findings indicate that while the the non-elderly prison population growth has been caused by harsher legal attitudes, the main reason for the elderly prison population growth is increased criminal behavior itself.

This thesis examines the history of legal and illegal narcotics in the United States. This thesis explores the impact criminalizing drug use has on communities of color. The current criminal justice system seeks to correct behavior society and the law deems deviant but has not proven to be effective as shown by rates of recidivism. The present research uses a literature review to investigate how alternative dispute resolution practices and prison abolition meet the needs of the criminal justice system. The purpose of this thesis is to examine two proposed reforms: one that would abolish prison sentences except in cases where offenders pose a high risk to public safety, and another that would employ conflict resolution techniques to serve the retributive, and rehabilitative purposes of the criminal sanction. This thesis will suggest that these proposed reforms, if undertaken concurrently, will likely shrink the US prison population while advancing penal goals.

O trabalho identifica e analisa a relação entre prisão e tempo, a partir das perspectivas dos agentes sociais envolvidos nos contextos penitenciários – Juízes, Administradores de estabelecimentos carcerários e Presos. Os dados coletados, os quais têm como eixo o instituto da remição da pena privativa de liberdade, identificam as dinâmicas e estratégias de capitalização do tempo prisional e da disciplina dos apenados. A pesquisa permite uma percepção mais crítica da complexidade dos ambientes carcerários, desvelando dinâmicas de temporalização – experiência e sensação social do tempo – que estão inseridas num contexto permeado por conflitos e estratégias de dominação entre os agentes sociais e no qual se identificam processos compatíveis com uma noção de campo (no sentido Bourdieusiano) e seu correlato jogo. / This paper work identifies and analyzes the relationship between prison and time, from the perspectives of the social agents' involved in the penitentiary contexts - Judges, prison establishments administrators and prisoners. The collected data, which have as axis the institute of the redemption of the private penalty of freedom, identifies the dynamics and strategies of capitalization of the detention time and the discipline of the prisoners. The research allows a more critic perception of the complexity of the prison atmospheres, revealing temporary dynamics - experience and social time sensation - that are inserted in a conflicts permeated context and domination strategies among social agents which identify suitable processes with a field notion (in the sense Bourdieusiano) and its correlates game.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A tese analisa a relação entre trabalho prisional e ressocialização. Demonstra- que, embora o discurso jurídico-penal afirme que uma das finalidades da pena privativa de liberdade é reinserir o condenado na sociedade, após o cumprimento de sua pena, esse desiderato não é efetivamente alcançado e o discurso resta deslegitimado, sendo que o trabalho prisional não mostra-se capaz de inverter essa lógica. Sustenta-se, ainda, na tese, que, a prisão, estigmatiza, prisoniza, degrada, produz e reproduz a criminalidade, destinando-se a um segmento determinado dentro da sociedade, representado pelos miseráveis, ou consumidores, falhos, que não habilitando-os ao trabalho quando egressos do sistema prisional. O nascimento da prisão, o modo como estruturou-se associada ao trabalho, a apropriação que o Direito fez dessa instituição, e a sua prevalência, enquanto punição na atualidade, premissas necessárias, a compreensão deste complexo fenômeno. / The analysis identified the relationship between arrest, prison labor and re-socialisation. Consist in the main question developed into this work. For the purposes of its argument, although the legal-criminal speech affirms that one of the aim in punishment without freedom is reinsert the convict into society, after fulfiled the terms of your penalty, this desideratum is effectively not reached and the speech not remains legitimate, being that prison labor does not show itself capable of reversing this logic. During the narrative, the arrest destining itself to definitive segment of the society, represented for the villains, or consumers defective, is unable to re-socialize, creates a stigma, excludes from society, debases social coexistence, in addition to producing and reproducing crime, who are not qualified to work when they leave the prison system. These thesis evaluate the birth of the arrest, the way as it was structuralized, the Laws appropriation of this institution and its prevalence, just similar to punishment in the present time.

Este estudo procura compreender como os detentos elaboram a vida cotidiana na prisão e, em que medida o acesso aos dispositivos da educação e da religião disponíveis no cárcere podem contribuir para a reintegração social do indivíduo recluso. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida na perspectiva de que a população carcerária é constituída majoritariamente de pessoas marcadas pela vulnerabilidade social e que não tiveram acesso aos direitos fundamentais ao exercício da cidadania. Para estes indivíduos, o espaço escolar é percebido como espaço de sociabilidade e também de oportunidade de mudança, uma vez que, possibilita vislumbrar caminhos alternativos à vida criminal. As observações foram realizadas em quatro escolas localizadas em unidades prisionais do Rio de Janeiro. Trata-se de um estudo de caráter etnográfico que utiliza a narrativa dos presidiários sobre educação e religião como recurso metodológico. Através de depoimentos e entrevistas, procura identificar experiências que produziram significados no contexto das escolas existentes no interior das prisões e que revelam formas de elaboração da vida cotidiana pelos alunos detentos. / This studys intention is to understand how inmates elaborate their everyday life in prison and to what extend education and religion available prisons facilities can contribute to the social re-education of these incarcerated persons. The research have been conducted under the perspective that the prison population is manly composed by persons who have been marked by social vulnerability and not given the access to the fundamental rights and citizenship. For those persons, the prison school is seen as a place of sociability and as an opportunity of change as well, once it portrays alternative ways to criminal life. The observation was done in four different schools locate in prisons units in Rio de Janeiro. This paper has an ethnographic perspective that uses prisoners narratives about education and religion as a methodological resource. Thru testimonies and interviews it seeks to indentify experiences that have produced meaning and reveal ways to elaborate everyday life by the inmate-students in the context of the schools inside the prison system.

O trabalho identifica e analisa a relação entre prisão e tempo, a partir das perspectivas dos agentes sociais envolvidos nos contextos penitenciários – Juízes, Administradores de estabelecimentos carcerários e Presos. Os dados coletados, os quais têm como eixo o instituto da remição da pena privativa de liberdade, identificam as dinâmicas e estratégias de capitalização do tempo prisional e da disciplina dos apenados. A pesquisa permite uma percepção mais crítica da complexidade dos ambientes carcerários, desvelando dinâmicas de temporalização – experiência e sensação social do tempo – que estão inseridas num contexto permeado por conflitos e estratégias de dominação entre os agentes sociais e no qual se identificam processos compatíveis com uma noção de campo (no sentido Bourdieusiano) e seu correlato jogo. / This paper work identifies and analyzes the relationship between prison and time, from the perspectives of the social agents' involved in the penitentiary contexts - Judges, prison establishments administrators and prisoners. The collected data, which have as axis the institute of the redemption of the private penalty of freedom, identifies the dynamics and strategies of capitalization of the detention time and the discipline of the prisoners. The research allows a more critic perception of the complexity of the prison atmospheres, revealing temporary dynamics - experience and social time sensation - that are inserted in a conflicts permeated context and domination strategies among social agents which identify suitable processes with a field notion (in the sense Bourdieusiano) and its correlates game.