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88 Prison J. 3 (2008)

handle is hein.journals/prsjrnl88 and id is 1 raw text is: Mmah008 3-5 From the Special 100 Issue Editorhoed at http://ine~iisagepub.com G reetings! It is my pleasure to welcome you to this special issue of The Prison Journal on supermax prisons. I have enjoyed working with Dr. Rosemary Gido as she gently guided me through the process. I am indebted to the reviewers who so willingly shared their time, wisdom, and expertise to help make this special issue truly special. This issue contains eight articles that examine the phenomenon of the supermax prison in different ways. The articles fall into three major groups: (a) pieces written by individuals who have served time in prison or are currently serving time in prison, (b) individuals who are employed by a department of corrections or have access to DOC records, and (c) academic scholars, all committed to learning about this social experiment called the supermax. The first article, by Richards, USP Marion: The First Federal Supermax, explores USP Marion's history, its evolution into a supermax, and how it became the model for others to emulate. Richards, a convict criminologist, examines the profile of prisoners incarcerated at USP Marion and their experiences in the control unit. The portrait he paints is disturbing. It should be noted that in early 2007 USP Marion's mission was modified by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The facility was refurbished and transformed into a medium-security prison. The supermax inmates were dispersed to other federal penitentiaries, ending the era of supermax in Marion. Pizarro and Narag's article, Supermax Prisons: What We Know, What We Do Not Know, and Where We Are Going, examines what the academic community knows, areas of needed research, and U.S. Supreme Court rulings on supermax prisons. They find that although research is ongoing on this topic, what we do not know is extensive. They conclude that there is a dearth of knowledge regarding the characteristics of inmates placed in supermaxes, that there are little data on the covariates in the decision-making process to place an inmate in a supermax, and that there is little robust methodological analysis of the impact these institutions have on the inmates placed there, the inmates in general populations, and the community. The article by Mears, An Assessment of Supermax Prisons Using an Evaluation Research Framework, examines the theoretical foundation, implementation, and cost-efficiency of supermax facilities. He finds that empirical support for the supermax is weak on all counts, but concedes that 3

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