The Big House in a Small Town - Prisons, Communities, and Economics in Rural America (Hardcover)

This work is an in-depth, on-the-ground examination of how prisons impact rural communities, including a revealing study of two rural communities that have chosen prisons as an economic development strategy. A recent study by the Urban Institute estimates that one-third of all counties in the United States house a prison, and that our prison and jail population is now over 2.1 million. Another report indicates that more than 97 percent of all U.S. prisoners are eventually released, and communities are absorbing nearly 650,000 formerly incarcerated individuals each year. These figures are particularly alarming considering the fact that rural communities are using prisons as economic development vehicles without fully understanding the effects of these jails on the area. This book is the result of author Eric J. Williams' ground-level research about the effects of prisons upon two rural American communities that lobbied to host maximum security prisons. Through hundreds of interviews conducted while living in Florence, Colorado, and Beeville, Texas, Williams offers the perspective of local residents on all sides of the issue, as well as a social history told mainly from the standpoint of those who lobbied for the prisons. Provides compelling data from over 200 formal and informal interviews of local politicians, residents, and prison officials, including the former directors of Texas's prison system Utilizes a combination of two qualitative methods to conduct the research

General

Imprint:	Praeger Publishers Inc
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	March 2011
First published:	March 2011
Authors:	Eric J. Williams
Dimensions:	234 x 156 x 11mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	155
ISBN-13:	978-0-313-38365-6
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social groups & communities > Rural communities Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Crime & criminology > Penology & punishment > Prisons Promotions
LSN:	0-313-38365-0
Barcode:	9780313383656

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