Discretion in the Prison Justice System

Abstract

Much research in the past decade has focused on decision making at various stages of the criminal justice process, but decisions made within prisons have been examined relatively little. This study investigates dispositional decisions in disciplinary infraction proceedings in a state prison system. It examines the distribution of types of infractions committed and dispositions received, and identifies variables related to different disposition outcomes. Four variables are significantly related to dispositional outcome: the inmate's age and marital status at admission, the inmate's overall disciplinary record, and the type of infraction charged. Although the findings varied across infraction categories, inmates who were young, never married, or had six or more infractions during the current sentence received more severe dispositions. The relationship between seriousness of the infraction and severity of disposition was significant but not strong enough to imply a scaling of penalties relative to the harm pre sented by the offender's conduct. Implications for future research are discussed.