The very definition of punishment in America has been subject to a variety of changes, and has served as the basis for much debate over the course of America's history. In Penitentiaries, Reformatories, Chain Gangs, Mark Colvin tackles the subject of penal change in America by examining three case studies which represent shifts in the interpretation of punishment specifically during the nineteenth century: the rise of penitentiaries in the Northeast; the changes in the treatment of women offenders in the North; and the transformation of punishment in the South after the Civil War. Colvin uses...

In a major new theory of criminal behavior, Mark Colvin argues that chronic criminals emerge from a developmental process characterized by recurring, erratic episodes of coercion. Colvin s differential coercion theory, which integrates several existing criminological perspectives, lays out a compelling argument that coercive forces create social and psychological dynamics that lead to chronic criminal behavior. While Colvin s presentation focuses primarily on chronic street criminals, the theory is also applied to exploratory offenders and white-collar criminals. In addition, Colvin presents...

This is a case study of the violence and disorder that have become endemic in U. S. prisons. The 1980 riot at the Penitentiary of New Mexico was one of the worst riots in prison history. Thirty-three inmates were killed and hundreds were injured. The author demonstrates how this riot, and the growing disorder that preceded it, reflect important shifts in the organizational structure and philosophy of prison management in the U. S.

The Penitentiary in Crisis analyzes how shifts in prisoner control strategies disrupted important power relations between inmates and staff and created...

In a major new theory of criminal behavior, Mark Colvin argues that chronic criminals emerge from a developmental process characterized by recurring, erratic episodes of coercion.