NCJ Number
184163
Date Published
1997
Length
94 pages
Annotation
The author, who is serving a life sentence in a Texas penitentiary, portrays what his life has been like in prison for 20 years as he encourages youth to stay in school and pursue a constructive life within the law.
Abstract
The book first cites statistics that indicate there are nearly 56 million school dropouts in America, and almost 1 million Americans are prisoners in America's jails and prisons; approximately 60 percent of these are illiterate. Nearly 90,000 convicted teens are under the control of Federal and State courts in America either in prison or on parole. Six out of 10 prisoners in jails and prisons are school dropouts. Using drawings and narrative, this book provides information on the backgrounds of death row inmates and then describes other ways to die in prison, including being killed by other prisoners, suicide, starvation, AIDS, and Tuberculosis. Another section of the book describes life in boot camps and other lock-ups. Overall, the book emphasizes the message that dropping out of school, breaking the law, and getting sent to prison is costly and dangerous. Life consists of making choices that carry consequences. The choice to drop out of school carries the high risk that law breaking and imprisonment may be a consequence. 2 references