A Country Called Prison: Mass Incarceration and the Making of a New Nation

What sets this sobering, informative call to action from psychologist Looman and sociologist Carl apart from other critiques of American criminal justice is its central thesis: that the U.S. has effectively created a separate nation of “legal aliens”—people born within the country but disenfranchised through incarceration—within its own borders. The two authors, both of whom have given counseling to prisoners, share firsthand observations into prison life and its toll on current and former inmates and on staff. Their arguments for prison reform range from the personal (Chapter Five provides a harrowing account of Looman’s work helping former prisoner Avalon “reassimilate to American culture”) to the undeniably practical (incarcerating a person makes a taxpayer into a tax user; rehabilitative “diversion” programs cost less than locking people up). The picture Looman and Carl paint of life in “the country called prison” is grim, in contrast to which their proposed reforms seem almost shockingly simple. Though the authors state in the preface that their intended readers are “criminal justice and correctional leadership, policy makers... and the academic community,” this is a vital and informative read for any American citizen concerned with the present state of American justice.[em] (July) [/em]