Porn in Prison

Abstract

Prison administrators are faced with the arduous task of maintaining order in an environment that is often characterized as chaotic. This task is made increasingly more difficult as administrators must observe individual rights, operate within rapidly diminishing budgets, and satisfy shifting philosophical penal goals—oscillating between rehabilitation and punishment. In an attempt to accomplish these goals, administrators often utilize various systems of rewards and punishments to sustain a comfortable living environment for inmates, as well as ensuring safety for inmates and staff alike. In this paper, the authors analyze institutional records documenting the request and receipt by inmates for various sexually explicit magazines. The results indicate that few inmates (less than 4%) request such magazines. Among those receiving such, Whites and violent offenders receive a higher proportion than their institutional representation, while sex and drug offenders are the least likely to receive such magazines. These findings are especially significant as this prison operates with a very liberal institutional policy regarding the receipt of sexually explicit

Key Words:

• Pornography
• prison inmates
• sexual materials