Commentary

Abstract

Women prisoners make up a small percentage of the prison population, yet they are the fastest growing population in prison, especially among women of color. Many of these women are typically young, poor, and uneducated mothers, and they often encounter an assortment of social and health problems while incarcerated. This commentary examines some of the issues that predispose women of color to commit crimes and the challenges they face in the New York State prison system.     

Commentary

This issue's commentary section contains analyses written by several of the Digest's panel of reporters of the U S. Supreme Court's decision in the Belle Terre case. That case upheld a restrictive definition of the family, preventing the occupancy of a single-family dwelling by a group of unrelated college students. The Digest abstract of that case appears in issue number 2 of this volume, at 26 ZD 56.