1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910822116503321

Autore

Heinlein Sabine <1973->

Titolo

Among murderers [[electronic resource] ] : life after prison / / Sabine Heinlein

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berkeley, Calif., : University of California Press, c2013

ISBN

0-520-95477-7

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (257 p.)

Disciplina

364.80973

Soggetti

Criminals - Rehabilitation - United States

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references.

Nota di contenuto

Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Freedom day -- At the garden -- Street code -- Talking murder -- Poster boys -- Dinner with bruce -- Work readiness -- Prisoners still -- The penis monologues -- At the barber -- Causalities -- The new coat -- A haunted house -- Waiting for nothing -- Growing old -- Silent forgiveness -- Lies and good luck -- Sex, love, and race -- From attica to broadway -- The new home -- On guard -- Epilogue -- Notes -- References.

Sommario/riassunto

What is it like for a convicted murderer who has spent decades behind bars to suddenly find himself released into a world he barely recognizes? What is it like to start over from nothing? To answer these questions Sabine Heinlein followed the everyday lives and emotional struggles of Angel Ramos and his friends Bruce and Adam-three men convicted of some of society's most heinous crimes-as they return to the free world.Heinlein spent more than two years at the Castle, a prominent halfway house in West Harlem, shadowing her protagonists as they painstakingly learn how to master their freedom. Having lived most of their lives behind bars, the men struggle to cross the street, choose a dish at a restaurant, and withdraw money from an ATM. Her empathetic first-person narrative gives a visceral sense of the men's inner lives and of the institutions they encounter on their odyssey to redemption. Heinlein follows the men as they navigate the subway, visit the barber shop, venture on stage, celebrate Halloween, and loop through the maze of New York's reentry programs. She asks what constitutes successful rehabilitation and how one faces the guilt and



shame of having taken someone's life.With more than 700,000 people being released from prisons each year to a society largely unprepared-and unwilling-to receive them, this book provides an incomparable perspective on a pressing public policy issue. It offers a poignant view into a rarely seen social setting and into the hearts and minds of three unforgettable individuals who struggle with some of life's harshest challenges.