In his new book Corrections: A Humanistic Approach, Hans Toch writes, “Today, many people want prisons to be the garbage bins of society.”
Since the 1980s, the prison system in the U.S. has yielded to strong political pressure to treat prisoners with austerity. This trend shows itself most vividly in measures like the return of chain gangs and the introduction of “boot camp” style incarceration. Prison populations swell as more non-violent repeat offenders, often the drug-addicted, are arrested and serve longer terms.
Harsh measures, especially when rehabilitation programs lag behind, can fuel resentment that makes life harder for jailors as well as for prisoners.
Given this climate, the problem posed by Toch, a distinguished professor in the School of Criminal Justice, in Corrections (Harrow and Heston, 1997) is how to “run a prison acceptable to the public, that provides safety, sanity, activity, purpose and hope to incarcerated offenders.”
Toch argues that the politicians who mandate prison austerity are not responding to public opinion, but to a false stereotype of public opinion. He cites a 1992 Edna McConnell Clark Foundation report which concluded that the public is “not nearly as punitive as some of their leaders think.”
While the public does favor discipline in prison and wants punishments to fit the crime, it regards rehabilitation as the primary purpose of incarceration. According to Toch, a program that truly reflects public opinion would emphasize “work,” “supervision,” “discipline,” and “a modality of self-improvement, such as education, vocational training, and therapy.”
Toch has been called by Craig Haney, chair of sociology and professor of psychology at the University at California at Santa Cruz “simply the sanest, wisest, most thoughtful voice speaking about corrections in this country.” Asked what audience he expects his book to reach, Toch said he intends it to be both useful in the classroom and of interest to workers in the field.
Toch acknowledged that his approach has more in common with traditional liberal views of corrections than with conservative views, but said he has aimed for balance: “I have worked both with prisoners and with people who run prisons. In a sense, both are incarcerated, and it seems to me that if you can show compassion and understanding for one, you can show compassion and understanding for the other.”
Toch said he began his career as a “pure academic,” but has been involved in applied research since the mid 1960s. The author of many books, he described Corrections as “more personal” than his previous work. Writing it has been “a way to revisit some things I’ve thought about over time and see if there was some way to improve on them.” He has enjoyed the rare opportunity of “returning to a love for the essay form.”
As for the future of corrections in the U.S., Toch’s book strikes an optimistic note: “There is no point in expressing helpless rage at the punitive ethos that engulfs corrections today. In the short run, the walls of Jericho are obdurate, but they are bound to tumble in time.”
John LeMay
Eighth Book Published
Leonard Slade, professor of Africana Studies and English, recently had his eighth
book of poetry published by McGraw-Hill, Inc. Titled Neglecting the Flowers, the
collection of poems uses a minimalist approach. According to the introduction, it
“deals with Slade’s reassessment of his own self worth as one who is committed to
roles of pride and honor and heritage rooted in love... His subject matter taken from
current events and topical discussions expresses the speed and urgency of time.”
Slade’s poems have appeared in numerous magazines and literary journals throughout the United States and Europe including U.S. News and World Report and Ebony magazine. Pulitzer prize-winner Gwendolyn Brooks described Slade as a traditionalist who expresses traditional values in a contemporary way. He writes of black folk life as well as personal experiences using his own literary illustrations. His poems are about society and people, music and religion, history and the future.
His other books of poetry include Another Black Voice: A Different Drummer (1988),
The Whipping Song (1993), and