What's Cookin'?: an Analysis of Food As a Method of Control in the Penal System

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

What's Cookin'?: an Analysis of Food As a Method of Control in the Penal System The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Master's Theses Summer 2019 What's Cookin'?: An Analysis of Food as a Method of Control in the Penal System Zoe Livengood University of Southern Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses Part of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, and the Food Studies Commons Recommended Citation Livengood, Zoe, "What's Cookin'?: An Analysis of Food as a Method of Control in the Penal System" (2019). Master's Theses. 657. https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/657 This Masters Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WHAT’S COOKIN’?: AN ANALYSIS OF FOOD AS A METHOD OF CONTROL IN THE PENAL SYSTEM by Zoe K. Livengood A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School, the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Criminal Justice, Forensic Science and Security at The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved by: Dr. William W. Johnson, Committee Chair Dr. Joshua Hill Dr. Laura Gulledge Dr. Jennifer Lemacks ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ Dr. William W. Johnson Dr. Lisa Nored Dr. Karen S. Coats Committee Chair Director of School Dean of the Graduate School August 2019 COPYRIGHT BY Zoe K. Livengood 2019 Published by the Graduate School ABSTRACT According to Garland (2001), the U.S. correctional system is a reflection of the culture of control that exists in American society. One way the correctional system exerts control is through food. This concept partnered with Foucault’s ideas about the evolution of punishment and the criminal justice system as an institution creates the theoretical foundation for food as a method of control in the correctional system. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis, this study examined food as a method of control in three southern Mississippi jails in order to understand how food is a contested space for control between jail staff and inmates. After interviewing and surveying inmates and staff, the researcher was able to propose a model in which inmates and staff use food as a method of control, but mostly indirectly. Both inmates and staff use food in order to shape identity. The results of this research can be used to influence correctional food best practices. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to extend my sincerest thanks to my committee members Dr. Laura Gulledge and Dr. Jennifer Lemacks for helping with project development and editing and revising multiple drafts of this thesis. A special thanks to my committee co-chairs Dr. William W. Johnson and Dr. Joshua Hill for their extra special attention and effort put forth for this project. My friend and colleague, Kayce Lowe, has also been a source of tremendous support during this process. This thesis would not have been possible without these individuals and the support from the School of Criminal Justice, Forensic Science and Security at this university. iii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this thesis to my parents, James and Lisa Livengood. Their never-ending love and support has always inspired me to work hard and push forward. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ............................................................................................. ix CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER II – LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................... 11 Corrections as an Institution: Penal Welfarism and the Evolving Culture of Control.. 11 The Culture of Control .................................................................................................. 13 Food and Control .......................................................................................................... 17 Correctional system control ...................................................................................... 17 Corruption and cutbacks ....................................................................................... 20 Food as punishment .............................................................................................. 22 Security ................................................................................................................. 24 Inmate control ........................................................................................................... 25 Taking control of identity ..................................................................................... 25 Forming relationships ........................................................................................... 27 Resistance and role reversal .................................................................................. 28 Individual Resistance ........................................................................................ 29 v Group Resistance .............................................................................................. 32 Control over other inmates and the sub rosa economy ......................................... 33 Preliminary Conclusions and Research Questions ....................................................... 37 CHAPTER III – METHODS ............................................................................................ 40 Setting ........................................................................................................................... 40 Participants .................................................................................................................... 40 Data Collection ............................................................................................................. 41 Staff ........................................................................................................................... 41 Inmates ...................................................................................................................... 41 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 42 Qualitative Data ........................................................................................................ 42 Quantitative Data ...................................................................................................... 44 CHAPTER IV - RESULTS .............................................................................................. 46 Quantitative Multivariate Analysis ............................................................................... 46 Qualitative Analysis ...................................................................................................... 52 Inmate Responses...................................................................................................... 56 Correctional Staff Responses .................................................................................... 59 CHAPTER V – DISCUSSION ......................................................................................... 61 CHAPTER VI – CONCLUSION AND PROPOSED MODEL ....................................... 74 Policy Implications ....................................................................................................... 76 vi Limitations .................................................................................................................... 78 Future Research ............................................................................................................ 81 APPENDIX A – Facility Letter Example ......................................................................... 83 APPENDIX B – IRB Acceptance Letter .......................................................................... 84 APPENDIX C – Staff Survey ........................................................................................... 85 APPENDIX D – Staff Interview ....................................................................................... 87 APPENDIX E – Inmate Survey ........................................................................................ 89 APPENDIX F – Inmate Interview .................................................................................... 92 APPENDIX G – Inmate and Correctional Control ATLAS.ti Network ........................... 93 APPENDIX H – Loss of Individualism ATLAS.ti Network ............................................ 94 APPENDIX I – Loss of Identity ATLAS.ti Network ....................................................... 95 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 96 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Topics Covered in Surveys and Interviews ........................................................
