[Bookstoprisoners] Info on prison reform issues

[wmullins at insightbb.com]

Hello everybody,

I thought I would pass on some on-line resources about prisoner issues, if anybody is interested.  It's cut-and-pasted from correspondence with my brother, so scroll down for the links.  I'm trying to learn a bit more about ongoing criminal justice debates, and thought I'd share.  If anybody out there can recommend resources or authors worth reading on prison reform topics, I'd like to hear more.  

Bill



wmullins at insightbb.com wrote:

> For B2P, I guess I just had some general questions that I could 
> probably do the research on myself, but wondered if you could point me 
> towards some authors or resources.
>  
> General info on prison reform efforts and organizations that you might 
> know about, from groups trying to change sentencing guidelines to 
> groups pushing for better prison conditions, to debates over the 
> funding of new prisons, the philosophical debate over the purpose of 
> prisons (rehabilitation vs. retribution models, if you follow my 
> amateur use of terms) and how different prisons have set up programs 
> or changed practices to inch more towards a rehabilitation model?

Check out :
http://www.prisonlegalnews.org/Links/5link.htm

They have a list of the sorts of groups you are interested in.  Also try:

http://www.prisonactivist.org/

In general we are still move with rapidity away from rehabilitation. The 
only shit getting any truck is substance abuse treatment. And it took 20 
years of criminologists pointing out that most cons are addicts.

> Can you point me towards some authors or organizations just so I can 
> learn more about all the various gripes people have about the prison 
> system? 

Within the realm of criminologists the main go to folks on this are the 
so-called Convict Criminologists (people who served time and later went 
off to grad school). Two main people: Charles Terry who is at Saint 
Louis University and Jeffery Ian Ross. I know Ross very well--he is 
editor of the series the African book is forthcoming in (he isn't a 
former convict but is Canadian which is just as bad). His website is 
jeffereyianross.com and if you email him he might be able to help. 
Mention you are my brother.


Christopher W. Mullins, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Criminology
Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology
University of Northern Iowa
319-273-6383
Christopher.mullins at uni.edu
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