Gates of Injustice: The Crisis in America's Prisons [Paperback]

Alan Elsner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2004

Gates of Injustice is an extraordinarily compelling expose of the American prison system: how more than 2,000,000 Americans came to be incarcerated; what it's really like on the inside; what it's like for the families left on the outside; and how an enormous "prison-industrial complex" has grown to support and promote imprisonment in place of virtually every other alternative. Reuters journalist Alan Elsner shows how prisons really work, how race-based gangs are able to control institutions and prey on weaker inmates, and how an epidemic of abuse and brutality has exploded across American prisons. Readers will discover the plight of 300,000 mentally ill people in prisons, virtually abandoned with little medical treatment. They'll also meet the fastest growing segment of the prison population: women. Readers go inside "supermax" prisons that cut inmates off from all human contact, and uncover the official corruption and brutality that riddles jail systems in major cities like Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and New York. Finally, they'll learn prisons accelerate the spread of infectious diseases throughout the broader society, just one of the many ways the prison epidemic touches everyone, even if they've never met anyone who's gone to jail.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this new edition, updated after the Abu Ghraib scandal, Elsner uses a conversational tone in recounting the aspects of day-to-day life for American inmates: drug and alcohol abuse, rampant disease, rape, murder and racism. Prisons, Elsner writes, are fertile ground where the worst aspects of society take root and blossom, and the majority of his book, drawing on data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, court cases and interviews with current and former inmates, paints a stark picture of a seedy world where guards rape inmates without fear of recourse and inmates can be left in lockdown for weeks as a budget cutting initiative. Instances of the sadistic creativity exhibited by inmates (generally with the aim of violating prison regulations) and guards (to punish inmates who have creatively violated prison regulations) pepper Elsner's sobering reportage, much of which concerns itself with figures and statistics so staggering that Elsner, clearly an advocate of prison reform, hesitates to even hint at solutions until the final chapter, when he outlines three elements of prison reform: reducing the number of new inmates, lowering recidivism rates and eradicating the "worst abuses within the system." An unflinching account of an uncomfortable subject, the book provides a window into an overlooked-and growing-segment of society and will appeal to readers interested in issues of justice and human rights.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

Alan Elsner's powerful book demonstrates that our $40 billion corrections system for both adults and juveniles is badly broken. Our jails and prisons and penitentiaries are failing us at enormous cost in money and in danger to society. Elsner makes an overwhelming case for reform, and his many sensible proposals deserve to be implemented. This book should be a wake-up call for federal, state, and local governments across America.—Senator Edward M. Kennedy

Everyone interested in safer communities should read Gates of Injustice. As a conservative Republican and a Christian, I can unhesitatingly recommend this book. Alan Elsner does not just thoroughly document and condemn our system, he offers several excellent suggestions to improve it. Gates of Injustice is a great resource.—Pat Nolan, President, Justice Fellowship and former Republican Leader of the California State Assembly

The book gives a chilling insight into the human cost of America's massive resort to incarceration in the past few decades, which sees the U.S. today with around a quarter of the world's prison population. It charts the negative impact on both inmates and society of what is essentially a wasteful and inhumane system. The author offers a series of practical proposals for reform, which are long overdue. This is an important book for anyone interested in human rights and penal policy.—Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International

Engaging, fast-paced and clear-eyed, Gates of Injustice shines a spotlight behind the walls of U.S. jails and prisons. Drawing on interviews and exhaustive research across the country, Alan Elsner documents the dangerous, abusive and corrosive conditions under which more than 2 million men and women now live. This is an unparalleled indictment of America's love affair with incarceration.—Jamie Fellner, Director, U.S. Program, Human Rights Watch

Elsner provides new insight into the powerful political and social forces driving imprisonment in America. Most importantly, he charts a path for reform … one that could make America not merely more humane, but safer.

Gates of Injustice is a compelling exposé of the U.S. prison system: it tells how more than 2 million Americans came to be incarcerated … what it's really like on the inside … and how a giant "prison-industrial complex" promotes imprisonment over other solutions.

Alan Elsner paints a terrifying picture of how our prisons really work. You'll hear how race-based gangs control institutions and prey on the weak—and how a rape epidemic has swept the U.S. prison system. You'll discover the plight of 300,000 mentally ill prisoners, many abandoned to suffer with grossly inadequate medical care.

Elsner takes you inside "supermax" prisons that deny inmates human contact and reveals official corruption and brutality within U.S. jails. You'll also learn how prisons help to spread infectious diseases throughout society … one of the ways the prison crisis touches you, even if you've never had a brush with the law.

• 2 million prisoners: how it happened and why. Why the United States locks away 6-10 times more people than other Western societies.
• The other victims. What it's like for convicts' families left on the outside.
• No place for the sick or weak. Prison medical care: varying from substandard to shocking.
• Life after prison: the realities of parole. What's supposed to happen … and what really happens.
• The "prison-industrial" complex: The hidden politics of imprisonment.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: FT Press (April 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131427911
• ISBN-13: 978-0131427914
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #514,236 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've been a journalist for 32 years, having lived in Israel, Britain, Sweden, Romania and the United States. I've flown with the Secretary of State and on Air Force One, gone jogging with George W. Bush, witnessed wars, terrorism and natural disasters.
I helped build a memorial in a Nazi extermination camp, helped expose the Rwandan genocide and wrote a Holocaust memoir.
I love literature, movies and music. I like to hear from fellow readers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LA Prosecutor, April 25, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Gates of Injustice: The Crisis in America's Prisons (Paperback)

The book is terrific! It is a must read for anyone who has an interest in the criminal justice system. The book is more than just an expose on what is wrong with this country's prisons. What makes this book special is the stories of individuals who have been unnecessarily abused while in prison or jail, sometimes resulting in death.

No one will be able to finish this book without being moved. The tales of the mentally ill (does everyone know that the 3 largest facilities for the mentally ill in this country are jails?) are particularly engaging.

In fact, I suspect Mr. Elsner has made himself some enemies. There are probably prison wardens and prison guard unions across the nation who will not be inviting him to dinner any time soon.

The book makes 2 compelling points: first, the problems in the prisons cannot be isolated to the prisons and
second, the solutions do not require additional spending but rather some long range thinking.

As a prosecutor in LA for the past 19 years, I don't agree with every point that the author makes and I don't consider myself soft on crime. Nonetheless, I will take the book to work and encourage all my colleagues to read it. The book is an important reminder of the negative consequences of a "lock em up and throw away the key" attitude. The author obviously did his homework. One can only hope that lawmakers read the book and make an effort to give the system more balance. Most prisoner will get out. Treating prisoners' illnesses and giving them a minimal amount of education and/or job training makes us all safer.

(Disclosure: I was interviewed for the book, as were several of my colleagues.)

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Invaluable Contribution, July 25, 2004

By 

AWG200000 (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gates of Injustice: The Crisis in America's Prisons (Paperback)

This is a very fine work on a serious subject which impacts us all. The author judiciously combines hard facts and statistics with "human stories" to present a compelling argument as to why the "crisis in America's prisons" needs to be heeded by everyone. The real strength of the book is that it doesn't matter what end of the political spectrum you come from or what your views on punishment vs. rehabilitation are. In the final analysis, basic rational self-interest dictates that the central problems identified in this book - massively rising costs, the creation of a permanent criminal underclass who are "recycled" back into society, catastrophic mistreatment of the mentally ill and the spread of infectious diseases - need to be addressed by society as a whole because none of us are insulated from their effects. Of course it hardly needs to be said that many of the stories, particularly those about the mal-treatment of highly vulnerable inmates - the physically weak, the mentally ill and the young - are heartbreaking and I don't want to downplay this aspect of the book as it's one of its great strengths. However for the many who chose to paint their world view on a black and white 'good guys vs. bad guys' canvas (and, I'd suggest that it's this way of thinking, at least in part, that has contributed to the current problems), this book should be equally persuasive. In the words of the Reagan-appointed Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is quoted in the final chapter of the book: "...Our resources are misspent, our punishments too severe, our sentences too long".

I'd like to finish this review with a question inspired by this book: at a time when America has invested so much in spreading it's message of civilization and democracy abroad, how is this aided by many of its own States still requiring that incarcerated pregnant women deliver their offspring in shackles ?

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars America's Dark Secret, April 28, 2004

By 

J. Keith Price, Ph.D. (West Texas A & M University, Canyon, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gates of Injustice: The Crisis in America's Prisons (Paperback)

Alan Elsner has captured the dark picture of America's secret. He has revealed to all his readers the stark reality of what America's desire for vengance has cost. Get tough on crime makes good political sound byte. Lock them up and throw away the key wins elections. The reality of "out of sight - out of mind" has lead to a picture of America that is more comfortable in a third-world dictatorship. Our prisons become darker and darker places as they devour people of color, women, the mentally ill, the addicted, and the inept.

I spent the last thirty years working in the prison system, while watching it get bigger and "badder." Now as a professor, I am trying to tell my criminal justice students that America can do a better job finding justice other than locking up everyone that doesn't fit in. Alan Elsner captures the reality of a place that cannot help but be awful. The best of prisons are terrible, dark places. Every American should read this book and ask himself, "Is this the best the 'land of the free' can do?" Good work Alan on writing about a subject that most Americans don't want to think about.

This book will be mandatory reading for my criminal justice students.