Pubdate: Thu, 15 Apr 2004
Source: Real Change (WA)
Copyright: 2004 Real Change
Contact:  http://www.realchangenews.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2637
Author: Heidi Dietrich
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)

PRISON NATION: THE WAREHOUSING OF AMERICA'S POOR

Sex, Drugs, Lockdown

by Tara Herivel (Editor), Paul Wright (Editor) Routledge, 2003 256
pages, $19.95

Don't take Prison Nation on your next beach getaway, unless you can
handle prison rape and torture served up with your margarita. This
collection of essays, edited by attorney Tara Herivel and former
Washington state prisoner and activist Paul Wright, is not a light
read. But it does provoke some tough questions. Anyone with a smidgeon
of a social conscience would be hard-pressed to not feel outraged
about what's going on behind our country's bars.

Most effective are the sections that delve into personal case studies.
The book makes the case that our nation's prisons are filling up with
prisoners who don't deserve to be there. A woman who retrieved hidden
drug profits so her husband -- a major ecstasy importer -- could post
bail was sentenced to 24 years in prison. Her husband, who offered up
testimony about his associates and his wife's involvement in his
finances, did just four years. Minor criminals incarcerated through
tough sentencing laws endure brutal prison rape and emerge from the
system far worse off than they went in.

Equally compelling are essays exploring how towns across the U.S. are
transformed by the nation's growing prison industry. For some
communities, prisons have become their means of economic survival.
With prisons come jobs, grocery stores, Wal-Mart, and craft fairs
filled with prisoners' homemade goods. But real estate sits vacant
because transient prison employees are reluctant to settle in. Guards'
families face the fallout of relatively low-paying jobs in a
stressful, oppressive environment. Alcoholism, domestic abuse, and
juvenile delinquency are not uncommon.

Especially hard to read are stories of abuse -- from both juvenile
offenders and adult prisoners. Sometimes graphic descriptions of
torture accompany tales of youth "boot camps." The squeamish might be
better off skipping passages. Physical harm inflicted upon adult
prisoners is no less harsh. One Indiana prisoner convicted on a DUI
offense describes repeated rapes by fellow inmates. He worries that he
has AIDS and admits to frequent nightmares. Other prisons are accused
not of rape or beatings, but of denying proper medical care to HIV
patients.

Less engaging are preachy essays that fail to use human faces to
illustrate the problems in our prisons. Be the subject legal
representation or racism in the courtroom, the essays lean heavily
toward statistics and court case examples. While informative, the more
casual reader will have to wade through the academic speak before
landing on essays with more colorful examples.

Prison Nation takes a step back from those most directly affected by
American prisons in a section that critiques prison labor. Though some
praise the value of teaching prisoners job skills, essayists point out
that corporations are saving big bucks and costing the
non-incarcerated jobs by choosing prison labor. Among those fingered:
Starbucks, Boeing and Microsoft. The essays don't pretend to be
objective, nor does the editors' introduction to the section, which
describes unpaid prisoners toiling in the fields of former slave
plantations, just as slaves did 150 years ago. The essays stick mainly
to one viewpoint: prison labor is not a good thing. There's no one
advocating for prison labor or saying that we've made great strides in
our nation's prison systems. And there's no evidence presented for
such a claim.

While Prison Nation includes essays and case studies from around the
country, it is Northwest-heavy. Liberal Seattleites are a likely
target audience. Those whose hearts don't bleed as profusely may feel
over-satiated with the leftist views. Likewise, anyone looking for a
light read shouldn't turn to Prison Nation. It's impossible not to get
angry at what's going down in American prisons.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin