Devin Lott
Research Mentor: Matthew Lassiter
Mentor Department: History, LSA
Author(s): Devin Lott, Katie Pieper
Session: Session 4 (1:00 PM – 1:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 48
Abstract
Many Americans are unaware of the structure of the American Prison System, the costs inflicted upon the taxpayer, and the number of terminally ill prisoners who are eligible for parole. The overall view of many prisoners in the United States is that they are dangerous to society. This study covers the story of many terminally ill prisoners in the United States, along with presumptive parole in the state of Michigan. An analysis of individual stories, prison records, and case records was used to show 1) that the financial cost of holding terminally ill prisoners outweighs the gains and 2) that the parole system is flawed. The cases and stories cited show the costs of continually holding terminally ill prisoners who are determined to be no threat to society. This research is a part of the Carceal State Project’s mission to document incarceration, criminalization, and other forms of carceal control in the United States.
