Annotated Biblogrphy

Topic 3: Prison Overcrowding in America

Bonta, J., & Gendreau, P. (1990). Reexamining the cruel and unusual punishment of prison life. Law and Human Behavior, 14(4), 347-372.

The authors examine the perceive negative impact of imprisonment and the overcrowding seen in American prisons. There general consensus that prison is destructive to the psychological and emotional well-being of the detainees. However, such assumptions have never been critically evaluated. This article examines both the negative and positive imprisonment in relation to prison crowding, long-term imprisonment, death rows and health risks associated with imprisonment as well as solitary confinement (Bonta & Gendreau, 1990).