Introduction To Corrections

Ch 7

Chapter 7 Video Case: Finding Hope in Sing Sing: Discussion Questions

1. What is the goal of the Creative Corrections Education Foundation? How will this foundation help prevent children of incarcerated parents from following in their footsteps?

2. What effect(s) can incarceration of a parent have on a child? Is better for a child to maintain contact with an incarcerated parent? Why or why not?

Chapter 7 You Decide Part II - Justify Your Choices: Should Women in Labor Be Shackled?

1. The central issue in Should Women in Labor Be Shackled? is whether shackling during labor violates the prisoner's Eighth Amendment rights. Explain your choices in this scenario by addressing the following questions:

What factors did you weigh in deciding how corrections officers should balance the need to keep a prisoner under control with the medical needs of a woman in labor?

2. The scenario is based on the case of Shawanna Nelson, a 29-year-old, nonviolent offender who claimed that being shackled during labor was "cruel and unusual punishment." The court ruled that the common practice of shackling inmates about to give birth is "inhumane," and that pregnant inmates have a constitutional right not to be shackled during labor. The American Civil Liberties Union called the court's ruling "historic" but notes that many state prisons choose to ignore the ruling and continue to practice shackling.

As a prison guard, how would you convince your prison administrators that it was necessary to stop shackling pregnant inmates?