Mapping State Penal Fields

• In Event: Institutions and Criminal Justice Reform in the US: Promise and Peril in a "New" Era

Abstract

This presentation begins mapping the complex institutional settings that condition the state-level lawmaking processes that generate laws and policies that shape state criminal justice systems. It utilizes data derived from in-depth, state-level case studies to explore how certain types of actors and organizations combine with state institutional structures to either change or sustain the penal status quo. The first goal is to highlight the complexity, or messiness, of state-level institutions engaged in shaping penal law and policy by providing descriptive accounts of specific states. Secondly, the paper aims to highlight differences between state penal fields in an effort to understand what types of institutional structures and organizations might inhibit or advance penal changes that might undermine mass incarceration.

Author

• Michael C. Campbell, University of Missouri - St. Louis