“I Just Need to Send This Message”: Rationality Underlying Inmate-on-Inmate Violence

Abstract

Despite immediate and unavoidable punishment, some inmates under incarceration still choose to commit violence, which raises doubts over whether these inmates have the ability to think and act in a rational manner. This paper, based on semi-structured interviews with inmates who have committed inmate-on-inmate violent acts, examines violence as a process and explores which factors are weighed before and during the commission of violence in the context of China’s prisons. Unlike quantitative research on the correlates of prison violence, inmates’ accounts of their violent experiences are the focus of analysis. By identifying the inmates’ understanding and interpretation of violence, the implications for interventions aimed at reducing prison violence are also discussed.