Download or read book Inside written by Michael Santos and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2007-06-26 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a federal inmate with two decades of continuous confinement comes a controversial expose of the shocking details of life in American prisons

Download or read book Decades Behind Bars written by Gaye D. Holman and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2017-04-11 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than two million people are incarcerated in America's prisons--one in nine is serving a life sentence. Mass long-term imprisonment devours state budgets, adversely affects community well-being and skews our collective moral compass. This study examines the human costs of keeping the convicted out of sight, out of mind. Beginning in 1994, the author began recording the personal stories of 50 incarcerated felons--17 of them were still in prison 20 years later. The men candidly discuss what it means to commit a serious crime and to be confined for perhaps the remainder of their lives. Their stories are balanced by conversations with correctional officers, prison administrators, chaplains and parole board members. The author identifies circumstances that ruin some prisoners and save others and presents insights for possible improvements in the criminal justice system.

Download or read book Women Behind Bars written by Silja JA Talvi and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2007-11-02 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More and more women—mothers, grandmothers, wives, daughters, and sisters—are doing hard prison time all across the United States. Many of them are facing the prospect of years, decades, even lifetimes behind bars. Oddly, there's been little public discussion about the dramatic increase of women in the prison system. What exactly is happening here, and why? The answers are in Women Behind Bars, in which investigative journalist Silja Talvi sheds light on why American girls and women are being locked up at such unprecedented rates. Talvi travels across the country to weave together interviews with inmates, correctional officers, and administrators, providing readers with a glance at the impact incarceration has on our society. With a combination of compassion and critical analysis, Talvi delivers a timely, in-depth analysis of a growing and extremely complicated issue.

Download or read book Resistance Behind Bars written by Victoria Law and published by PM Press. This book was released on 2012-10-05 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1974, women imprisoned at New York’s maximum-security prison at Bedford Hills staged what is known as the August Rebellion. Protesting the brutal beating of a fellow prisoner, the women fought off guards, holding seven of them hostage, and took over sections of the prison. While many have heard of the 1971 Attica prison uprising, the August Rebellion remains relatively unknown even in activist circles. Resistance Behind Bars is determined to challenge and change such oversights. As it examines daily struggles against appalling prison conditions and injustices, Resistance documents both collective organizing and individual resistance among women incarcerated in the U.S. Emphasizing women’s agency in resisting the conditions of their confinement through forming peer education groups, clandestinely arranging ways for children to visit mothers in distant prisons and raising public awareness about their lives, Resistance seeks to spark further discussion and research into the lives of incarcerated women and galvanize much-needed outside support for their struggles. This updated and revised edition of the 2009 PASS Award winning book includes a new chapter about transgender, transsexual, intersex, and gender-variant people in prison.

Download or read book Mr Smith Goes to Prison written by Jeff Smith and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2015-09 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A politician's humorous memoir of his year in federal prison, with a viable prescription for a more productive, cost-effective corrections system.

Download or read book Father Behind Bars written by and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2004 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arthur Hamilton, imprisoned for armed robbery and manslaughter, a college graduate, and the founder of Fathers Behind Bars, Inc., tells the story of his life.

Download or read book Public Health Behind Bars written by Robert Greifinger and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-10-04 with total page 588 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Public Health Behind Bars From Prisons to Communities examines the burden of illness in the growing prison population, and analyzes the impact on public health as prisoners are released. This book makes a timely case for correctional health care that is humane for those incarcerated and beneficial to the communities they reenter.

Download or read book Decarcerating America written by Ernest Drucker and published by The New Press. This book was released on 2018-02-20 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A powerful call for reform.” —NPR An all-star team of criminal justice experts present timely, innovative, and humane ways to end mass incarceration Mass incarceration will end—there is an emerging consensus that we’ve been locking up too many people for too long. But with more than 2.2 million Americans behind bars right now, how do we go about bringing people home? Decarcerating America collects some of the leading thinkers in the criminal justice reform movement to strategize about how to cure America of its epidemic of mass punishment. With sections on front-end approaches, as well as improving prison conditions and re-entry, the book includes pieces by leaders across the criminal justice reform movement: Danielle Sered of Common Justice describes successful programs for youth with violent offenses; Robin Steinberg of the Bronx Defenders argues for more resources for defense attorneys to diminish plea bargains; Kathy Boudin suggests changes to the parole model; Jeannie Little offers an alternative for mental health and drug addiction issues; and Eric Lotke offers models of new industries to replace the prison economy. Editor Ernest Drucker applies the tools of epidemiology to help us cure what he calls "a plague of prisons." Decarcerating America will be an indispensable roadmap as the movement to challenge incarceration in America gains critical mass—it shows us how to get people out of prisons, and the more appropriate responses to crime. The ideas presented in this volume are what we are fighting for when we fight against the New Jim Crow.

