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35 Prison J. 2 (1955)

handle is hein.journals/prsjrnl35 and id is 1 raw text is: TELLING THE STORY OF PRISONERS An Editorial The Penal Press aims to let more people know what hap- pens to other people behind bars. Increasingly, inmate publica- tions, which collectively have come to be called the Penal Press, are telling the story of prisoners with technical skill and mature restraint. As a consequence, many of the weekly news- papers and monthly journals coming out of American prisons are becoming required reading for those who want to know more about the men and women who are to be corrected within the walls. There can be no doubt of the need for this kind of required reading. For the reading, listening, looking public is already saturated with crime stories featuring the manhunt and episodes of man's cunning, cruelty, and degradation. Such tales feed the appetite of revenge and inflame the desire to punish unmercifully the culprit. But they contribute little or nothing to a solution of the vast social problem which begins when the culprit is caught. Lurid tales of manhunts contribute little or nothing to our understanding of offenders, because they stop before the huge task of correction within institutions is tackled. They create the illusion that capture and conviction are the end of the prob- lem whereas they are but the beginning of another costlier and more difficult problem-imprisonment. They feature detec- tion, pursuit, and prosecution-dramatic, external processes en- tirely-and omit the necessarily slow, undramatic, inward step- by-step recovery of the convicted person who uses prison for growing to maturity. Such tales of manhunts contribute little or nothing to our understanding of offenders, because of our penchant to use a destructive criminal episode as the enduring symbol of the criminal's whole life. A whole life is greater than the sum of its parts; certainly greater than one or two criminal episodes. For those and other reasons, men and women who are caught and convicted need a spokesman. With a growing sense of re- sponsibility, and often with telling emotional impact, the Penal Press is becoming a voice deserving to be heard, a spokesman worthy of the name. At its best, it is a spokesman for the values, experiences, and correctional programs which tend to bind men together and stimulate the desire to serve and help one another. The contributors to this issue of The Prison Journal are but a few of the many spokesmen who now willingly and ably raise their voices in the cause of better correctional treatment. These inmate writers have fashioned from the thin thread of hope a new life which serves them well. They are men who have gained the feeling of well-being on the job. Through achievement, they have developed self-respect, which is th essence of successful living, in prison or outside. Through achievement, they have earned the right to tell the story of prisoners and deserve a respectful hearing. 2

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