The Treatment of Criminal Offenders

From drilling holes into the skulls of prisoners, to solitary confinement, to deploying a range of psychological therapies, society has attempted to deal with the problem of criminals in myriad ways over the last few centuries.
This analytical history explores the ever-changing approaches to punishing wrongdoers and preventing further offenses, the philosophical beliefs underlying them, and their relative effects. It discusses such core issues as the role of free will and determination, the root causes of crime, and the effects of studying crimes versus studying criminals. It highlights the continuous debate regarding rehabilitation and punishment, the history of biologically and psychologically based treatments, and the principles of effective intervention, concluding with discussion of what lies ahead.

Psychologist Michael Dow Burkhead has worked in varying capacities with criminal offenders for 25 years and has written a number of articles regarding the treatment of mentally ill prisoners and the death penalty. Also the author of The Search for the Causes of Crime (McFarland, 2005), he lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

Michael Dow Burkhead
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 216
Bibliographic Info: charts, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2007
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3020-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0696-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vi

Preface      1

1. The Principal Issues      5

2. Treatment and Punishment: A Brief History of the American Prison      21

3. The History of Biologically Based Treatment      43

4. The History of Psychologically Based Treatment      57

5. The State of the Science: Cognitive Behavioral Intervention      77

6. The Principles of Effective Intervention      101

7. The Treatment of Special Populations      111

8. Faith-Based Programs      153

9. The Science of Sin: Correctional Treatment in the 21st Century      165

References      181

Index      201

“recommended”—Choice.