Prison, Inc.: A Convict Exposes Life Inside a Private Prison

by K.C. Carceral, Thomas J. Bernard

Overview

Prison, Inc. provides a first-hand account of life behind bars in a controversial new type of prison facility: the private prison. These for-profit prisons are becoming increasingly popular as state budgets get tighter. Yet as privatization is seen as a necessary and cost-saving measure, not much is known about how these facilities are run and whether or not they can effectively watch over this difficult and dangerous population. For the first time, Prison, Inc. provides a look inside one of these private prisons as told through the eyes of an actual inmate, K.C. Carceral who has been in the prison system for over twenty years.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814799550
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	12/01/2005
Series:	Alternative Criminology , #14
Pages:	268
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.66(d)

About the Author

K.C. Carceral entered prison shortly after graduating from high school. He continued his education in prison and now holds an Associates Degree as a Paralegal and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He is also the author of Behind a Convict's Eyes: Doing Time in a Modern Prison.

Thomas J. Bernard is Professor of Criminal Justice and Sociology at Pennsylvania State Universityand author of Theoretical Criminology and The Cycle of Juvenile Justice. He also co-edited Carceral's previous book, Behind a Convict's Eyes.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Thomas J. Bernard
Acknowledgments
Part I Welcome to Enterprise
1 The Politics of Enterprise Prison
2 Orientation
3 New Prison Problems
Part II Guerrilla Warfare
4 Wild Wild West
5 Beat Down Crew
6 The Zoo
Part III My Tour
7 Caught Up
8 The Other Enemy
9 Gang Related
10 Seg Time
Part IV An Exercise in Futility
11 Riot
12 Lockdown
13 Aftermath
Part V Taking Control
14 The Masters
15 The Servants
16 The Power
Part VI Analysis
17 Factors Contributing to Violence and Its Control
Notes
Glossary
About the Author and the Editor

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Something changed in me. The flame was going out. After about twenty years of doing time, I felt like I did when I first came to prison: afraid, mean, not caring about others. I don't know if I hated them more, or myself for letting them change me.”
-From Prison, Inc.

,

“A well written memoir and exposé of life inside a privately owned correctional facility. The author does an excellent job at depicting what it is really like inside and the dangerous and harrowing experience for individuals incarcerated in these types of environments.”
-Jeffrey Ian Ross, co-author of Convict Criminology

,

“This is the story of what happens when politicians 'out source' their state prisoners to corporations. Convicts become commodities incarcerated in overcrowded private facilities with few programs and staff. Like ‘boot camps,’ ‘three strikes,’ and so called ‘truth in sentencing,’ private prisons are another expensive failure. Meanwhile, the prisoners live day-to-day wondering what new nightmare they will have to endure.”
-Stephen C. Richards,co-author of Behind Bars: Surviving Prison

“It helps fill in the eclipse of prison ethnography in the current age of mass incarceration . . . It should be in every library in the United States.”
-Criminal Justice Review

Editorial Reviews

"It helps fill in the eclipse of prison ethnography in the current age of mass incarceration . . . It should be in every library in the United States."

Criminal Justice Review

"A well written memoir and expose of life inside a privately owned correctional facility. The author does an excellent job at depicting what it is really like inside and the dangerous and harrowing experience for individuals incarcerated in these types of environments."

Jeffrey Ian Ross

"This is the story of what happens when politicians 'out source' their state prisoners to corporations. Convicts become commodities incarcerated in overcrowded private facilities with few programs and staff. Like & boot camps, & three strikes, and so called & truth in sentencing, private prisons are another expensive failure. Meanwhile, the prisoners live day-to-day wondering what new nightmare they will have to endure."

Stephen C. Richards

"Something changed in me. The flame was going out. After about twenty years of doing time, I felt like I did when I first came to prison: afraid, mean, not caring about others. I don't know if I hated them more, or myself for letting them change me."

Inc. Prison

It helps fill in the eclipse of prison ethnography in the current age of mass incarceration . . . It should be in every library in the United States.”
• Criminal Justice Review

From the Publisher