The Handbook on Contemporary Issues in Health, Crime, and Punishment covers many topics on the numerous ways in which mental and physical health and criminal justice system contact influence one another and are intricately intertwined. These often mutually reinforcing dynamics affect a range of health and justice outcomes at individual, familial, group, community, and national levels. Contributions detail this topic from a wide range of disciplinary, theoretical, and international perspectives and rely on various analytical lenses, including quantitative, qualitative, policy-analytic, theoretical/conceptual, and lived experiences.
The chapters summarize what is known in each topical area, but as important, they identify emerging theoretical, empirical, and policy directions. In this way, the book is grounded in the current knowledge about the specific topic, but also provides new, synthesizing material that reflects the knowledge of the leading minds in the field. Conceptually divided into 11 sections, a number of contributions describe the unique experiences of women, people of color, juveniles, older populations, immigrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other sub-populations (i.e., people convicted of drug or sex offenses). Where appropriate, the authors provide both big picture and pragmatic policy directions aimed at reducing system contact, health challenges, and inhumane practices.
Given its breadth and depth, the Handbook will appeal broadly to academics, practitioners, policymakers, advocates, and students seeking to understand the many ways in which health and justice system dynamics overlap.
"INTRODUCTION The Intersection of Sentencing and Punishment Decisions and Experiences with Individual, Family, and Community Health Nathan W. Link, Meghan Novisky, Chantal Fahmy I. CONTEXTS AND ORGANIZING FRAMEWORKS 1. Health Criminology: Addressing the Culture of Control Faye Taxman 2. Healthcare Litigation in Corrections: Framing Rights and Pursuing Care Bryant J. Jackson-Green 3. Health Equity and The Justice System: A Research Agenda Anthony Petrosino, Angelia Turner, Cosette Lias, Danielle Munguia, and Pamela MacDougall 4. Political And Social Determinants of Punishment and Health in Pretrial Systems Cynthia Golembeski, Brianna Baker, Homer Venters, and Robert Fullilove 5. Explaining and Reducing the Poor Physical Health of Individuals Who Engage in Criminal Behavior Guy C. M. Skinner and David Farrington 6. An Environmental Justice Perspective for Exploring Health in Carceral Spaces Elisa L. Toman, Averi R. Fegadel, and Rachel E. Severson II. THE STATE OF HEALTHCARE AMONG INCARCERATED PEOPLE 7. Chronic Punishment: An Overview of Health and Access to Healthcare for People in State Prisons Leah Wang and Emily Widra 8. Mixed Reviews: Perceptions of Prison Health Care Delivery in Western Canadian Prisons William J. Schultz 9. Public Accessibility of Healthcare Information in Prison: A Review of U.S. State Department of Corrections Websites Jennifer Tostlebe and Selena Munoz-Jones III. PRISON CONDITIONS, EXPERIENCES, AND CULTURE 10. A Protective or Risk Factor: How “The Code” in Prison is Associated With Health and Well-Being Outcomes Meghan M. Mitchell and Rosemary Ricciardelli 11. Mass Incarceration and the Climate Crisis: Past Research and Future Implications of Intersecting Hazards and their Impacts on Health Kristen N Cowan, Jennifer Lao, Katherine LeMasters, and Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein 12. Addressing the Traumatic Experiences of Men in Solitary Confinement: Exploring the Use of Emotional Learning to Break the Cycle of Violence Ann Marie Rocheleau 13. Mental Health Treatment Resentment & Contagious Dehumanization: The Unintended Consequences of Reforming Solitary Confinement for Individuals with Severe Mental Health Disorders Shannon Magnuson, Angela Hattery, and Emma Porter 14. Hunger, Health, and Harm: Perceptions of Prison Food, Medical Care, and Well-Being Bryce Kushmerick-McCune, Sydney Ingel, Caitlin Bauer, and Danielle Rudes 15. It’s All in Your Head: Unpacking What’s Known About Head Injuries in Correctional Settings Chelsey Narvey, Kristina Block, Wanda Leal, and Beatriz Amalfi Wronski IV. INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND INCARCERATION 16. Confinement in Pandemic Times: Two tales of prisons, epidemics and power from the Global South Angel Aedo, Catalina Droppelmann, Frédéric Le Marcis, and Daniela Montanari 17. The COVID-19 Pandemic Harms of Imprisonment: An Analysis of Issues Raised by Imprisoned People in Canada Olivia Gemma, Kevin Walby, and Justin Piché 18. Carceral Expansion at the Nexus of State Violence and Neoliberal Public Health Katherine Weatherford Darling, Sarah Walton, and Brian Pitman V. FAMILY, RELATIONSHIPS, AND HEALTH 19. Dimensions of Health and Well-being Among Partners of Incarcerated Individuals Katherine A. Durante and Eman Tadros 20. Policy Alternatives to