Incarceration Nations
A Journey to Justice in Prisons Around the World
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
In this crucial study, named one of the Washington Post's Notable Nonfiction Books of 2016 and now in paperback, Baz Dreisinger goes behind bars in nine countries to investigate the current conditions in prisons worldwide.
Beginning in Africa and ending in Europe, Incarceration Nations is a first-person odyssey through the prison systems of the world. Professor, journalist, and founder of the Prison-to-College-Pipeline program, Dreisinger looks into the human stories of incarcerated men and women and those who imprison them, creating a jarring, poignant view of a world to which most are denied access, and a rethinking of one of America's most far-reaching global exports: the modern prison complex.
From serving as a restorative justice facilitator in a notorious South African prison and working with genocide survivors in Rwanda, to launching a creative writing class in an overcrowded Ugandan prison and coordinating a drama workshop for women prisoners in Thailand, Dreisinger examines the world behind bars with equal parts empathy and intellect. She journeys to Jamaica to visit a prison music program, to Singapore to learn about approaches to prisoner reentry, to Australia to grapple with the bottom line of private prisons, to a federal supermax in Brazil to confront the horrors of solitary confinement, and finally to the so-called model prisons of Norway. Incarceration Nations concludes with climactic lessons about the past, present, and future of justice.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Dreisinger, founder of the Prison-to-College-Pipeline program, takes readers on a "prison odyssey" across the globe in search of alternatives to the American system's reliance on harsh sentencing, mandatory minimums, and the threat of solitary confinement. This journey begins with a powerful examination of restorative justice practices in Rwanda and South Africa, demonstrating how they shift the emphasis from punishment and retribution to reconciliation and the needs of victims. Dreisinger interrogates failures in modern penal practices, from the dehumanizing use of solitary confinement in Brazil to the overcrowding of Thai prisons filled with nonviolent drug offenders. In her storytelling she provides balanced analysis, reflecting on the limitations of reform and questioning the efficacy of well-intentioned measures such as arts programs. Her glimpses into the sociopolitical and cultural landscapes of each country provides a point for departure and comparison when examining the lessons the U.S. can learn from abroad. For example, she visits a private prison in Australia that, unlike its American counterparts, stresses intensive staff training and programs to prevent recidivism. In her travels, from Africa to Norway, Dreisinger carries out an incisive inquiry into the standards for a just society's humane treatment of its prisoners, concluding that social inequality, racism, and capitalism lie at the root of mass incarceration in the U.S. and abroad.
