Jill McCorkel, PhD
Professor of Sociology and Criminology | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Villanova University
- Villanova PA
Jill McCorkel, PhD, examines the social and political consequences of mass incarceration in the United States.
Media
Social
Areas of Expertise
Biography
Dr. McCorkel can offer expert commentary on subjects such as gender differences in criminal offending, sentencing and punishment, racial inequality in the criminal justice system, police use of force, prison-based education programs, violence in prison, prison overcrowding and solitary confinement. In addition, Dr. McCorkel teaches undergraduate sociology courses at a maximum-security prison for men and has served as a consultant on parole and commutation petitions and wrongful conviction and death penalty cases.
Education
University of Delaware
PhD
University of Delaware
MA
Bucknell University
BA
Select Accomplishments
Distinguished Scholar Award (2014)
Awarded by the Division on Women and Crime of the American Society of Criminology (ASC).
Villanova University Last Lecture (2013)
Annual event hosted by the Villanova University Seniors Committee in Student Life and the Office of Development to celebrate the accomplishments of the senior class with a "last lecture" as Villanova students.
Links
Select Media Appearances
Shapiro's Prison Closure Plan Draws Mixed Reactions
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
2025-02-10
In Pennsylvania, the state's 23 prisons collectively hovered around 100% capacity before the pandemic, with some individual facilities overfilled. But the latest state Department of Corrections monthly population report paints a different picture, with facilities operating at just over 82% capacity... Jill McCorkel, a professor of criminology and sociology at Villanova University, said this is in part because of releases during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also because of a bipartisan trend of support for legislation rolling back war-on-drugs era policies that started to stem incarceration rates in the late 2000s and 2010s.
Pennsylvania Updates Guidance for Incarcerated Voters
WHYY
2024-10-21
Philadelphia Justice Project founder and Villanova University professor Jill McCorkel said misinformation tends to spread to inmates about voting, considering how laws differ from state to state. "People are sort of blasting information from other states to Pennsylvania saying if you've ever been convicted of a felony, you're not allowed to vote, and that's simply not true," McCorkel said. "In Pennsylvania, if you are released from custody on a felony conviction, you can still vote. So even if you're on parole, you're paroled to a halfway house, you're still eligible."
Pennsylvania Supreme Court to Weigh Life Sentences for Felony Murder
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
2024-06-04
In its analysis, the state Supreme Court will consider how life without parole fits into the justice system's sentencing goals: deterrence, retribution for victims, public safety and rehabilitation, said Jill McCorkel, a professor of sociology and criminology at Villanova University. "On all those criteria, it just doesn't make sense," McCorkel said.
A Push to Change Solitary Confinement in Pennsylvania
KYW Newsradio
2024-04-09
A lawsuit filed in March is trying to change the way Pennsylvania handles solitary confinement. There's a lot of evidence showing the negative mental health effects of isolation, especially on people who already had mental health diagnoses—so why are people put into solitary confinement? Are there limits, and what would this lawsuit change? Dr. Jill McCorkel is a professor of sociology and criminology at Villanova University, and she's seen the conditions of solitary confinement in many prisons. She joins us to explain this lawsuit, the current rules in various facilities and the impacts both on individuals and public safety.
Police Chief in Pa. Placed on Leave After One of His Officers Was Charged in Capitol Riot
The Washington Post
2021-02-22
North Cornwall Township supervisors said patrolman Joseph W. Fischer's suspension was triggered by a Pennsylvania law known as the Confidence in Law Enforcement Act. Jill McCorkel, a professor of sociology and criminology at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, told The Washington Post that Fischer's suspension would be automatic, regardless of any action the police chief did or did not take.
At Women's Prison, a Vision for Success
The Morning Call
2018-06-15
Inmates at the state women's prison in Cambridge Springs make more than 15,000 pairs of eyeglasses a year, and a position in the optical lab is a coveted job requiring months of study. Prisoners who make the grade leave prison with the skills they need to start a promising career. But despite calls for such programs from prison reform advocates and politicians, job training for female inmates is still treated as an afterthought, said Jill McCorkel, a Villanova University sociology professor who studies issues facing incarcerated women.
At Graterford, Lifers Get Degrees Even if They'll Never Use Them
The Philadelphia Inquirer
2016-08-19
The Graterford program was started in 1972 by a Villanova criminologist using federal Pell Grant subsidies... The landscape changed dramatically when the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 eliminated Pell Grants for prisoners. Most universities couldn't afford to continue their programs. But Villanova decided to underwrite the cost, becoming a "national model" for inmate education, said Jill McCorkel, a Villanova sociology professor who has taught in the program.
What's Behind the Dramatic Increase in Women Prison Inmates?
WITF's Smart Talk
2015-02-22
Dr. Jill McCorkel from Villanova University appears on Monday's Smart Talk to discuss her book, "Breaking Women: Gender, Race and the New Politics of Imprisonment," in which she interviewed incarcerated women from East Coast prisons, including some in Pennsylvania. The book examines the reasons behind the huge increase in the incarceration of American women during the past 25 years.
Select Academic Articles
The Rise, the Fall and the Reinvention of the Prison Ethnography
The Oxford Handbook of Ethnographies of Crime and Criminal JusticeJill McCorkel
2021
A Revolution in Prosecution: The Campaign to End Mass Incarceration in Philadelphia
Routledge Handbook of Public CriminologiesJill McCorkel
2020
Banking on Rehab: Private Prison Vendors and the Reconfiguration of Mass Incarceration
Studies in Law, Politics and SocietyJill McCorkel
2018
The Second Coming: Gender, Race and the Privatization of Carceral Drug Treatment
Contemporary Drug ProblemsJill McCorkel
2017
"It Will Crush You Like a Bug": Maternal Incarceration, Secondary Prisonization and Children's Visitation
Punishment and SocietyJill McCorkel, Brittnie Aiello
2017
The Gender of Criminal Opportunity: The Impact of Male Co-Offenders on Women's Crime
Feminist CriminologyJill McCorkel, Sarah Becker
2011
"Are You an African?": The Politics of Self-Construction in Status-Based Social Movements
Social ProblemsJill McCorkel, Jason Rodriquez
2009
