ABSTRACT
Prison Nation is a distant dispatch from a foreign and forbidden place--the world of America's prisons. Written by prisoners, social critics and luminaries of investigative reporting, Prison Nation testifies to the current state of America's prisoners' living conditions and political concerns. These concerns are not normally the concerns of most Americans, but they should be. From substandard medical care the inadequacy of resources for public defenders to the death penalty, the issues covered in this volume grow more urgent every day. Articles by outstanding writers such as Mumia Abu-Jamal, Noam Chomsky, Mark Dow, Judy Green, Tracy Huling and Christian Parenti chronicle the injustices of prison privatization, class and race in the justice system, our quixotic drug war, the rarely discussed prison AIDS crisis and a judicial system that rewards mostly those with significant resources or the desire to name names. Correctional facilities have become a profitable growth industry, for companies like Wackenhut that run them and companies like Boeing that use cheap prison labor. With fascinating narratives, shocking tales and small stories of hope, Prison Nation paints a picture of a world many Americans know little or nothing about.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part Section 1|60 pages
The Warehousing of America's Poor
chapter |17 pages
The Accused Get What the System Doesn't Pay For
part Section 2|46 pages
Two Million Swept Away
part Section 3|26 pages
Making a Buck off the Prisoner's Back
part Section 4|30 pages
The Private Prison Industry
part |48 pages
Malign Neglect: Prison Medicine
chapter |9 pages
“The Judge Gave Me Ten Years. He Didn't Sentence Me to Death.”
part |64 pages
Rape, Racism, and Repression
chapter |14 pages
Deliberate Indifference
part |38 pages
The Bars to Prison Litigation