A large body of research exists that examines the punitiveness of prison compared to a wide variety of alternative sanctions. Generally, this research finds that there are numerous demographic and contextual differences in the way that people experience the punitiveness of prison. In this paper, I expand that research by using data from over 900 inmates to examine whether they view military service as more punitive than incarceration.
The research suggests females, Blacks, and those who have not had prior military service are more likely to desire imprisonment as opposed to military service. However, Whites and veterans appear to embrace the idea of military service as an alternative to imprisonment. The practicality of using military service as opposed to incarceration is also discussed.
","abstract_html":"<p>A large body of research exists that examines the punitiveness of prison compared to a wide variety of alternative sanctions. Generally, this research finds that there are numerous demographic and contextual differences in the way that people experience the punitiveness of prison. In this paper, I expand that research by using data from over 900 inmates to examine whether they view military service as more punitive than incarceration. </p> <p>The research suggests females, Blacks, and those who have not had prior military service are more likely to desire imprisonment as opposed to military service. However, Whites and veterans appear to embrace the idea of military service as an alternative to imprisonment. The practicality of using military service as opposed to incarceration is also discussed. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Milburn, Travis Wade"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"Justice Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:13Z","subjects":["Alternative sanction","exchange rate","incarceration","Military service","Criminology and Criminal Justice"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2012 Travis Wade Milburn"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/82","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Milburn, Travis Wade"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Justice Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Alternative sanction","exchange rate","incarceration","Military service","Criminology and Criminal Justice"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2012 Travis Wade Milburn"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/82"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["A large body of research exists that examines the punitiveness of prison compared to a wide variety of alternative sanctions. Generally, this research finds that there are numerous demographic and contextual differences in the way that people experience the punitiveness of prison. In this paper, I expand that research by using data from over 900 inmates to examine whether they view military service as more punitive than incarceration.
The research suggests females, Blacks, and those who have not had prior military service are more likely to desire imprisonment as opposed to military service. However, Whites and veterans appear to embrace the idea of military service as an alternative to imprisonment. The practicality of using military service as opposed to incarceration is also discussed.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Exploring Military Service as an Alternative Sanction: Evidence From Inmates' Perspectives"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Milburn, Travis Wade"],"dc:description.abstract":["A large body of research exists that examines the punitiveness of prison compared to a wide variety of alternative sanctions. Generally, this research finds that there are numerous demographic and contextual differences in the way that people experience the punitiveness of prison. In this paper, I expand that research by using data from over 900 inmates to examine whether they view military service as more punitive than incarceration.
The research suggests females, Blacks, and those who have not had prior military service are more likely to desire imprisonment as opposed to military service. However, Whites and veterans appear to embrace the idea of military service as an alternative to imprisonment. The practicality of using military service as opposed to incarceration is also discussed.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/82"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2012 Travis Wade Milburn"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Alternative sanction","exchange rate","incarceration","Military service","Criminology and Criminal Justice"],"dc:title":["Exploring Military Service as an Alternative Sanction: Evidence From Inmates' Perspectives"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Justice Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:13Z"}