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Should there be Separate Justice Systems for Special Needs Populations? Results from the Penn State Public Opinion Poll

Penn State Capital College

Changing population demographics and the aging of the baby boom generation will affect the structure of all the institutions of our society. An aging and increasingly disabled correctional population will force changes in the way the criminal justice system operates. The application of the Americans with Disabilities Act to prisons is controversial and may place extreme burdens on an already overburdened criminal justice system. An alternative is the establishment of a separate system for special needs offenders (the physically and mentally disabled and the elderly), much as a separate system was established for juveniles more than a century ago. This article examines public support for the idea of a separate justice system for each of these special needs populations, using data from the 2001 Penn State Poll. Results suggest support for a separate system for the mentally disabled, less support for the physically disabled, and little support for a system for the elderly.

Key Words: Americans with Disabilities Act • public opinion • criminal justice system

Criminal Justice Policy Review, Vol. 14, No. 3, 322-338 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0887403403253723


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