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Book Club

By TChris, Section Inmates and Prisons
Posted on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 12:48:24 AM EST
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by TChris

A review of Inside: Life Behind Bars in America by Michael Santos:

Mainly, though, [the book is] a diary of "a gladiator school," "a walled city of madness." Guards act savagely -- a natural outcome in a culture where "the only thing lower than an inmate is an 'inmate lover,' a 'hug-a-thug.' " They can also be infuriatingly petty. "Guards are the only people I see throwing cigarettes on the ground," one prisoner says. "They walk across lawns and then order inmates to rake up behind them." Meanwhile, prisoners stab and rape one another and make weapons out of everything from a heavy pipe to a tube sock filled with combination locks. Violence, or the threat of it, permeates Santos's life.

Not surprisingly, Santos sees a need for change:

Most inmates focus on survival, not rehabilitation. And the flaws in the system seem to create a steady stream of prisoners -- namely, those who are released and then end up back behind bars. Even worse, "neither those in corrections, nor those benefiting from the enormous capital disbursements -- like prison towns, suppliers, contractors, etc. -- want to see material changes. Why would they? Doing so would be akin to those in Las Vegas making a call for an end to gambling."

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    • Book Club | 2 comments (2 topical)
    Re: Book Club (none / 0) (#1)
    by JSN on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 02:22:07 PM EST
    There are several books written by former inmates who then went to grad school and became sociology or criminal justice faculty members. Their expertise is that they have been there and they know from first hand experience what is going on. Their colleagues tend to collect and analyze data and draw conclusions based on data. There are advantages and disadvantates to both approaches but in my view we are better off that we have the results of both approaches. For over twenty years we have seen Dept. of Corrections transformed into Depts. of Retribution we are spending enormous sums to maintain this system. As Santos has noted many of the inmates are retunees. I once read an article that had the title "They All Came Back" it is not that bad but I can see why the author chose that title.

    Re: Book Club (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 03:17:11 PM EST
    As with Bush and torture, one has to wonder if there's an element of sexual sadism in the passion shown by the supporters of this perverse system.

    Book Club | 2 comments (2 topical)