Recommended publications
  • Food in Prison: an Eighth Amendment Violation Or Permissible Punishment?
    University of South Dakota USD RED Honors Thesis Theses, Dissertations, and Student Projects Spring 2020 Food In Prison: An Eighth Amendment Violation or Permissible Punishment? Natasha M. Clark University of South Dakota Follow this and additional works at: https://red.library.usd.edu/honors-thesis Part of the Courts Commons, Food and Drug Law Commons, Human Rights Law Commons, and the Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons Recommended Citation Clark, Natasha M., "Food In Prison: An Eighth Amendment Violation or Permissible Punishment?" (2020). Honors Thesis. 109. https://red.library.usd.edu/honors-thesis/109 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, and Student Projects at USD RED. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Thesis by an authorized administrator of USD RED. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FOOD IN PRISON: AN EIGHTH AMENDMENT VIOLATION OR PERMISSIBLE PUNISHMENT? By Natasha Clark A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the University Honors Program Department of Criminal Justice The University of South Dakota Graduation May 2020 The members of the Honors Thesis Committee appointed to examine the thesis of Natasha Clark find it satisfactory and recommend that it be accepted. Professor Sandy McKeown Associate Professor of Criminal Justice Director of the Committee Professor Thomas Horton Professor & Heidepriem Trial Advocacy Fellow Dr. Thomas Mrozla Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice ii ABSTRACT FOOD IN PRISON: AN EIGHTH AMENDMENT VIOLATION OR PERMISSIBLE PUNISHMENT? Natasha Clark Director: Prof. Sandy McKeown, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice This piece analyzes aspects such as; Eighth Amendment provisions, penology, case law, privatization and monopoly, and food law, that play into the constitutionality of privatized prisons using food as punishment.
    [Show full text]
  • Food Service Privatization in Michigan's Prisons: Observations of Corrections Officers
    Food Service Privatization in Michigan’s Prisons: Observations of Corrections Officers March, 2016 Roland Zullo, Ph.D. Associate Research Scientist Institute for Research on Labor, Employment and the Economy University of Michigan 734-998-0156 [email protected] This research was funded by the Institute for Research on Labor, Employment and the Economy (IRLEE) at the University of Michigan. I gratefully thank the Michigan Corrections Officers (MCO) for their cooperation and assistance. The MCO recruited participants, arranged interview locations, and reimbursed participants for travel. I also thank the following staff at IRLEE for research assistance: Breana Morton-Holt, Saku Floyd, Andrew Young, James Hendrickson and Rebecca Maher. 1 Table of Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 4 Research Purpose .......................................................................................................................... 6 Data and Methods ......................................................................................................................... 6 A Controversial Inception ............................................................................................................ 7 Questionable Performance and Escalating Price ..................................................................... 10 Reading and Interpreting Officer Testimony ........................................................................... 11
    [Show full text]
  • PRISON FOOD RECIPES and TECHNIQUES.Pdf
    PRISON FOOD RECIPES AND TECHNIQUES Prison food is notoriously terrible, and it's not like you can go out to a drive-thru when you get hungry between meal-times. But prison inmates are famous for their amazing creativity — and when they're not making shivs and other improvised weapons, they're creating some truly bizarre food items. Here are 10 food items that you could make from scratch if you pulling a long stint at the big house. Prison inmates have a lot of time on their hands, and a strict schedule to follow. But they still find ways to do some cooking, sneaking out leftovers from the cafeteria and purchasing basic items from prison commissaries. Including these delicacies: 10. Correctional Cake Used to celebrate birthdays and the release of beloved prisoners, this cake is created using Oreo cookies, peanut butter, and M&Ms. The Oreo cookies are separated, with the cookie itself crushed and molded in the presence of water to create the layers of the cake. The creamy interior of the Oreos is used as icing. Peanut butter then becomes icing for another layer, with the "cake" topped off with broken up M&Ms. 9. No Bake Cheesecake Piper Kerman worked as a drug smuggler and money launderer for a West African drug kingpin. She wrote about her time in prison in her memoir, Orange Is The New Black . In the book, Kerman gives the recipe for a common prison cheesecake, made with graham crackers, lemon juice, vanilla pudding mix, stolen margarine, and coffee creamer. 8. Fried Chicken There is not a lot of information out there as to how prisoners accomplish this in their cells, but what is out there involves wiring a heating element into a plastic trashcan.
