Citation

Cunningham MD, Sorensen JR. Law Hum. Behav. 2007; 31(6): 553-571.

Affiliation

417 Oak Bend, Suite 260, Lewisville, Texas, 75067, USA, mdc@markdcunningham.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1007/s10979-006-9079-z

PMID

17380371

Abstract

This study analyzed the records of 136 recently incarcerated capital murder offenders in the initial phase (M = 2.37 years, range = 6-40 months) of their life sentences in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Prevalence rates of institutional violence were inversely related to severity: potentially violent misconduct (36.8%), assaultive violations (14%), serious assaults (5.1%), and homicides (0%). Consistent with prior studies, factors correlated with assaultive misconduct included age (inversely), prior prison confinement, and concurrent robbery or burglary in the capital offense. A simplified Burgess scale entitled the Risk Assessment Scale for Prison - Capital (RASP-Cap) was moderately successful in identifying varying levels of improbability of committing violence-related misconduct however defined (AUC = .715-.766).

Language: en