Among murderers : life after prison / Sabine Heinlein.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Heinlein, Sabine, 1973-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Criminals--Rehabilitation--United States--Case studies.

Criminals.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (257 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, Calif. : University of California Press, c2013.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

What is it like for a convicted murderer who has spent decades behind bars to suddenly find himself released into a world he barely recognizes? What is it like to start over from nothing? To answer these questions Sabine Heinlein followed the everyday lives and emotional struggles of Angel Ramos and his friends Bruce and Adam-three men convicted of some of society's most heinous crimes-as they return to the free world.Heinlein spent more than two years at the Castle, a prominent halfway house in West Harlem, shadowing her protagonists as they painstakingly learn how to master their freedom. Having lived most of their lives behind bars, the men struggle to cross the street, choose a dish at a restaurant, and withdraw money from an ATM. Her empathetic first-person narrative gives a visceral sense of the men's inner lives and of the institutions they encounter on their odyssey to redemption. Heinlein follows the men as they navigate the subway, visit the barber shop, venture on stage, celebrate Halloween, and loop through the maze of New York's reentry programs. She asks what constitutes successful rehabilitation and how one faces the guilt and shame of having taken someone's life.With more than 700,000 people being released from prisons each year to a society largely unprepared-and unwilling-to receive them, this book provides an incomparable perspective on a pressing public policy issue. It offers a poignant view into a rarely seen social setting and into the hearts and minds of three unforgettable individuals who struggle with some of life's harshest challenges.

Contents:

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Freedom day

At the garden

Street code

Talking murder

Poster boys

Dinner with bruce

Work readiness

Prisoners still

The penis monologues

At the barber

Causalities

The new coat

A haunted house

Waiting for nothing

Growing old

Silent forgiveness

Lies and good luck

Sex, love, and race

From attica to broadway

The new home

On guard

Epilogue

Notes

References.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9780520954779

0520954777

OCLC:

823040832