Alan Elsner has written extensively about conditions in jails and prisons, visiting institutions in a dozen states to meet with inmates, lawyers, corrections officers, medical staff, religious volunteers, family members, and law enforcement. He has 25 years' experience in journalism, covering stories ranging from the September 11, 2001 attacks on America and the Arab-Israeli conflict to the 2000 presidential election and the end of the Cold War. Elsner is currently National Correspondent for Reuters news agency. For more information, visit www.AlanElsner.com.
Preface to the Second Edition xi
Preface to the First Edition xiii
Acknowledgments xvii
Chapter 1: The Second Toughest Sheriff in America 1
Chapter 2: Becoming a Prison Nation 11
Chapter 3: Entering the Gates 31
Chapter 4: The Vulnerable 63
Chapter 5: The Sanity of the System 81
Chapter 6: An Unhealthy Situation 103
Chapter 7: Women Behind Bars 131
Chapter 8: Supermax 153
Chapter 9: Short-Term Problems 181
Chapter 10: Money, Money, Money 201
Chapter 11: After Prison 219
Chapter 12: Some Modest Suggestions 231
Endnotes 243
Index 265