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allodial
03-16-16, 11:19 PM
A Country Called Prison: Mass Incarceration and the Making of a New Nation

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The United States is the world leader in incarcerating citizens. 707 people out of every 100,000 are imprisoned. If those currently incarcerated in the US prison system were a country, it would be the 102nd most populated nation in the world. Aside from looking at the numbers, if we could look at prison from a new viewpoint, as its own country rather than an institution made up of walls and wires, policies and procedures, and legal statutes, what might we be able to learn?

In A Country Called Prison, Mary Looman and John Carl propose a paradigm shift in the way that American society views mass incarceration. Weaving together sociological and psychological principles, theories of political reform, and real-life stories from experiences working in prison and with at-risk families, Looman and Carl form a foundation of understanding to demonstrate that prison is prison is more than an institution built of of fences and policies - it is a culture. Prison continues well after incarceration, as ex-felons leave correctional facilities (and often return to impoverished neighborhoods) without money or legal identification of American citizenship. Trapped in the isolation of poverty, these legal aliens turn to illegal ways of providing for themselves and are often reimprisoned. This situation is unsustainable and America is clearly facing an incarceration epidemic that requires a new perspective to eradicate it. A Country Called Prison offers concrete, concrete, feasible, economical suggestions to reform the prison system and help prisoners return to a healthier life after incarceration.

Related:
A Country Called Prison (Amazon link)
(http://www.amazon.com/Country-Called-Prison-Incarceration-Making/dp/0190211032)

shikamaru
03-19-16, 12:23 AM
This occurred in Medieval England particularly with regard to statutes passed concerning debt, insolvency, and bankruptcy.

Debtors' prisons swelled thereafter.

We also know from history that the re-enslavement of African-Americans immediately after the Civil War and thereafter have also caused the prisons to swell.

This could also be looked at as a form of capitalization of people and their labor.

The 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was used as fuel for this to occur.

"Slavery" was removed from individuals, but not from governments.