Separating Women in Prison and their Infants Allison D. Crawford, Alexander Testa, Amanda Corbett, Rosemary Laine, Tara Hutson, Rebecca Shlafer 21. The Incarceration of Pregnant Women in the United States: Understanding Pathways and Lived Experiences Dragana Derlic, Makiya Owens, Jessica Ogu, and Stuti S. Kokkalera VI. SALIENT HEALTH ISSUES AMONG VULNERABLE GROUPS 22. Heterogeneity in the Mental Health Consequences of Incarceration across Race: Prior Research and New Directions Kathleen Powell and Robert Apel 23. Muslim Mental Health in Prison: The Costs and Consequences of Inadequate Services Amin Asfari and James Gacek 24. Incarceration and Food Insecurity: What We Know and Where Research Needs to Go Alexander Testa, Katherine Kelton, Jacqueline G. Lee, Hanah Chaudry, Dylan B. Jackson, and Daphne C. Hernandez 25. Veterans Deflection: Not Waiting for Military Veterans to be Arrested or in Crisis Before We Act Lance Washington, Kreeti Singh, Katie Stewart, Kelly Firesheets, Jac Charlier, Andrea K. Finlay VII. JUVENILE HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT 26. Examining the Health of People Sentenced to Juvenile Life Without the Possibility of Parole: Setting a Research Agenda Dylan B. Jackson, Laura S. Abrams, J.Z. Bennett, Jeffrey T. Ward, Daphne M. Brydon, Leah Ouellet, and Rebecca Turner 27. Harms and Hope: The Risks of Juvenile Justice System Involvement and the Promise of Developmental Assets for Youth of Color Chelsea McElwee, Tate LeBlanc, and Aerika B. Loyd 28. ""That Memory, I Cannot Erase"": In the Crossfire of Living in a Mixed-Status Family and having Youth Carceral Involvement Ana Magaly Ojeda VIII. AGING BEHIND BARS 29. Ending Life Peacefully and with Dignity: Examination of the U.S. Adult Resident’s Definitions of and Support for Compassionate Release Jane C. Daquin, Rebecca H. Konkel, and Susannah N. Tapp 30. “Not-So-Golden Years: The Utility and Shortcomings of Assessing Aging Through Functionality Assessments in Correctional Settings” Chivon Fitch, Brandon C. Dulisse, and Raechel Meyerowich 31. Life Satisfaction and Successful Aging: An Exploration of Well-being Among Recently Released Elders Angela S. Murolo IX. GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND HEALTH 32. The Pains of Imprisonment, Gender, and Mental Health: Considering the Links between the Mental Health of Incarcerated Women and the Gendered Pains of Imprisonment Timothy G. Edgemon & Brittany T. Martin 33. New Prison Masculinities in Carceral Spaces Dwayne Antojado 34. ‘Sick and Tired’: A Black Feminist Criminological Approach to Gender-Responsive Care for Black Women in Corrections Brianne M. Posey 35. Transgressions of the U.S. Prison System: The Mistreatment of Incarcerated Transgender Persons Susana Avalos X. HEALTH INTERVENTIONS IN PRISON AND DURING REINTEGRATION 36. Cycles of Disadvantage: A Critical Examination of Trauma, Health, and the Community Reentry Experience Michael R. Menefee, Cherrell Green, Shannon Magnuson, and Tameka Vaught Williams 37. Reimagining Rehabilitation: A Public Health Approach to Transforming Mass Incarceration Ginny E. Oshiro 38. A New Vision for Punishment and Treatment: Re-Thinking Punishment and Rehabilitation for People Convicted of Sex Offenses Jason Kahler 39. Exploring Knowledge Gaps in Healthcare Approaches to Violence Intervention C. Clare Strange and Sheetal Ranjan XI. CONCLUDING REMARKS 40. Health and Punishment Challenges Worthy of Our Attention Homer Venters 41. Outro: A Paradigm Shift from Crime, Punishment, & Rehabilitation to Health, Human Rights, Human Dignity, and Hope Carrie Pettus"
Nathan W. Link is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University, Camden. Link researches and writes about issues and barriers faced by those experiencing incarceration, prison reentry, and other forms of community control. Much of his recent work examines financial sanctions, health, and reintegration dynamics among people leaving custodial sentences. With a focus on policy, much of his current fieldwork is aimed at understanding how systems function and attempting to create more humane and equitable processes and outcomes. Meghan A. Novisky is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology and Sociology at Cleveland State University. Her research investigates conditions of confinement, health-related impacts of and experiences with incarceration, and criminal justice policy and practice. She is a multi-methods scholar with expertise in original data collection and qualitative methodology. Chantal Fahmy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at The University of Texas at San Antonio. Her research focuses on reentry and reintegration from prison, health criminology, and the intersection of public health and incarceration. Her work explores linkages between criminal justice system contact and how those interactions affect various facets of health (e.g., mental health, social health).
