"Prison Nation:The Warehousing of America's Poor goes beyond the numbers to show the complex, interwoven
reasons that have produced the prison-industrial complex. In every section of the book.readers will find solid
reporting, gripping writing and political revelation.."
--Ken Silverstein, from the Preface
"This riveting collection makes a compelling case that the United States has an INjustice system at work,
and that it operates its own gulag within this supposedly free society, largely out of sight of its citizenry.
The brutalities, cruelties and inhumanity widely prevalent in the way people are put in prison, kept there, degraded
and mistreated, as recounted in this book's accounts of racist bias, medical care, prison labor, parole, rape,
and the "restraint chair," among many other topics, read like something out of Kafka and Solzenhitzyn.
This important book is a shocker.."
--Edward S. Herman, co-author of Manufacturing Consent
"An extraordinary collection of essays by some of our most astute observers of the American prison system.
What they tell us is shocking and sobering, and their analysis forces to think beyond the cruelties of everyday
prison life to the social forces behind those cruelties. This volume makes clear the connection between prisons
and poverty, the class nature of the justice system. It is both a treasury of information and a profound examination
of imprisonment in America.."
--Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States
"Every American with any concern for justice and democracy ought to read this devastating book--but not right
before bedtime. Prison Nation is a true horror story, a profound revelation of what the prison system is doing
both to millions of poor Americans trapped in its no-exit nightmare and to America itself. But it is also an inspiring
book, bringing together some of the most important work by dozens of dedicated scholars and activists.."
--H. Bruce Franklin, John Cotton Dana Professor of English and American Studies, Rutgers University-Newark
Routledge Publishing Web Site, July, 2003
Summary
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
Section I.The Warehousing of America's Poor
The Accused Gets What the System Doesn't Pay For-Stephen Bright
Absolute Power, Absolute Corruption-Ron Owen
Capital Crimes-George Winslow
Color Bind-Paul Street
Drug Policy as Social Control-Noam Chomsky
Victims' Rights' as a Stalkinghorse for State Repression-Paul Wright
Section II.Two Million Swept Away
Swept Away-Nell Bernstein
An American Seduction:Portrait of a Prison Town-Joelle Fraser
The Politics of Boot Camp-Christian Parenti
Secrecy, Power, Indefinite Detention-Mark Dow
Trapped by the System:Parole in America-Kelly Virella
Relocation Blues-Nell Bernstein
Section IIIMaking a Buck off the Prisoner's Back
Boeing Makes Slave Labor Fly-Paul Wright
The Politics of Prison Labor:a Union Perspective-Gordon Lafer
Work Strike Suppressed and Sabotaged in Ohio-Daniel Burton-Rose
Prison Jobs and Free World Unemployment-Adrian Lomax
Section IVThe Private Prison Industry
Bailing Out Private Jails-Judith Greene
Juvenile Crime Pays-Alex Friedmann
University Professor Shills for Private Prison Industry-Alex Friedmann
Campus Activism Defeats Multinational's Prison Profiteering-Kevin Pranis
Juveniles Held Hostage-Alex Friedmann
Section VMalign Neglect:Prison Medicine
The New Bedlam-Willie Wisely
Wreaking Medical Mayhem on Washington Prisoners-Tara Herivel
Hepatitis C:A Silent Epidemic Strikes U.S. Prisons-Silja Talvi
Dying for Profits-Ron Young
Prisoners with HIV Deprived of Proper Medical Care-Anne Marie Cusac
FDOC Hazardous to Prisoners' Health-Mark Sherwood & Bob Posey
Bill Clinton's Blood Trails-Jeffrey St. Clair
Section VI Rape, Racism and Repression
Cowboys and Prisoners-Willie Wisely
The Restraint Chair Anne?Marie Cusac
Deliberate Indifference-Joanne Mariner and Human Rights Watch Corcoran-Willie Wisely
Guarding Their Silence-Christian Parenti
Our Sisters' Keepers-Daniel Burton Rose
Not Part of my Sentence-Silja Talvi
"Make it Hard for Them"-Mark Dow
Anatomy of a Whitewash-Mumia Abu?Jamal
Sentenced to the Backwaters of Greene County, P.A.-Mumia Abu?Jamal
Section VII The Bars to Prison Litigation
Prison Litigation Over the Decades-John Midgley
Barring the Federal Courthouses to Prisoners-Matt Clarke
Limits of the Law-Mumia Abu?Jamal