    [Show full text]
  • An Economic Critique
    ISSUE 22:2 FALL 2017 Why Prison?: An Economic Critique Peter N. Salib* This Article argues that we should not imprison people who commit crimes. This is true despite the fact that essentially all legal scholars, attorneys, judges, and laypeople see prison as the sine qua non of a criminal justice system. Without prison, most would argue, we could not punish past crimes, deter future crimes, or keep dangerous criminals safely separate from the rest of society. Scholars of law and economics have generally held the same view, treating prison as an indispensable tool for minimizing social harm. But the prevailing view is wrong. Employing the tools of economic analysis, this Article demonstrates that prison imposes enormous but well-hidden societal losses. It is therefore a deeply inefficient device for serving the utilitarian aims of the criminal law system—namely, optimally deterring bad social actors while minimizing total social costs. The Article goes on to engage in a thought experiment, asking whether an alternative system of criminal punishment could serve those goals more efficiently. It concludes that economically superior alternatives to prison are currently available. The alternatives are practicable. They plausibly comport with our current legal rules and more general moral principles. They could theoretically be implemented tomorrow, and, if we wished, we could bid farewell forever to our sprawling, socially-suboptimal system of imprisonment. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15779/Z38M902321 Copyright © 2017 Regents of University of California * Associate, Sidley Austin LLP. Special thanks to Jonathan S. Masur and Anup Malani for their comments and critiques. SALIB FALL 2017 112 BERKELEY JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL LAW Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • The American Gulag: the Correctional Industrial Complex in America
    , j The American Gulag: The Correctional Industrial Complex in America Randall G. Shelden Department of Criminal Justice University of Nevada-Las Vegas Introduction "More than 200,000 scientists and engineers have applied themselves to solving military problems and hundreds of thousands more to innovation in other areas of modern life, but only a handful are working to control the crimes that injure or frighten millions of Americans each year. Yet the two communities have much to offer each other: Science and technology is a valuable source of knowledge and techniques for combating crime; the criminal justice system represents a vast area of challenging problems. ,,1 President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, 1967. A specter is haunting America and it is not the specter of "communism" that Marx and Engels warned us about over 100 years ago. This is much more threatening. This is the specter of the "criminal justice industrial complex." It is an industry run amok. It is awash with cash and profits beyond anyone's imagination. It needs crime. It needs victims. It needs the blood of citizens, like a vampire does. As the news industry saying goes, "If it bleeds, it leads. " Crime today, as always, is often front page news. It dominates the local nightly newscasts, complete with film footage of the victims and the perpetrators. Prime time television is often similarly dominated by crime - from full-length movies to so-called "live" broadcasts of police in action catching criminals. Millions flock to the movie theaters every week to see the latest episodes of crime and violence.
    [Show full text]
  • FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL Ers .Ectives OLUME 14 ISSUE 2 ISSN# 1091-8094 MAR/APR 2008
    FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL ers .ectives OLUME 14 ISSUE 2 ISSN# 1091-8094 MAR/APR 2008 2009 and overcrowding ifnew prisons aren't funded. T.ents Used to Scare. Lawmakers hung tough, some suggesting hanging extra Legislators Into Funding bunks in cells housing non-violent and elderly prisoners (without regard to space requirementS).' Another' More Prisons' suggestion was made to send florida prisoners to prisons in other states, which other states with overcrowding hortly after the Florida Legislature went into its problems have been doing for years. The FDOC swung Sregular session in March ofthis year, with deep cuts in back, saying it has no plans to send· prisoners out ofstate, agencies' budgets expected in the face of a state budget but it does have plans to buy metal buildings that can be shortfall, the Florida Department of'Corrections came out readied quickly for prisoners and surplus military tents to fighting for an increase to its budget to continue building houSe prisonerS. ' ' more prisons. In fact, punching quickly, by the end of March the The FDOC's first blow ' was ;a right' cross, 'the FDOC announced. that it was already putting up tents at department's secretary warned legislators that large budget eight prisons around the state. Uping the rhetoric, the cuts will lead to more cramped and dangerous -prisons and FDOC justified ~e 'tents claiming the system was getting a rise in crime around the state. "dangerously close to reaching 99 percent capacity," at In January the FDOC was riding high, Gov. Crist's which point state law will' mandate earlyrel~se for proposed state budget urged 'lawmakers to give the prison certain prisoners.
