Behind a Convict's Eyes: Doing Time in a Modern Prison

by Leanne Fiftal Alarid, Thomas J. Bernard, K.C. Carceral

Book Overview

This unique book provides accurate descriptions of prisons and prison life, written by a prisoner sentenced to life, who uses the pseudonym "K. C. Carceral" to hide his identity for protection. With the assistance of editors Thomas Bernard, Leanne F. Alarid, Bruce Bikle, and Alene Bikle, this book presents a gripping, and often graphic, portrayal of life in prison. This narrative presentation of such topics as prison violence, friendships, sexual...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0534635172
• ISBN13: 9780534635176
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Cengage Learning
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Well worth doing the time to read

It doesn't seem like it would be easy to have an impact on society from behind prison walls, but, easy or not, that is what K. C. Carceral has achieved. "Behind a Convict's Eyes" is tangible proof that even a convicted felon may make an important and positive contribution. Carceral (the name is a pseudonym meaning "belonging to a prison") is a convicted murderer serving a life sentence who has created a series of vivid word portraits of inmate life. These capture not only his own experiences, but the politics, economics, and culture of prisons as well. The portraits done, Carceral follows with a scholarly effort that builds on an existing theory of "toxic shame identity" to suggest why people become criminals. His own work is supplemented throughout by "discussions" from the four editors of the book. Carceral says little about the crime that brought him to life in prison. Reading his book cannot help but make one wonder what he could have achieved had he not committed his crime -- or if his contribution to society would have been as great as the one contained in this slim volume. A book that seems aimed less at the general public than at students and those who work for or deal directly with the criminal justice system, "Behind a Convict's Eyes" deserves a wider audience that it is likely to get.