The Neurological Imprint of Incarceration and Its Effect on Recidivism
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NOTES
THE NEUROLOGICAL IMPRINT OF INCARCERATION
AND ITS EFFECT ON RECIDIVISM
MALCOLM COFFMAN*
INTRODUCTION
The idea that incarceration ultimately increases crime is not new.1 This
effect is often attributed to the collateral consequences of conviction: former
inmates face disenfranchisement, a loss of employment opportunities, and a
restriction of civil rights.2 But prison takes a neurological toll as well. Like the
social and economic penalties that accompany a prison sentence, this too can
contribute to reincarceration.
For many, the experience of confinement causes behavioral changes that
persist even after release. Institutionalization causes some to struggle with the
unstructured reality of life on the outside. Harsh prison conditions are
psychologically damaging: inmates placed in solitary confinement can develop
psychological disorders; those who witness or experience violence may become
traumatized; and all are affected by the chronic and repeated stress of prison.3
It is an environment so stark and psychologically painful that it represents a
form of traumatic stress severe enough to produce post-traumatic stress
reactions once released.4 Such reactions include impulsivity, abuse of drugs
and alcohol, and increased aggression. Outside of prison, these are the
behaviors most likely to lead to rearrest. This Note explores those behaviors,
their inception, and how they relate to criminal activity. Research in
neuroscience and psychology has shown that traumatic environments like
prison can change the brain; applying these findings to data on crime and
recidivism, I argue that these changes ultimately increase the risk of
reoffending.
* J.D. Candidate, Notre Dame Law School, 2023; B.S. in Biopsychology, University of
California, Santa Barbara, 2019. Thank you to Professor Bruce Huber for advising me on this Note,
and to the friends and mentors who gave me feedback and suggestions along the way.
1. See, e.g., MICHEL FOUCAULT, DISCIPLINE AND PUNISH 278 (Alan Sheridan trans., Vintage
Books 1979) (1975) (Detention causes recidivism; those leaving prison have more chance than
before of going back to it ....); THOMAS FOWELL BUXTON, AN INQUIRY, WHETHER CRIME AND
MISERY ARE PRODUCED OR PREVENTED, BY OUR PRESENT SYSTEM OF PRISON DISCIPLINE 91 (3d
ed. 1903) (1818) ([T]he general state of our jails is a principal cause of the increase of crime.).
2. See CRAIG HANEY, CRIMINALITY IN CONTEXT: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM 380 (2020) (pointing to the staggering number of collateral effects of
conviction, many of which can have significant criminogenic consequences).
3. See infra Parts II and III.
4. Craig Haney, The Psychological Impact of Incarceration: Implications for Postprison
Adjustment, in PRISONERS ONCE REMOVED: THE IMPACT OF INCARCERATION AND REENTRY ON
CHILDREN, FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES 33, 45 (Jeremy Travis & Michelle Waul eds., 2003).
251](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/ndlep37&div=10&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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The Neurological Imprint of Incarceration and Its Effect on Recidivism
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