ABSTRACT

As a member of a community leadership and social justice team in Boston, I was recently allowed to “tour” the Suffolk County House of Corrections. The visit began with a video that celebrated the philosophy and practice of “rehabilitation” of the prison, followed by a presentation from a controversial county sheriff who dismissed any critique of the United States’ penitentiary system and his work therein, even when asked about the correlation between draconian cutbacks on programs to help inmates reacclimate on the outside and astronomical recidivism rates. This introductory section of the program day closed with two inmate panels, one with three women and the second with three men. These participants, who were obviously rigorously screened, color coordinated, and polished for our consumption, nervously spoke about how the local concept of “corrections” was helping them get back on their feet.