The PA DOC Monitor

By Jean L. Dell’ Aquila & Moniem A. El-Ganayni

The word rehabilitation is seldom mentioned in current prison jargon. While a few states hold onto the phrase, “Department of Rehabilitation” most have opted for “Department of Corrections” instead. This change is not coincidental. It reflects an attitude change, where the idea of rehabilitating criminals has been dismissed in favor of merely correcting them. Men and women are not merely machines that can be repaired by flicking a switch, or rerouting a wire; they require more than a systematic program of discipline and structure.

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The PA DOC Monitor is in need of volunteers with a legal background.   This may include practicing lawyers, students of law, or individuals with prior experience in law.   Your time and effort will be spent toward the examination and reform of Pennsylvania's Department of Corrections, and also to safeguard the rights of prisoners and their family.   Currently we are seeking individuals who can obtain a complete breakdown of the PA DOC budget through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).   Some key information we are seeking includes:

If one seriously examines both the American prison and military systems, he or she should immediately notice similarities, as well as some differences. The two systems share an operational strategy: hierarchical structure and security, both implemented through command and control, oftentimes in the form of discipline and force. Yet, while the American military has remained generally successful for years, American prisons fall into deeper turmoil each year, despite billions of dollars in funding and brand-new, state-of-the art correctional facilities.

Elsner, Alan. Gates of Injustice: The Crisis in America's Prisons. Saddler River: Pearson Education Inc., 2006. In this new edition, updated after the Abu Ghraib scandal, Elsner uses a conversational tone in recounting the aspects of day-to-day life for American inmates: drug and alcohol abuse, rampant disease, rape, murder and racism.