that it depicts prison life “unflinchingly”—i.e., as it really is. “Dark, dark drama about life in prison. If you want to scare kids straight, make them watch Oz; if that does not turn their life around nothing will.”37 The unchallenged assumption that the drama and violence as shown in Oz and other television and movie dramas constitutes an accurate portrayal has led individuals to form inaccurate beliefs about prison and what prison and reentry policy should look like.
C. What the Public Thinks It Knows
Generally speaking, the public knows little of correctional institutions, especially compared to its knowledge of other law enforcement agencies.38 This is not surprising given that prisons are closed spaces, and most people have never had reason to be inside a prison in any capacity.39 Also, the lack of knowledge about prisons is not new. According to a study conducted forty years ago in the United States, researchers found that “people are generally ignorant of [prison] programs.”40
Although the public also holds gross misconceptions about other criminal justice issues, such as the rate of crime, “perhaps the area reflecting the greatest degree of misunderstanding and misinformation is institutional corrections.”41 While one might expect that the general public would only pay attention to corrections issues if it had a direct experience with them, one might also expect that our most educated citizens would have more than a superficial understanding of institutions that constitute part of the enforcement of the social contract. In a survey of undergraduate college students, respondents were asked to estimate the prevalence of antisocial behavior in prisons. Students were asked to estimate (1) the number of inmates killed by inmates in prison; (2) the number of correctional officers killed by inmates; and (3) the number of male sexual assaults in prison. The results show that all students, even those majoring in criminal justice, vastly overestimated the frequency of these events.
• Inmates killed by inmates. Of all undergraduate students, 64.5 percent thought that more than four hundred inmates were killed by other inmates on a yearly basis. In 2002, according to the Corrections Compendium, the actual number of inmates killed was seventeen.42
• Corrections officers killed by inmates. Most college students (39.2 percent) thought that between ten and ninety-nine corrections officers were killed by inmates. A full 25.3 percent thought more than four hundred were killed. In 2002, a total of one corrections officer was actually killed by an inmate.43
Given our knowledge of the frequency with which the news and entertainment media focus on these types of images in programming, this study strongly suggests that this media focus influences beliefs. Even when individuals have access to better-quality information, the influence of media images seems compelling.
D. Public Attitudes toward Incarceration
The myths and stereotypes that drive public opinion about prison enable elected officials to operate publicly without a factual basis for their policy goals. Moreover, there is rarely an impact study completed in advance of policy enactment to establish the impact on the community, the victim, or the offender. The perhaps predicable result of this behavior has been the erection of vast, inconsistent, and often illogical barriers to housing, employment, voting, and almost every other manifestation of community reintegration.
1. Prison as an “Easy Life”
Although the public overestimates the occurrence of violence and sexual assault in prisons, paradoxically, it also sees prison life as one of idleness and even leisure. This could be partially explained by stories in the news that tend to dwell on the amenities to which prisoners have access.44 For example, 90 percent of respondents to a survey in Florida believe that inmates are housed in air-conditioned facilities, but for the vast majority of prisoners this is not the case.45 A poll by Doble Research Associates found that two-thirds of the public believe that prison inmates don’t work.46 Another poll found that 60 percent of the public believes that inmates sit around playing cards or watching television all day.47 A recent survey in the United States found that six of ten respondents agreed with the statement, “criminals don’t mind being sent to prison.”48
These are interesting but, upon reflection, perhaps not surprising results. In addition to the “dehumanizing” images of prison life, one sees a parallel narrative of the undeserving inmate: sitting around, lifting weights in the yard, getting three square meals a day purchased by our tax dollars. Although the perception that prison life is brutally hard somewhat contradicts the perception that prison life is “easy,” both narratives serve legitimizing functions. If rehabilitative effort for the dehumanized inmate is hopeless, then rehabilitative effort on account of idle inmates is undeserved.
This image of prison time as easy time begins to suggest that, not unlike the welfare recipient, working America is paying for these individuals to live off the dole.49 Conservative politicians attempting to create a tough-on-crime image by taking something away from the incarcerated are the primary beneficiaries. Inmates looking for educational or vocational training and corrections officers who see the benefit of good prison programming tend to be on the losing end of these political maneuvers.
2. Prisons as a Training Ground for Future Criminals
The public also believes that the prison experience increases criminality in inmates. According to Doble Associates survey data, nearly 50 percent of respondents agreed with the statement, “prisons are really schools for criminals that turn new inmates into hardened criminals.”50 Another survey by Doble Associates found that two-thirds of respondents believe that prisoners become more dangerous by the time they leave prison.51 As a result, the public holds pessimistic views about the rate of recidivism among prisoners. In Florida, 58 percent of respondents believed that by serving time, inmates released would be more likely to commit crimes than before they went to prison.52 In fact, only 18 percent of ex-offenders were reconvicted of another crime within two years of release, according to Florida statistics.53
This image of prisoners becoming more dangerous as they leave prison is a narrative developed by those who seek to depict prison as a place where no constructive learning can take place. It comes from popular culture’s notion of the evil con artist, rapist, robber, or murderer who will continue to ply his trade behind bars. Conservative politicians angling for longer sentences and corrections workers seeking to describe a workplace in need of more (and higher-paid) individuals combine to promote this notion. Inmates in need of vocational and educational training as well as recently released parolees are injured by this depiction.
E. Prisoners Get Out Too Early
Another image often manufactured for policy reasons and rhetorical flair is that of prisoners “getting out too early.” As mentioned earlier, there is some evidence that a widely held and strongly felt sentiment exists that murderers get back on the streets too soon.54 Some studies confirm a pervasive public mistrust of the criminal justice system, which is especially manifest in perceptions that convicted criminals spend too little time in prison.55 Media crime coverage helps to support the illusion of early release by what it chooses to report and ignore.56
News accounts of murderers released to rape or kill again are surely effective in confirming the impression of predatory criminals being released too soon. The Willie Horton story cited earlier is perhaps the most striking example.57 It succinctly illustrates both selective media coverage as well as “tough-on-crime” political posturing in the electoral process.
This image has always been used by those seeking to build reputations on law and order by talking of generic “criminals” not being punished enough and the courts being too lenient. Willie Horton was actually on work release—and not on parole or finished with his
