NCJ Number
225251
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 33 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2008 Pages: 524-540
Date Published
December 2008
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study offers an examination of correctional officers who work on death row.
Abstract
Results found that the experience of working on death row is complex and multifaceted. Death row was reported to have a different feeling than other areas in the institution; officers reported a “scary and eerie” feeling. Since death row is more controlled and strictly regimented, correctional officers were very security conscious and felt pressure to “do the job right.” Death row work assignments require less work because less thought, and fewer spontaneous decisions and actions are required. These results suggest that correctional officers who work on death row experience both strain and pressure while simultaneously believing that death row work is easier and has fewer problems than other assignments in prison. The rules and procedures that govern death row work allow the correctional officers to complete their tasks without much thought, yet the officers who work on death row are under a great deal of pressure and stress to do the job well without making mistakes. The need to continue exploring this neglected area of capital punishment, the correctional officers, is noted. Data were collected from a male maximum/minimum security correctional facility in a Midwestern State during the spring of 2002. Tables, notes, references