A chronicle of three years as experienced by the prisoners of the 113-year-old Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. A relic of the convict-lease system, Brushy's sordid history was brought to a close in 2009. But not before men on the inside produced a publication that outlasted the prison and has been preserved here for your review.
You will learn how prisoners: Navigate security and gangsManufacture leather goodsProduce art and literary worksMaintain their healthConduct organizationsCelebrate holidaysEducate themselvesWorshipConstruct buildingsMake donations to causesHold sporting eventsLearn musical instrumentsDo legal researchCommunicate with the outsideFind simple entertainment
You will also learn impressive facts about Brushy Mountain, nicknamed by Tennesseans "The Alcatraz of the South." Yet the prison's record was not nearly as impressive as its namesake. The book reports on 156 felons who fled the TDOC, as well as Brushy's most famous escapee, James Earl Ray.
Other news items include: Terrorist recruiting from prison populationsPrison guard shortagesGovernment experimentation on prisonersStats that effect recidivism ratesExecution protocolsJuveniles in adult facilitiesSolitary links to suicideDeath row inmates halt appealsClaims of sexual attacks in prisonFalse conviction statsArrest deaths tied to drugsPrivate prison fundingPrison and jail population stats
Since this book was written by men inside the system, many of the feature articles focus on problems that cause arrest rates to soar and prison to fill to overflowing. There are also numerous self-help articles written by the employed (at 50[ an hour) prisoner staff, which apply both inside and outside of prison.
You'll find these feature articles in inside: American AddictionTo Spank or Not to Spank: An ArgumentLife in the Fast LaneTour of An American PrisonIs Juvenile Justice Black-and-White?The Religious Politician, the Declining Superpower and the Powerless ChurchDo Our Television Choices Effect What We Say, Do and Think?Money Matters: Self AnalysisContinuing Education While IncarceratedThe BrainAmazing Facts About Your HeartGod vs. StateMaking AmendsNature's Nasty Nature?The Bottom Line
And of course, no book written by prisoners would be complete without some "jail-house religion." But don't be too quick to question the commitment of some of these authors; many of these articles are well-researched and well-written:
Spiritually-focused compositions include: A