    [Show full text]
  • Last State to Use Death Penalty
    Last State To Use Death Penalty HarryIsolable remains and eastwardly feastful and Bear Hispanic. never jollifies Zestful considering and post-obit when Esau Murdock disembowel face-lift her his adscripts colt. Fallen orchestrates Thurston orframe-up incages very out-of-hand. conceptually while History whose Capital Punishment in California Capital Punishment. Many prominent organizations and restore capital punishment quietly amending its protocol was permitted execution because that capital punishment from accepted his bicycle. Garrett argues, why now? But said last meal for death penalty today have access to uses a class. Arrangements will promptly comply with state. Capital Punishment The end of the recent penalty. Barr said in several of violent criminals most cases to state use death penalty, it take so much discretion of state currently administered equitably to death sentence for. Conviction and use? Florida state death penalty states. Not be executed by staff and are added or depraved manner designed to anchors on their last state to death penalty? Rescuers evacuate residents from their flooded homes in Bekasi on Feb. Supplementary Information in Federal Register documents. Statistical Brief Presents statistics on persons under sentence of death four year-end 2016. Federal executions have been exceedingly rare until recent decades. And that settle that rare are its more relate to convince a focus that mitigating factors justify a picture other hand death. The Department would then either distinct to hope its convenient system known an execution by that manner more than lethal injection or pay box the use over State however local facilities and gamble to beat the execution.
    [Show full text]
  • A Systematic Examination of the Rituals and Rights of the Last Meal
    Mercer University School of Law Mercer Law School Digital Commons Faculty Publications Faculty 2014 Cold Comfort Food: A Systematic Examination of the Rituals and Rights of the Last Meal Sarah Gerwig-Moore Mercer University School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.mercer.edu/fac_pubs Part of the Criminal Law Commons, and the Criminal Procedure Commons Recommended Citation Sarah L. Gerwig-Moore, et al., Cold Comfort Food: A Systematic Examination of the Rituals and Rights of the Last Meal, 2 Brit. J. Am. Legal Stud. 411 (2014). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty at Mercer Law School Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Mercer Law School Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COLD (COMFORT?) FOOD: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LAST MEAL RITUALS IN THE UNITED STATES SARAH L. GERWIG-MOORE1 Merceer University School of Law ANDREW DAVIES2 State University of New York at Albany SABRINA ATKINS3 Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz P. C ABSTRACT Last meals are a resilient ritual accompanying executions in the United States. Yet states vary considerably in the ways they administer last meals. This paper ex- plores the recent decision in Texas to abolish the tradition altogether. It seeks to understand, through consultation of historical and contemporary sources, what the ritual signifies. We then go on to analyze execution procedures in all 35 of the states that allowed executions in 2010, and show that last meal allowances are paradoxically at their most expansive in states traditionally associated with high rates of capital punishment (Texas now being the exception to that rule.) We con- clude with a discussion of the implications of last meal policies, their connections to state cultures, and the role that the last meal ritual continues to play in contem- porary execution procedures.
    [Show full text]
  • Who's Looking?
    INTRO PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 PART 4 PART 5 PART 6 PART 5 Who’s Looking? Who’s Listening? “One day every three months it would be good; [the trays] would be full because they had a kitchen inspection.” — formerly incarcerated person This section examines the meager systems of accountability that have often failed to ensure food safety and quality, allowing the violations of health and dignity we’ve detailed in the earlier installments of Eating Behind Bars. In the world beyond the prison gate, commercial and other large-scale kitchens are subject to rigorous health inspections. Inspectors show up without advance notice, are not shy to document violations, and can force kitchens to close until the problems are remedied. In this way, health departments protect the dining public. Kitchens in prisons are not subject to anywhere near the same degree of independent external oversight. PART 5 | WHO’S LOOKING? WHO’S LISTENING? 2 A quick clean-up Prisons that are subject to health department inspections—and in some states they aren’t—typically know ahead of time when an inspection will take place. The same is true of an audit by the American Correctional Association and internal reviews by the correctional agency itself. As Theo told us, “When they do come in, the kitchen is spotless, the correct portion sizes are served. One day every three months it would be good, [the trays] would be full because they had a kitchen inspection.” Our surveys and interviews suggest that a quick clean-up to present a sanitary kitchen and safe food handling is routine in both public and private correctional facilities.
