Race, Rights, and Order in Prison: A National Survey of Wardens on the Racial Integration of Prison Cells

• Author: LEO CARROLL,WILLIAM FEINBERG,MARTHA L. HENDERSON,FRANCIS T. CULLEN
• Published date: 01 September 2000
• Date: 01 September 2000
• DOI: 10.1177/0032885500080003004
• Subject Matter: Articles

THE PRISON JOURNAL / September 2000Henderson et al. / RACE, RIGHTS, AND ORDER IN PRISON

RACE, RIGHTS, AND ORDER IN PRISON:

A NATIONAL SURVEY OF WARDENS

ON THE RACIAL INTEGRATION

OF PRISON CELLS

MARTHA L. HENDERSON

Illinois State University

FRANCIS T. CULLEN

University of Cincinnati

LEO CARROLL

University of Rhode Island

WILLIAM FEINBERG

University of Cincinnati

Recently in the state of Ohio, there has been a controversyover whether inmates who

share cells in state correctional institutions should be of the same race or should be

assigned to cells regardless of their race. Some observers have attributed the 1993

riot at Lucasville to attempts to racially integrateprison cells; others reject this claim.

There is little understanding,however, of what policies are followed in major correc-

tional institutions in other states. Weconducted a national survey of prison wardensat

maximum security institutions to learn more about this important policy issue. The

findings fromthis research have yielded some similarities across states. However, the

resultsalso indicate that few wardens are aware of the policies in place at other facili-

ties and of policies held by their state departments of corrections.

The American prison system has undergone a radical transformation in

the past 30 years. As of December 31, 1998, the inmate population had

reached 1,302,019, with the population being 49.4% African American and

47.9% White (Black & Mumola, 1999). Furthermore, African Americans

comprise approximately 12% of the general population but are almost half of

Correspondence may be addressed to M. L. Henderson, Department of Criminal Justice Sci-

ences, Campus Box 5250, Normal, IL 61790-5250. An earlier version of this article was pre-

sented at the 1998 meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Albuquerque, New

Mexico.

THE PRISON JOURNAL, Vol. 80 No. 3, September 2000 295-308

© 2000 Sage Publications, Inc.

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