Book Review

• Author: Craig Hemmens
• Published date: 01 September 2003
• Date: 01 September 2003
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0032885503256470
• Subject Matter: Reviews

REVIEW
10.1177/0032885503256470
THE PRISON JOURN
BOOK REVIEW
AL / September 2003
BOOK REVIEW
Prisoners’ Rights: The Supreme Court and Evolving Standards of De-
cency, by John A. Fliter. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2001, 240 pp. $65.00,
cloth. ISBN 0-313-31475-6-1.
In today’s political climate, there exists little sympathy for inmates. The “get
tough on crime” sentiment remains in vogue among politicians and the general public.
Congress has in recent years passed legislation intended to greatly reduce the ability
of inmates to file lawsuits and habeas corpus actions. Public opinion polls reveal tre-
mendous public support for “Three Strikes” legislation and efforts to reduce inmate
privileges such as family visitation opportunities and access to weightlifting equip-
ment. In particular, there exists the perception that inmates have abused the legal sys-
tem and that they have too many rights. In my classes, students love to recite stories
about the inmate who sued prison officials for serving him smooth peanut butter
instead of chunky or the inmate who sued because he was not allowed to have a sex-
change operation paid for by the state as proof that inmates are the undeserving bene-
ficiaries of the legal system.
Most corrections research has focused on documenting the conditions of confine-
ment and the prison society. Relatively little has been written on the subject of correc-
tions law. John Fliter, in Prisoners’ Rights, has attempted to fill this gap in the litera-
ture. In this book, he provides an overview of the development and current status of
the constitutional rights of inmates. As Fliter is a political scientist, his work also
includes a discussion of the various models of analysis of Supreme Court decision
making. For those not familiar with corrections law, this book provides an excellent
introduction and overview of the subject. For those already conversant in the subject,
Fliter offers some interesting behind the scenes detail about the deliberative...