The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Master's Theses Fall 12-2011 State Super-Maximum Security Policies: An Examination of Admission Characteristics, Classification Reviews, Mental Health Amenities, and Inmate Privileges Harry Daniel Butler University of Southern Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses Part of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons Recommended Citation Butler, Harry Daniel, "State Super-Maximum Security Policies: An Examination of Admission Characteristics, Classification Reviews, Mental Health Amenities, and Inmate Privileges" (2011). Master's Theses. 248. https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/248 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]. The University of Southern Mississippi STATE SUPER-MAXIMUM SECURITY POLICIES: AN EXAMINATION OF ADMISSION CHARACTERISTICS, CLASSIFICATION REVIEWS, MENTAL HEALTH AMENITIES, AND INMATE PRIVILEGES by Harry Daniel Butler A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School of The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved: ____________________________________ Director ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ Dean of the Graduate School December 2011 ABSTRACT AN EXAMINATION OF STATE SUPER-MAXIMUM SECURITY POLICIES: SEARCHING FOR SIMILARITIES IN ADMISSION CHARACTERISTICS, CLASSIFICATION REVIEWS, MENTAL HEALTH AMENITIES, AND INMATE PRIVILEGES by Harry Daniel Butler June 2011 Super-maximum security prisons have flourished within a political environment that endorses tougher criminal sanctions. This punitive evolution has created new problems for correctional agencies attempting to control the “worst of the worst” inmates. Federal courts and researchers have examined the detrimental effects supermax isolation has on inmates’ mental health. This analysis examines forty-two state supermax policies to determine how states admit inmates to supermax custody, the classification review process, the management of inmates with mental illnesses, and the availability of privileges for supermax inmates. Drawing on the concept of the McDonaldization of Justice (Ritzer, 1993), particular attention is given to understanding the role of official policy and procedures on managing problematic inmates. Guided by previous research on supermax penitentiaries, the correctional policies have been aggregated regionally to provide insight into geographical differences for the operation of supermax units. Policy implications for establishing more inclusive and thorough rules and regulations for the admission, review, and management of supermax units are discussed. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer would like to thank the thesis chair of this project, Dr. Wes Johnson, for his insight, guidance, and tutelage. Dr. Hayden Griffin and Dr. Philip Carlan have also contributed their time and expertise in helping guide this project to completion. Dr. Wes Johnson worked closely with me throughout this project to ensure I maintained my sanity while also empirically examining a topic that is in need of great research. I would like to thank Dr. Hayden Griffin for aiding me in establishing a thesis topic and collecting data. I would also like to thank Dr. Philip Carlan for providing insight into how to present the collected data in a concise format. Dr. Lisa Nored, the Chair of the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Southern Mississippi, deserves a special thanks for assisting me administratively to complete the project. I would also like to thank Dr. Alan Thompson, the School of Criminal Justice Master’s Director, for helping me balance my thesis with the requirements of my assistantship and for advising me as a student. Without the hard work and assistance of the faculty within the department, I would not have been able to complete the current project. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. vi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................1 Problem Statement Research Questions Definition of Terms Delimitations Justification II. LITERATURE REVIEW ..............................................................................9 Beginning of the Supermax Supermax Prisons Expand to the States Definition and Classification Problems Goals and Characteristics of a Supermax Paying for Supermax Imprisonment Mental Health Issues Judicial Response to Conditions in Supermax Prisons Deterrence and Supermax Imprisonment Ironies of Supermax Imprisonment III. METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................39 Overview Procedures Limitations Data Analysis IV. ANALYSIS OF DATA ...............................................................................47 Admission Characteristics for Supermax Units Supermax Classification Review Mental Health Amenities Supermax Inmate Privileges iv V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ...................................................................109 Summary of Major Findings and Recommendations for Future Studies Classification Reviews for Supermax Inmates Treatment Plans for the Mentally Ill Supermax Privileges Limitations of the Study Conclusion APPENDIXES .................................................................................................................135 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................143 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Overview of Supermax Admission Characteristics ...............................................47 2a. Northeastern Admission Characteristics of Supermax Prisons .............................49 2b. Midwestern Admission Characteristics of Supermax Prisons ...............................50 2c. Southern Admission Characteristics of Supermax Prisons ....................................51 2d. Western Admission Characteristics of Supermax Prisons .....................................52 3. Regional Differences among State Supermax Admission Characteristics ............55 4. Names of Supermax Policies Comparison .............................................................58 5. Summary of Classification Review Findings ........................................................60 6a. Northeastern Classification Reviews .....................................................................61 6b. Midwestern Classification Reviews .......................................................................62 6c. Southern Classification Reviews ...........................................................................63 6d. Western Classification Reviews ............................................................................64 7. Mental Health Guidelines for Supermax Inmates ..................................................77 8. Regional Differences Among Mental Health Guidelines ......................................81 8a. Northeastern State Analysis of Mental Health Guidelines ....................................83 8b. Midwestern State Analysis of Mental Health Guidelines ......................................84 8c. Southern State Analysis of Mental Health Guidelines ..........................................85 8d. Western State Analysis of Mental Health Guidelines ............................................86 9. Overview of Supermax Privileges .........................................................................88 10. Regional Analysis of Supermax Privileges............................................................91 11a. Northeastern Supermax Visitation Privileges ........................................................92 vi 11b. Midwestern Supermax Visitation Privileges .........................................................93 11c. Southern Supermax Visitation Privileges ..............................................................94 11d. Western Supermax Visitation Privileges ...............................................................95 12a. Northeastern Supermax Telephone Privileges .......................................................98 12b. Midwestern Supermax Telephone Privileges ........................................................99 12c. Southern Supermax Telephone Privileges ...........................................................100 12d. Western Supermax Telephone Privileges ............................................................101 13a. Northeastern Supermax Programming Privileges ................................................104 13b. Midwestern Supermax Programming Privileges .................................................105 13c. Southern Supermax Programming Privileges ......................................................106 13d. Western Supermax Programming Privileges .......................................................107 vii 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Over the last thirty years, the United States penal culture has shifted