Prison Profiles

About the Book

Every man who enters the custody of the Indiana Department of Corrections does so in the same condition—naked as the day he was born.  Under the wary eyes of prison guards, he and fellow inmates must shower and then de-louse one another.  Naked, but not alone, they emerge into their new existence as wards of the DOC.  Some of these inmates will spend their prison lives behind tall fences with many restrictions on their activities; others may be released to work outside the prison walls and allowed many liberties.  Their fate depends upon the nature and extent of their crimes and the availability of space in the appropriate facility.  

Prison Profiles delineates the profiles of both the prisons and the prisoners who inhabit them.  The book describes the classification system used by the Indiana Department of Correction to determine which inmate is assigned to which institution by following six typical male offenders through the process.  Portraying a wide variety of criminals and their crimes,  Prison Profiles  shows how their  sentences may be served under vastly different circumstances.  Profiling the facilities, the work investigates the great contrast in  levels of security and custody maintained at different types of penal institutions.  

By studying the backgrounds of the six inmates,  monitoring their progress  through the classification and assignment procedures,  and then witnessing their daily lives behind bars,  the reader is  introduced to the complex issues involved in the administration of the criminal justice system.  The timely topics of crime control, inmate treatment, prison overcrowding and cost containment are addressed.  A glossary is provided to explain the vocabulary of the professionals and the vernacular of the prisoners.

The following chapter summaries describe what readers may expect to encounter as they examine the profiles.

Chapter One:  The Reception and Diagnostic Center

Follow the fortunes of typical prisoners from fumigation to indoctrination.     See how an inmate is assimilated into the prison system from the delousing shower to the psychological testing.    Learn about the security levels and custody designations which range from open camps to isolated cells.  Find out how the Indiana Department of Corrections decides which prisoner goes where.

Chapter Two:  Classification

Meet a Classification Specialist and look over his shoulder as he conducts interviews with and reviews paperwork of three typical offenders—a drunk driver, a troubled teen, and a middle-aged child abuser.  See how the specialist considers the nature of the offense, past criminal history, and test results to determine ideal placement of the offender.   Learn why most inmates serve only half of their sentences.

Chapter Three:  Classification Continued

Spend another day with the Classification Specialist, this time in the company of three offenders who spell major trouble for the system—a street-wise drug dealer with diabetes, a quiet murderer with a psychosis, and a violent gangster with a trigger-hot temper.  Read their psychological records and learn how staff members try to alert one another to the potential problems they pose.

Chapter Four:  The Farm

Follow the drunk driver to one of the state’s oldest prisons.  Learn about the history of the penal system in Indiana--how inmates lived in tents while making the bricks to build dor??????? ??? ??????????  ??? ????????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?????????? ???  ????? ? ??????????? ?????? ?? ?? ??????? ?? ?? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ??????? ?????????  ????????? ??????? ???  ??????????? ?? ??? ???? ????????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ????????? ????????????????? ?????  ??? ???????????????? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????????? ????????  ??????? ??? ????? ??????

About the Author

Rafael Ramirez is an attorney who began his career in law enforcement. During the nineteen years he served as a member of the city police force in Lafayette, Indiana, he earned a degree in criminal justice at Purdue University. He then spent several years working in counseling and classification for the Indiana Department of Correction before attending the Indiana University School of Law where he received his J. D. degree in 1995. His wide experience in the various aspects of the criminal justice system makes him uniquely qualified to comment on prison issues to professionals at many levels. Mr. Ramirez is now engaged in the private practice of law at Indianapolis, Indiana. Mary Knochel is a former teacher who received her B. S. and M. A. from Indiana State University. After retiring to raise a family she returned to Purdue University to earn a PhD in English Literature in 1994. Her academic background prepared her to manage the large volume of material generated by the research for this project. Dr. Knochel reviewed the files of hundreds of prisoners, studied all relevant manuals and handbooks, interviewed inmates and employees, and visited prison sites at every security level from work release to the execution chamber. Her status as an “outsider” to the prison system provides a perspective sympathetic to the interests of the general reader.