"It Ain't Home Base No More:" Sentencing Reform and Dynamic County Jail Inmate Politics. (September 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Caudill, Jonathan W.; Trulson, Chad R.; DeLisi, Matt; Marquart, James W.
• Is Part Of: Prison journal. Volume 102:Number 4(2022)
• Page Start: 417
• Page End: 438
• Publication Date: 2022-09
• Subjects: jails -- inmate politics -- inmate economy -- sentencing reform -- criminal justice; Prisons -- Periodicals; Prisons -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 365.6
• DOI: 10.1177/00328855221109805
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0032-8855

Abstract

Inmate politics in prisons has been well chronicled. Yet, little is known about the role of inmate politics in county jails. Utilizing data from a natural experiment and complied through longitudinal case study methods, this study observed the dynamic socio-political concepts of the county jail inmate environment that followed California's 2011 sentencing reform. Identifying those aspects of the jail inmate political system that shifted – enhancements in the role of race relations among inmates, an expansion of the inmate economy, and emergence of utilitarian violence – also permits a clearer understanding of the jail inmate political system.