The Penitentiary in Crisis by Mark Colvin

The Penitentiary in Crisis by Mark Colvin

This is a case study of the violence and disorder that have become endemic in U. S. prisons. The 1980 riot at the Penitentiary of New Mexico was one of the worst riots in prison history. Thirty-three inmates were killed and hundreds were injured. The author demonstrates how this riot, and the growing disorder that preceded it, reflect important shifts in the organizational structure and philosophy of prison management in the U. S.

The Penitentiary in Crisis analyzes how shifts in prisoner control strategies disrupted important power relations between inmates and staff and created disorder. The author's experiences as a corrections counselor and planner in New Mexico corrections and his later role as principal researcher for the official investigation of the riot give him a unique perspective for understanding the riot and the prison's organization and history.

"This book will be a major contribution to the fieldNo social scientist has ever gotten closer to a major prison riot than Mark Colvin.

"The major classic in the field, Stateville by Jacobs, must now move over to make room for this second masterpiece." — Richard Hawkins, Southern Methodist University

Mark Colvin is Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at George Mason University.