ABSTRACT
It is oft quoted that, “[T]he degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons” (Dostoevsky, 1956, p. 76). American prisons are particularly closed and isolated institutions. They are inaccessible to public viewing and are closed to the media, making it exceedingly difficult to gauge the state of civilization in our society as viewed through the lens of our treatment of lawbreakers. Until recently, conditions in American prisons were viewable mainly through the lens of judicial rulings on challenges to conditions and treatment of prisoners. This chapter reviews significant legal trends involving the incarceration of female prisoners in the United States and analyzes the impact gender has had on the treatment of women prisoners throughout the justice system.
