tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107037609455779557.post4360417343114064166..comments2024-02-28T05:56:28.293-08:00Comments on California Correctional Crisis: Book Review: Sunbelt Justice by Mona LynchHadar Aviramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15200780666976305749noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107037609455779557.post-12791267651025782152009-12-17T06:23:28.589-08:002009-12-17T06:23:28.589-08:00It's quite possible for some societies to be m...It's quite possible for some societies to be more personality-driven than others, Tom, and it's certainly true in the correctional context. When I think about it, part of what helped Alexander Machonochie reform Norfolk Island was its relative isolation from British bureaucracy; it was Machonochie's little kingdom, where he was free to conduct social experimentation as he saw fit. Similarly, the era of Eyman in Arizona corrections allowed him a lot of leeway because there was much less of an apparatus to get in the way. These days, it's more difficult even for big personalities to swm against the current.Hadar Aviramhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15200780666976305749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107037609455779557.post-75319740341252395742009-12-15T15:35:39.029-08:002009-12-15T15:35:39.029-08:00For some reason, the discussion on personalities a...For some reason, the discussion on personalities and their role reminded me of Max Weber's old observation that societies are either "traditional", "rational-legal", or "charismatic" in their organization.<br /><br />I lived in Arizona ten years ago. I remember an incident in which the "New Mexican Mafia" (Arizona's offshoot of La Eme but an enemy of the California original) came very close to assassinating the head of the state DOC in Phoenix after they followed California in implementing a version of the SHU program and sent all the validated STG members there.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08067759626108987472noreply@blogger.com