Publisher's Synopsis
Despite more than a century of attempts at rehabilitation, America now faces the highest criminal recidivism rate in its history. In an overview of two centuries of prison reform, Sullivan locates the religious origins of the present penal system and identifies six distinct periods. His portrait of the cycles of prison reform and rebellion - replete with coverage of the riots of the '50s and '70s - constitutes a contribution to the field and demonstrates his thesis that incarceration prohibits true rehabilitation.
