Women behind bars : the crisis of women in the U.S. prison system / Silja J.A. Talvi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Talvi, Silja J. A.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women prisoners--United States.

Women prisoners.

United States.

Physical Description:

xxiii, 359 pages ; 21 cm

Place of Publication:

Emeryville, CA : Seal Press, [2007]

Summary:

More and more women- mothers, grandmothers, wives, daughters, and sisters- are doing hard prison time all across the United States. Many of them are facing the prospect of years, decades, even lifetimes behind bars. Oddly, there' s been little public discussion about the dramatic increase of women in the prison system. What exactly is happening here, and why? The answers are in "Women Behind Bars," in which investigative journalist Silja Talvi sheds light on why American girls and women are being locked up at such unprecedented rates. Talvi travels across the country to weave together interviews with inmates, correctional officers, and administrators, providing readers with a glance at the impact incarceration has on our society. With a combination of compassion and critical analysis, Talvi delivers a timely, in-depth analysis of a growing and extremely complicated issue.

Contents:

Introduction: The invisible struggle

Here's your one-way ticket to prison

Women in wartime

Abuse behind the wall

Dangerous medicine

Trying to stay sane

Criminalizing motherhood

Women who kill

Women loving women

Living in the God pod

Shipping women's bodies

International lockup

Hope and healing

Afterword: Chasing the beam, chasing dignity.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 333-342) and index.

ISBN:

9781580051958

1580051952

OCLC:

165082261