Releasing Prisoners, Redeeming Communities

by Thompson, Anthony C.

• ISBN13: 9780814783214
• ISBN10: 081478321X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-03-01
• Publisher: New York Univ Pr

Summary

In the middle of the first decade of the twenty-first century, African Americans made up approximately twelve percent of the United States population but close to forty percent of the United States prison population. Now, in the latter half of the decade, the US is in the midst of the largest multi-year discharge of prisoners in its history. InReleasing Prisoners, Redeeming Communities, Anthony C. Thompson discusses what is likely to happen to these ex-offenders and why. For Thompson, any discussion of ex-offender re-entry is, de facto, a question of race. After laying out the statistics, he identifies the ways in which media and politics have contributed to the problem, especially through stereotyping and racial bias. Well aware of the potential consequences if this country fails to act, Thompson offers concrete, realizable ideas of how our policies could, and should, change.

Author Biography

Anthony C. Thompson is Professor of Clinical Law at New York University Law School. Prior to his 1996 arrival at NYU, he served for nine years as a public defender in California.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Reentry, Race, and Stigma	p. 9
Media Influence on Public Perceptions of Prison Life	p. 27
Women: The Afterthought in Reentry Planning	p. 45
Reentry and Housing	p. 68
Reentry and Health Care	p. 88
Reentry and Unemployment	p. 108
Reentry and the Political Process	p. 122
Reentry and Parole	p. 139
Reentry Courts	p. 154
Conclusion	p. 176
Notes	p. 189
Index	p. 243
About the Author	p. 262
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