Download or read book America Behind Bars written by Rick Ruddell and published by LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC. This book was released on 2004 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ruddell examines the political, cultural, and social factors that contributed to the growth in incarceration in the United States from 1952 to 2000. Controlling for the influences of economic stress, violent crime, unemployment, direct outlays for assistance, the percentage of population that is black, and the percentage of males aged 15 to 29 years, Ruddell studies the influences of political disaffection, civic disengagement, and social disruption on adult imprisonment trends. The findings provide evidence of the relationships between increases in the use of punishment and cultural or political values. The results also support the proposition that the use of punishment is an inherently complex and political process.

Download or read book The Puzzle of Prison Order written by David Skarbek and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many people think prisons are all the same-rows of cells filled with violent men who officials rule with an iron fist. Yet, life behind bars varies in incredible ways. In some facilities, prison officials govern with care and attention to prisoners' needs. In others, officials have remarkably little influence on the everyday life of prisoners, sometimes not even providing necessities like food and clean water. Why does prison social order around the world look so remarkably different? In The Puzzle of Prison Order, David Skarbek develops a theory of why prisons and prison life vary so much. He finds that how they're governed-sometimes by the state, and sometimes by the prisoners-matters the most. He investigates life in a wide array of prisons-in Brazil, Bolivia, Norway, a prisoner of war camp, England and Wales, women's prisons in California, and a gay and transgender housing unit in the Los Angeles County Jail-to understand the hierarchy of life on the inside. Drawing on economics and a vast empirical literature on legal systems, Skarbek offers a framework to not only understand why life on the inside varies in such fascinating and novel ways, but also how social order evolves and takes root behind bars.

Download or read book Teaching the Arts Behind Bars written by Rachel Marie-Crane Williams and published by UPNE. This book was released on 2003 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: America's two million incarcerated men, women, and youth live in a hidden, isolated world filled with depression, anxiety, hostility, and violence. But the nation's soaring prison population has not been forgotten by a dedicated network of visual artists, writers, poets, dancers, musicians, and actors who teach the arts in correctional settings. This anthology compiles the narratives of several accomplished arts-in-corrections teachers who share their personal experiences, philosophies, and bittersweet anecdotes, as well as practical advice, survival skills, and program evaluation guidelines. Teaching the Arts Behind Bars is an invaluable tool for artists, program administrators, and corrections professionals, and a testament to the power of creative expression in promoting communication, positive social interaction, inner healing, and self-esteem.

Download or read book The Effects of Incarceration and Reentry on Community Health and Well Being written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2020-04-17 with total page 89 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The high rate of incarceration in the United States contributes significantly to the nation's health inequities, extending beyond those who are imprisoned to families, communities, and the entire society. Since the 1970s, there has been a seven-fold increase in incarceration. This increase and the effects of the post-incarceration reentry disproportionately affect low-income families and communities of color. It is critical to examine the criminal justice system through a new lens and explore opportunities for meaningful improvements that will promote health equity in the United States. The National Academies convened a workshop on June 6, 2018 to investigate the connection between incarceration and health inequities to better understand the distributive impact of incarceration on low-income families and communities of color. Topics of discussion focused on the experience of incarceration and reentry, mass incarceration as a public health issue, women's health in jails and prisons, the effects of reentry on the individual and the community, and promising practices and models for reentry. The programs and models that are described in this publication are all Philadelphia-based because Philadelphia has one of the highest rates of incarceration of any major American city. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions of the workshop.

