Discussion
In an attempt to understand the New Mexico Prison Riot in it’s entirety, all aspects of breakdown must be considered. It has been clearly understood by movement scholars that the riot that took place at the penitentiary was the result of diminishing solidarity between the administration and the inmates. Both of the selected scholars use their interpretation of contemporary breakdown theory to further their understanding of how riots form. Bert Useem directly applies his interpretation of breakdown theory to the NM prison riot. As solitary confinement began to evaporate in the overstocked penitentiary, the inmates felt the prison had become increasingly more uncomfortable in terms of safety. In direct interviews with some of the surviving inmates, Useem provides evidence for the ‘breakdown’ of the prison’s, once stable, processes. “Although all inmates experience a profound deprivation by virtue of their imprisonment, inmates do develop standards of just deprivation. It is the violation of these standards which, as in the non-prison world, is hypothesized to motivate protest.” (Useem 1982) Both the inmate and guard interviews support a deprivation explanation of the riot. Most inmates reported that the conditions in the penitentiary …show more content…
The inmates, as well as others who have studied the movement, recognize a clear distinction in the New Mexico prison’s physical and sociological conditions. The spiral of conditions was recognized by both inmates and guards alike. "During [Rodriguez's] tenure, there was no escapes. There was no major stabbing, there was no killings, and that's because they [the inmates] had everything they wanted. It was ridiculous, but they did." (Attorney General Interview, 1980) As breakdown theory would suggest, the perceived worsening of conditions has been the highlighted factor of the riot’s
In an attempt to understand the New Mexico Prison Riot in it’s entirety, all aspects of breakdown must be considered. It has been clearly understood by movement scholars that the riot that took place at the penitentiary was the result of diminishing solidarity between the administration and the inmates. Both of the selected scholars use their interpretation of contemporary breakdown theory to further their understanding of how riots form. Bert Useem directly applies his interpretation of breakdown theory to the NM prison riot. As solitary confinement began to evaporate in the overstocked penitentiary, the inmates felt the prison had become increasingly more uncomfortable in terms of safety. In direct interviews with some of the surviving inmates, Useem provides evidence for the ‘breakdown’ of the prison’s, once stable, processes. “Although all inmates experience a profound deprivation by virtue of their imprisonment, inmates do develop standards of just deprivation. It is the violation of these standards which, as in the non-prison world, is hypothesized to motivate protest.” (Useem 1982) Both the inmate and guard interviews support a deprivation explanation of the riot. Most inmates reported that the conditions in the penitentiary …show more content…
The inmates, as well as others who have studied the movement, recognize a clear distinction in the New Mexico prison’s physical and sociological conditions. The spiral of conditions was recognized by both inmates and guards alike. "During [Rodriguez's] tenure, there was no escapes. There was no major stabbing, there was no killings, and that's because they [the inmates] had everything they wanted. It was ridiculous, but they did." (Attorney General Interview, 1980) As breakdown theory would suggest, the perceived worsening of conditions has been the highlighted factor of the riot’s