Decades Behind Bars

A 20-Year Conversation with Men in America's Prisons

Gaye Holman (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

228 Seiten

2017
McFarland & Co Inc (Verlag)
978-1-4766-6923-6 (ISBN)

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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.

Gaye Holman is a retired professor of sociology. For several decades she taught within four medium-security correctional facilities in the Louisville, Kentucky area and coordinated her college's degree program there. She still resides in Louisville where she is deeply involved in efforts to help ex-offenders as they re-enter society.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

One—“I’m weary all the time”: An Introduction to the Men

Two—“Gnaws at your heart like a worm”: The Emotional Impact of Incarceration

Three—In the Belly of the Beast: Entering Prison

Four—On the Yard: Day-to-Day Life in Prison

Five—In the Lion’s Mouth: Crime and Rule-Breaking Within the Walls

Six—Power, Respect and the Convict Code: Surviving Behind Bars

Seven—The Past That Clings to Them: Scars of Child Abuse and Neglect

Eight—Desperate Connections: Family Ties

Nine—Two Sides of a Coin: The Man and His Crime

Ten—Searching for Blue Skies: Religion Behind Bars

Eleven—The Long Wait: The Parole Process

Twelve—End of the Journey: Illness and Death in Prison

Thirteen—The Patterns of Change: Results of the Study and Suggestions for Improvement

Fourteen—The Conversation Begins: Current Status of Inmate Subjects

Glossary of Prison Terminology

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	28.04.2017
Verlagsort	Jefferson, NC
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	300 g
Themenwelt	Recht / Steuern ► Strafrecht ► Kriminologie
Themenwelt	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie ► Allgemeine Soziologie
ISBN-10	1-4766-6923-6 / 1476669236
ISBN-13	978-1-4766-6923-6 / 9781476669236
Zustand	Neuware