As I waited in my prison cubicle for a census count to clear this morning, I listened to an NPR news broadcast over the radio describing how the former Senator Ted Stevens would avoid a term in prison. Senator Stevens had been convicted on political corruption charges last fall. Ever since then, I’d been waiting […]
In his newest book, Inside: Life Behind Bars in America, Michael Santos shows readers what it's like to live in America's jails and prisons. Using the voice of the penitentiary, he graphically describes a system infested with gangs, drugs, beatings, shanks, and extortion. From meth-crazed prisoners raping the weak, to female guards who prostitute themselves with the help of gang leaders, and murders in protective custody, Santos brings readers as close as they'll ever want to come to confinement.
It is not the sugarcoated version of "corrections" and "rehabilitation" that administrators want taxpayers to swallow. This book describes a $60 billion industry designed with policies and infrastructure that perpetuate failure.
Santos succeeds in introducing readers to the characters, values, and growing subculture festering inside America's prison system. With the soaring costs of keeping more than two million prisoners inside, this hard-hitting book is timely for all nonfiction readers.
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