Prisons, Protest, and Politics

“Everybody was at the mercy of the strong and violent ones. There was nothing to do. Nothing to read…Dope was the only thing. Dope and perversions.” --an inmate. This pervasive atmosphere of hopelessness and violence, combined with a new breed of radical political prisoner acting as catalyst, is the cause of the epidemic of unrest at Attica, Rahway, and other prisons across the country, say the contributors to “Prisons, Protest, and Politics.” In this compelling look behind the walls of America’s prisons, Burton M. Atkins, Henry R. Glick, and other noted authorities - including Ramsey Clark, Karl Menninger, and Eldridge Cleaver - tell of the overcrowding, the barbaric living conditions, and the almost total absence of meaningful rehabilitative programs. These problems are linked to the new radicalization of prison inmates, who, through well-organized prison protests, demand that society alter many of its basic values, especially those dealing with crime and prison reform. Several articles show, however, that change usually comes slowly, of at all, and that reforms must overcome numerous political obstacles that favor the status quo. This book makes frighteningly clear the profound implications these problems hold for inmates - and society.