Download or read book The Growth of Incarceration in the United States written by Committee on Causes and Consequences of High Rates of Incarceration and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2014-12-31 with total page 800 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After decades of stability from the 1920s to the early 1970s, the rate of imprisonment in the United States has increased fivefold during the last four decades. The U.S. penal population of 2.2 million adults is by far the largest in the world. Just under one-quarter of the world's prisoners are held in American prisons. The U.S. rate of incarceration, with nearly 1 out of every 100 adults in prison or jail, is 5 to 10 times higher than the rates in Western Europe and other democracies. The U.S. prison population is largely drawn from the most disadvantaged part of the nation's population: mostly men under age 40, disproportionately minority, and poorly educated. Prisoners often carry additional deficits of drug and alcohol addictions, mental and physical illnesses, and lack of work preparation or experience. The growth of incarceration in the United States during four decades has prompted numerous critiques and a growing body of scientific knowledge about what prompted the rise and what its consequences have been for the people imprisoned, their families and communities, and for U.S. society. The Growth of Incarceration in the United States examines research and analysis of the dramatic rise of incarceration rates and its affects. This study makes the case that the United States has gone far past the point where the numbers of people in prison can be justified by social benefits and has reached a level where these high rates of incarceration themselves constitute a source of injustice and social harm. The Growth of Incarceration in the United States examines policy changes that created an increasingly punitive political climate and offers specific policy advice in sentencing policy, prison policy, and social policy. The report also identifies important research questions that must be answered to provide a firmer basis for policy. This report is a call for change in the way society views criminals, punishment, and prison. This landmark study assesses the evidence and its implications for public policy to inform an extensive and thoughtful public debate about and reconsideration of policies.

Download or read book America Is the Prison written by Lee Bernstein and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2010-06-01 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1970s, while politicians and activists outside prisons debated the proper response to crime, incarcerated people helped shape those debates though a broad range of remarkable political and literary writings. Lee Bernstein explores the forces that sparked a dramatic "prison art renaissance," shedding light on how incarcerated people produced powerful works of writing, performance, and visual art. These included everything from George Jackson's revolutionary Soledad Brother to Miguel Pinero's acclaimed off-Broadway play and Hollywood film Short Eyes. An extraordinary range of prison programs--fine arts, theater, secondary education, and prisoner-run programs--allowed the voices of prisoners to influence the Black Arts Movement, the Nuyorican writers, "New Journalism," and political theater, among the most important aesthetic contributions of the decade. By the 1980s and '90s, prisoners' educational and artistic programs were scaled back or eliminated as the "war on crime" escalated. But by then these prisoners' words had crossed over the wall, helping many Americans to rethink the meaning of the walls themselves and, ultimately, the meaning of the society that produced them.

Download or read book Behind Bars written by Jeffrey Ian Ross and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2002 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Best ways to avoid being beaten, sexually abused, or getting killed; US origin.

Download or read book Prison Food in America written by Erika Camplin and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2016-12-08 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: America seems presently fascinated by prison culture and the inner workings of what happens behind clinked doors. With TV shows creating binge-watchers of us all, and celebrities piquing public interest as they end up behind bars, Americans seem to enjoy a good gawk at prison life. Each year, more than 1.3 million visitors still trek out to Alcatraz Island, one of the most famous prisons in the world. And why shouldn’t they be curious about prison? We as a nation currently incarcerate more people per capita than any other country, and our prisons are notoriously rough, violent, and overcrowded. At the same time, we love our food, take pictures of it, post it socially, and discuss our foodie favorites. Rarely do we consider the food experiences of those for whom sustenance is more difficult to obtain, particularly those incarcerated, where choice and access is severely limited. Prison food is often everything to prisoners. It is the only marker of time throughout the day. Food becomes commerce in the microeconomies behind prison walls. It is often the only source of pleasure in a monotonous routine. It creates sites of community when prisoners ban together to create recipes, but also becomes a site of discord when issues surrounding fairness and equity arise in the chow hall. Prison Food in America offers a high-level snapshot of the fare offered behind bars, its general guidelines and regulations, fascinating stories about prisoners and food, and the remarkable and varied ways food plays a role in the fabric of prison culture.

Download or read book Women Behind Bars written by Wensley Clarkson and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2013-05-17 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ***Please note: This ebook edition does not contain the photos found in the print edition.*** They were once sweet little girls--sugar and spice, and everything nice. Now they're cold blooded criminals, behind the bars of America's most dangerous prisons--hardened women doing their time. how and why did they cross to the dark side? What makes women kill husbands, lovers, family, and innocent strangers? Step aside and meet: Patty: the prison beauty slaughtered her mother, father, and little brother after falling in love with an evil Svengali twenty years her senior. Michelle: She lovingly tends the flowers on the prison grounds. Only those who know her best know how she kicked her husband to death. Cynthia: A typical St. Louis girl--until she met a jailbird and embarked on a murderous rampage worthy of Natural Born Killers. Author Wensley Clarkson has used his unique, unlimited access to some of America's toughest prisons to reveal the shocking world of female criminals--from their illicit love affairs to race relations, prostitution, protection rackets, drug smuggling, and more. Plus: what happened to notorious criminals Amy Fisher and Pam Smart? Now their tawdry lived behind bars are revealed.