Links to Reading/Videos:
Hard Time – Female Offenders:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2j8c8mLinks to an external site.
NOTE: You do NOT need to watch this entire video. Please watch from about 20:42 through 23:30 minutes so you can see what a prison nursery looks like.
Prison Born:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/07/prison-born/395297/Links to an external site.
Babies Behind Bars:
http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1903&context=plrLinks to an external site.
Babies & Children in Prison – Age Limits & Policies Around the World (See PDF in Canvas)
After reviewing the resources above, please address the following questions:
What is a prison nursery? What types of offenders are eligible to apply for admission into prison nursery programs?
How many states currently have at least one facility that offers prison nurseries?
What does research tell us about prison nurseries, including their effectiveness on reducing recidivism and their effects on children?
Several potential constitutional challenges of prison nurseries have also been raised. While these constitutional challenges have not been addressed by the
U.S. Supreme Court they may have to be addressed at some point in the future. For example, incarcerated fathers might attempt to claim that their 14th
Amendment Equal Protection rights have been violated because prison nurseries are not being offered in male prisons. What are your thoughts on this?
What are some other potential constitutional challenges discussed in the Babies Behind Bars article?
View the Babies & Children in Prison – Age Limits & Policies Around the World article. Which, if any, of these country’s policies surprised you and why?
Massachusetts currently does not have prison nursery programs. If you were tasked with creating a law regarding prison nurseries in Massachusetts, what
would it look like? Would you outlaw them or allow them? If you would outlaw them, explain your reasoning. If you allowed them, which country’s policies
would you choose as model legislation for Massachusetts? Explain your answer.