Stateville: The Penitentiary in Mass Society

Stateville: The Penitentiary in Mass Society by James B. Jacobs. paperback edition. ISBN: 0000226389774.

Stateville penitentiary in Illinois has housed some of Chicagos most infamous criminals and was proclaimed to be "the worlds toughest prison" by Joseph Ragen, Statevilles powerful warden from 1936 to 1961. It shares with Attica, San Quentin, and Jackson the notoriety of being one of the maximum security prisons that has shaped the publics conception of imprisonment. In Stateville James B. Jacobs, a sociologist and legal scholar, presents the first historical examination of a total prison organization—administrators, guards, prisoners, and special interest groups. Jacobs applies Edward Shilss interpretation of the dynamics of mass society in order to explain the dramatic events of the past quarter century that have permanently altered Statevilles structure. With the extension of civil rights to previously marginal groups such as racial minorities, the poor, and, ultimately, the incarcerated, prisons have moved from societys periphery toward its center. Accordingly Statevilles control mechanisms became less authoritarian and more legalistic and bureaucratic. As prisoners rights increased, the preogatives of the staff were sharply curtailed. By the early 1970s the administration proved incapable of dealing with politicized gangs, proliferating interest groups, unionized guards, and interventionist courts. In addition to extensive archival research, Jacobs spent many months freely interacting with the prisoners, guards, and administrators at Stateville. His lucid presentation of Statevilles troubled history will provide fascinating reading for a wide audience of concerned readers. ". . . [an] impressive study of a complex social system."—Isidore Silver, Library Journal