Summary Of Inside Life Behind Bars In America

In the book Inside: Life Behind Bars in America, the author Santos portrays a grim, harsh outlook on life within a prison. More specifically, Santos asserts that there are fundamental issues with the prisons in America, and calls for the rehabilitation of prisoners. For example, as elaborated by Santos, he writes a first hand account about his interaction and experience with a fellow prisoner named Ronald. In particular, he describes Ronald’s perspective for prisons, and writes, “Ronald says that he did not proceed into the jail with any notion of changing his behavior for the better … Ronald knew that his initial prison term would enhance his status, that it would show he could take the punishment and survive a stint in even the toughest of

Evidently, Santos is able to prove his argument that prisoners are often abruptly moved and placed in an environment where change is a secondary choice. The first choice in the minds of many is to align themselves with prisoners who hold alliances, and to accept roles in order to survive. Resultantly, many choose to continue the same cycle of violence, and repeatedly fail to obey the law. As a consequence, many choose to believe that they can only be a prisoner. In particular, Santos hopes to prove that prisoners can be more than an individual who serves a prison sentence. He hopes to accomplish the goal that prisoners are capable to turn from a life of crime and violence, and are able to successfully transition into a proper life outside prison. However, Santo’s approach is not without biases. For instance, a plausible bias that he may hold is his assumption that everyone wants to change. Not all prisoners may want to change for the better or to turn from a life of crime and violence. In particular, prisoners with violent and psychological tendencies may never be able to turn to rehabilitate services and re-integrate within a