Introduction to Corrections

Millions in our nation are under some type of judicial sanction, with some individuals behind bars but the majority serving their sentences while living and working among us. Introduction to Corrections examines predominant issues related to the system of administering to offenders in the United States. Written in a simple, concise style and enhanced with discussion questions and a list of key terms in each chapter, this volume begins with an overview of the system and a historical review and then focuses on select issues, including:

• Sentencing goals and rationales, and types of sentencing
• Noncustodial supervision, including probation, electronic monitoring, home confinement, halfway houses, and offender registration
• Parole and postconfinement release
• Jail, prison, and jurisdictional differences in correction systems
• Challenges faced by corrections personnel, including overcrowding, health issues, sexual assault in institutions, and prison gangs
• Constitutional challenges to inmate controls
• Issues related to victims’ rights, including federal and state funds and notification programs
• Correctional counseling perspectives and prevailing sociological theories
• Controversies surrounding capital punishment in the United States
• Juvenile corrections, including probation, parole, and life sentences for minors

The evolution of corrections in the United States has spanned three centuries and has moved from an origin of basic community-based confinement to an extensive system that includes federal, state, local, private, and military facilities and programs. Examining diverse topics relevant to a range of professionals in the corrections community, this book explores the functions of corrections as well as those who serve in the profession.

David H. McElreath, PhD, has served as professor and chair, Department of Legal Studies, the University of Mississippi; professor and chair, Department of Criminal Justice, Washburn University; associate professor, Southeast Missouri State University; assistant professor, the University of Southern Mississippi; instructor, Itawamba (Mississippi) Community College; colonel, U.S. Marine Corps; and he has held law enforcement and corrections positions with the Oxford (Mississippi) Police and Forrest County (Mississippi) Sheriff‘s Departments. His education and training include a PhD in adult education and criminal justice, University of Southern Mississippi; an MSS, U.S. Army War College; MCJ, the University of Mississippi; BPA, the University of Mississippi; and he is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. He is also the author or coauthor of numerous textbooks and publications on the criminal justice and homeland security systems.Linda Keena, PhD, obtained her BCJ (1984) and MS (1991) degrees in criminal justice from Southeast Missouri State University, and her PhD (2006) from the University of Missouri. She is a former State of Missouri adult probation and parole officer and has taught in the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology at Southeast Missouri State University, and most recently in the legal studies department at the University of Mississippi. She has established a record of scholarly publications that reflects a variety of criminal justice, restorative justice, religion, corrections, and community-based research topics. In addition, she is coauthor and project director for MEDFELS, a nationally recognized methamphetamine program for elementary schools. Dr. Keena is codirector of the Violence Prevention Office at the University of Mississippi, a program funded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice, aimed at educating students and staff about the realities of sexual