Cellmate Pairing in Jails Could Be Preventing Reform

MADISON COUNTY – Crime classification and former inmate history are both used to assign inmates to cells at the Madison County Jail. While the purpose of this classification process is to protect inmates and prevent prisoners accused of serious crimes from having a negative effect on inmates accused of less serious crimes, it could also have an unintentional effect.

Madison County Jail Detention Officer Michael Langford describes the process the facility uses to sort inmates.

Todd Krohn, Professor of Sociology at the University of Georgia, talks about why the prisoners are classified by criminal record and how their behavior is affected by the people they live in the cell with.