It's about Time: America's Imprisonment Binge

ITS ABOUT TIME co-authored by Austin and Irwin, based on cutting edge research,is the single most important book on the problems with American imprisonment. The authors use orginal researchto discuss the imprisonment binge, who goes to prison, imprisonment of children and women, private prisons, doing time, super max, release, and three strikes and you're out. The book has been widely adopted for both undergraduate and graduate courses at universities across the country. This is the book every lawmaker should read and consider before they vote to spend another dime of the taxpayers money on new prison construction. The research demonstrates that the dramatic increase in prison population is predicated on the imprisonment of individuals for petty crimes, drug offenses, and technical violations of probation and parole. Meanwhile, the inner-city schools of America are denied adequate funding, the streets are no safer, and millions of children wait for the parents to return home from prison.

At last I have found a book which takes a realistic look at the problems of crime and prison. I taught Texas inmates for eight years during the recent prison expansion. People were usually surprised when I told them how much I enjoyed teaching inmates. The longer I worked in prison, the more I became concerned about the misinformation, based on fear instead of fact, which the public had been receiving from the news media and politicians. In order for our society to survive, we must stop reacting emotionally and start thinking rationally about solutions which will make a lasting difference in a positive way. Prison expansion in the United States has cost taxpayers millions of dollars for the buildings alone. But the price in human terms is far greater. This book is essential reading for every citizen who is concerned about how our government is spending tax dollars. Lorna Rios