The Society of Captives: A Study of a Maximum Security Prison

Gresham M. Sykes describes the society of captives from the inmates’ point of view. Sykes acknowledges the fact that his observations are generalizations but he feels that most inmates can agree on feelings of deprivation and frustration. As he sketches the development of physical punishment towards psychological punishment, Sykes follows that both have an enormous effect on the inmate and do not differ greatly in their cruelty.

The “pains of imprisonment” can be divided into five main conditions that attack the inmate’s personality and his feeling of self-worth. The deprivations are as follows: The deprivation of liberty, of goods and services, of heterosexual relationships, autonomy and of security.

Firstly Sykes specifies that the confinement to the institution also means the confinement within the constitution. Not only must the inmate live isolated from family and friends, he must also submit to the rules within the prison. Furthermore he sees his confinement as a “deliberate, moral rejection” of himself by society. His status as a prisoner separates him from free men that can be trusted and accepted as “a functioning member of society”, he is constantly rejected and degraded (e.g. by uniforms, identification numbers, stripping of civil rights).

The deprivation of goods and services has an especially high impact in societies that consider material possessions as means of measuring someone’s personal worth. As the inmates are forced to live in a very meager environment they feel deprived since none of their wants are satisfied. While it may be questionable whether prisoners deserve any goods or services that exceed their needs, it is indisputably true that each of them has to suffer through his own failure that makes him ...

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...ecause they had to pay for their education and receive a high SAT score and other qualifications to be accepted at a college, I think it is important not to let these lives slip away. It would not be of any use to lock them up for many years and then release them into the world with nothing on their hands. It is more expensive for a state to pay for a second imprisonment than to pay for a college education and everyone should have a right to learn. This right is infringed by the college system in itself as it does not give everyone a chance to earn a degree, not by Prison Education. And secondly, the “pains of imprisonment” are hard enough and I think any inmate would trade places with us. Education does not reduce this pain; it should be a matter of course to help these people have a chance at a successful life. It should after all be a rehabilitative punishment.