In this Book
- Behind the Walls: A Guide for Families and Friends of Texas Prison Inmates
- Book
- 2002
- Published by: University of North Texas Press
- Series: Crime and Criminal Justice Series
summary
Texas holds one in every nine U.S. inmates. Behind the Walls is a detailed description of one of the world's largest prison systems by a long-time convict trained as an observer and reporter. It spotlights the day-to-day workings of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-what's good, what's bad, which programs work and which ones do not, and examines if practice really follows official policy. Written to inform about the processes, services, activities, issues, and problems of being incarcerated, this book is invaluable to anyone who has a relative or friend incarcerated in Texas, or for those who want to understand how prisoners live, eat, work, play, and die in a contemporary U.S. prison. Containing a short history of Texas prisons and advice on how to help inmates get out and stay out of prison, this book is the only one of its kind-written by a convict still incarcerated and dedicated to dispelling the ignorance and fear that shroud Texas prisons. Renaud discusses living quarters, food, and clothing, along with how prisoners handle money, mail, visits, and phone calls. He explores the issues of drugs, racism, gangs, and violence as well as what an inmate can learn about his parole, custody levels, and how to handle emergencies. What opportunities are available for education? What is the official policy for discipline? What is a lockdown? These questions and many others are answered in this one-of-a-kind guide.
Table of Contents
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- Acknowledgments
- p. ix
- Introduction
- pp. xi-xiv
- A Short History of Texas Prisons
- pp. xv-xxii
- 1. Diagnostic
- pp. 1-6
- 2. Living Quarters
- pp. 7-12
- 4. Clothing
- pp. 19-24
- 6. Administrative Segregation
- pp. 31-38
- 7. Medical and Dental Facilities
- pp. 39-50
- 8. Recreation
- pp. 51-56
- 11. Visits and Calls
- pp. 71-76
- 12. Religion
- pp. 77-80
- 13. General and Law Libraries
- pp. 81-84
- 14. Craft Shop
- pp. 85-88
- 15. Substance Abuse
- pp. 89-94
- 16. Education
- pp. 95-102
- 17. Discipline
- pp. 103-114
- 18. Lockdowns
- pp. 115-118
- 20. Racism, Riots, and Gangs
- pp. 123-134
- 21. Parole, Good Time, and Discharge
- pp. 135-142
- 22. What to do in Emergencies
- pp. 143-148
- 23. The ECHO
- pp. 149-152
- 24. Helping Ex-Cons Stay out of Prison
- pp. 153-166
- Appendix A: Custody Levels
- pp. 167-169
- Appendix C: Law Library Holdings
- pp. 174-175
- Appendix F: Good Conduct Time
- pp. 178-179
- Appendix G: Parole Officials
- pp. 180-181
- Appendix I: Resource List
- pp. 201-206
Additional Information
ISBN
9781574414325
Related ISBN(s)
9781574411522
MARC Record
OCLC
55694926
Pages
240
Launched on MUSE
2012-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No