    [Show full text]
  • January 6, 2012
    January 6, 2012 Friday, September 9, 2011 in conjunction with Marion County Superior Court Probation Department, Marion County Community Corrections, and Marion County Sheriff’s Department -Sex and ViolentMiami Offender Correctional Unit, Facility’s American Legion Post 555 held a dedication ceremony for a flag pole it purchased and installed inside the fence of the facility. The legion members will be raising and lowering the flag each day at 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., which is the same time the nearby Grissom Air Reserve Base plays reveille and taps on their speaker system. (see photo below) Miami Correctional Facility’s PLUS Unit donated $200 to the Special Olympics through Captain Doug Nelson, who will be participating in the local Polar Bear Plunge on February 11th. The plunge is an annual event to raise money for Special Olympics. This year the plunge will be at the Crossroads Community Church in Kokomo, IN. Those participating take a plunge in frigid waters during what is hoped to be the coldest day of the year. A reception was held at the Indianapolis Re-Entry Educational Facility (IREF) for Dennis Ludwick, who retired after 24 years of dedicated service to the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC). Mr. Ludwick began his career with the IDOC on December 21, 1987 as a correctional officer at the Plainfield Correctional Facility. Throughout his 24-year career, Mr. Ludwick promoted to several positions within IDOC, including Correctional Counselor, Psychiatric Social Services Specialist III, Instructor of the Effective Fathering and Substance Abuse Programs, Social Security Representative, Veteran Administrative Representative, and Community Involvement Coordinator.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Food Justice and Prison Food Systems
    1 Food Justice and Prison Food Systems: Exploring the Potential for Reframing Prison Food from Punitive to Restorative by Rebekah Mende Department of Food Systems and Society Marylhurst University A thesis submitted in satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Food Systems and Society June 2015 Sean Gillon, Ph.D. – Thesis Advisor 2 3 Copyright © 2015 by Rebekah Mende 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT 1. Chapter One: Introduction………………………………………………………………...8 2. Chapter Two: Background and Significance.....................................................................14 2.1. Incarceration In The United States…………………….…………..…….……....14 2.2. Does Food Justice Sufficiently Engage Prison Food System Reform?.................16 2.3. Roles Of Food In Prison: Food As A Mechanism Of Power And Punishment….20 2.4. How Can Prison Food Systems Be Engaged To Create Prison Food Systems Reform?..................................................................................................................22 3. Chapter Three: Methodology and Methods………………….…………………………..24 3.1. Epistemological Statement…..………………………………………………...…24 3.2. Methodology………………….………………………………..…………..…….25 3.3. Methods…………………….………………………………………..…..……….27 4. Chapter Four: Results, Analysis, and Contribution………………………………...……29 4.1. Research question 1: What Does Food Justice Mean And How Does It Engage Prisons, If At All?..................................................................................................31 4.2. Research question 2: What Are The Roles Of Food In Prison?............................36 4.2.1. Food as nutrition………………………………..…………………..……38 4.2.2. Food as cultural significance……………………..…………….………..40 4.2.3. Food as punishment and as a tool for behavior modification……..……..43 4.3. Research question 3: How Can Prison Food Systems Be Engaged By Food Justice And Prison Reform To Create Restorative Prison Food System Reform?............46 4.3.1. Prison food’s restorative potential……………………………..………...48 4.3.2.
    [Show full text]
  • Health Care in Detention
    HEALTH CARE IN DETENTION A PRACTICAL GUIDE MISSION The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance. The ICRC also endeavours to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles. Established in 1863, the ICRC is at the origin of the Geneva Conventions and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It directs and coordinates the international activities conducted by the Movement in armed conflicts and other situations of violence. HEALTH CARE IN DETENTION A PRACTICAL GUIDE Dr Cordula Wolfisberg and Dr Jonathan Beynon co-authored the first edition of this publication in September 2004 with contributions on nutrition from Ana Gerlin Hernández Bonilla. This publication was originally produced for internal ICRC use. Dr Andrew Moscrop, Dr Carole Dromer, Dr Elena Leclerc and Dr Ghirmai Yiehdego prepared this second edition, for public distribution, from 2013 to 2014. It was updated in 2016 to include the substantial revisions of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of prisonners adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015. Dr Raed Aburabi, medical coordinator for the ICRC’s health care in detention team, supervised the preparation of this edition. Contributors from within the ICRC included: Manuel Duce, Isabel Marquez, Valerie Captier, Mary Murphy, Catherine Deman, Isabel Hight, Andres Casal, and Dr Robert Paterson. This guide is dedicated to all the ICRC staff members who died working to save the lives of others.
    [Show full text]