This article examines the prison conditions in West Virginia leading to the closing of both the Women's Prison and the Penitentiary. It focuses on the Crain v. Bordenkircher case surrounding conditions at the Penitentiary, tracing the struggle over prison conditions from the inmate lawsuit of 1981 to the opening of a new penitentiary in the mid-1990s. Theoretical issues surrounding judicial intervention are also examined.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Alabama v. Pugh, 352 S.E. 2d 741 (1978).
2.
American Correctional Association
. (1981). Standards for adult correctional facilities, second edition. Washington, DC: Author.
3.
Angelos, C.
, & Jacobs, J. B. (1985). Prison overcrowding and the law. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 478, 100-112.
4.
Arthur Recht: Circuit judge and author of the controversial Lincoln County school decision is Sunday Gazette-Mail's West Virginian of the Year. (1983, January 3). Charleston Sunday Gazette-Mail, p. 2A.
5.
Ball, R.
(1989). Policy options for correctional facilities in West Virginia. Morgantown: West Virginia Institute for Public Affairs.
6.
Ball, R.
(1991). Corrections in context: Policy options for control of intake, length of stay and system capacity in West Virginia. Morgantown: West Virginia Institute for Public Affairs.
7.
Budzinski, R.
, & Carter, S. A. (1987). An assessment of development options for the West Virginia state penitentiary. Charleston, WV: Authors.
8.
Campbell v. Beto, 460 F.2d 765 (1972).
9.
Coffin v. Reichard, 143 F.2d 443 (1944).
10.
Cooper v. Gwinn, 298 S. E. 2d 781 (1981).
11.
Cory, B.
(1988). Prisons and public policy: The national jail and prison overcrowding project, 1981-1987. Philadelphia: National Jail and Prison Overcrowding Project.
12.
Crain v. Bordenkircher, 376 S.E. 2d 140 (1986).
13.
D'Atri, D. A.
(1975). Psychophysiological responses to crowding. Environment and Behavior, 7, 237-252.
14.
DiIulio, J. J.
(1990). Courts, corrections, and the constitution. New York: Oxford University Press.
15.
Ellis, D.
(1982). Overcrowding and prison violence: An integration of research and theory. Downsview, Ontario, Canada: York University Press.
16.
Ellis, D.
, Grasmick, H., & Gilman, B. (1974). Violence in prisons: A sociological analysis. American Journal of Sociology, 80, 16-34.
17.
Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97 (1976).
18.
Gates v. Collier, 501 F.2d 1291 (5th Cir. 1974).
19.
Governor's Committee on Prison Crowding
. (1986). Interim report of the governor's committee on prison crowding. Columbus, OH: Author.
20.
Governor's Task Force on Corrections Planning
. (1988). A strategic corrections plan for Oregon: Restoring the balance. Eugene, OR: Author.
21.
Granucci, A. F.
(1969). “Nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted”: The original meaning. California Law Review, 57, 839-840.
22.
Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976).
23.
Hagan, J. P.
(1986). Policy activism in the West Virginia supreme court of appeals. West Virginia Law Review, 9, 135-152.
24.
Hancock v. Avery, 301 F.Supp. 786 (M.D. Tenn. 1969).
25.
Hanson, R. A.
, & Daley, H.W.K. (in press). Federal habeas corpus review: Challenging state court criminal convictions. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Assistance.
26.
Holt v. Sarver, 300 F.Supp. 825 (E.D. Ark. 1969).
27.
Houk, W. B.
(1987). Acquiring new prison sites: The federal experience. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
28.
Jordan v. Fitzharris, 257 F.Supp. 674 (N.D. Cal. 1966).
29.
McCain, G.
, Cox, V. C., & Paulus, P. B. (1976). The relationship between illness complaints and degree of crowding in a prison environment. Environment and Behavior, 8, 283-289.
30.
McManus, P. (1988). Report and recommendations of the special master to the “revised plan of compliance” of the department of corrections. Unpublished report, West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, Charleston.
31.
Misfud, P.
(1984, April). The changing role of correctional architecture. Corrections Today, pp. 16-26.
32.
Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167 (1961).
33.
Morgan v. McDonough, 540 F.2d. 527 (1st Cir. 1976).
34.
Mullen, J.
(1985). Prison crowding and the evolution of public policy. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 478, 31-46.
35.
Mullen, J.
, & Smith, B. (1980). American prisons and jails: Conditions and costs of confinement. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
36.
Mullen, J.
, Chabotar, K. J., & Carrow, D. M. (1985). The privatization of corrections. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
37.
Neely, R.
(1982, August). Why governments don't do what they could to reduce violent crimes: The politics of crime. Atlantic Monthly, pp. 27-31.
38.
Newman v. Alabama, 438 U.S. 915 (1979).
39.
Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475 (1973).
40.
Rhodes v. Chapman, 452 U.S. 337 (1982).
41.
Rochin v. California, 342 U.S. 165 (1952).
42.
Robinson v. California, 370 U.S. 660 (1962).
43.
Ruffin v. Commonwealth, 62 Va. (21 Gratt.) 790 (1871).
44.
Ruiz v. Estelle, 679 F.2d 1115 (5th Cir.). Cert Denied, 460 U.S. 1042., 103 S. Ct. 1438, 75 L.Ed.2d 795 (1982).
45.
Trop v. Dulles, 365 U.S. 86 (1958).
46.
Useem, B.
(1990). Crain: Nonreformist prison reform. In J. J. DiIulio (Ed.), Courts, corrections, and the constitution (pp. 223-248). New York: Oxford University Press.
47.
Useem, B.
, & Kimball, P. (1989). States of siege: U.S. prison riots, 1971-1986. New York: Oxford University Press.
