@article{1357547,
      recid = {1357547},
      author = {Leigey, Margaret E.,},
      title = {The forgotten men : serving a life without parole sentence  /},
      pages = {1 online resource (xiv, 222 pages)},
      abstract = {"Today there are approximately fifty thousand prisoners in  American prisons serving life without parole, having been  found guilty of crimes ranging from murder and rape to  burglary, carjacking, and drug offences. In The Forgotten  Men, criminologist Margaret E. Leigey provides an  insightful account of a group of aging inmates imprisoned  for at least twenty years, with virtually no chance of  release. These men make up one of the most marginalized  segments of the contemporary U.S. prison population.  Considered too dangerous for rehabilitation, ignored by  prison administrators, and overlooked by courts disinclined  to review such sentences, these prisoners grow increasingly  cut off from family and the outside world. Drawing on  in-depth interviews with twenty-five such prisoners, Leigey  gives voice to these extremely marginalized inmates and  offers a look at how they struggle to cope. She reveals,  for instance, that the men believe that permanent  incarceration is as inhumane as capital punishment, calling  life without parole "the hard death penalty." Indeed, after  serving two decades in prison, some wished that they had  received the death penalty instead. Leigey also recounts  the ways in which the prisoners attempt to construct  meaningful lives inside the bleak environment where they  will almost certainly live out their lives. Every state in  the union (except Alaska) has the life-without-parole  sentencing option, despite its controversial nature and its  staggering cost to the taxpayer. The Forgotten Men provides  a much-needed analysis of the policies behind  life-without-parole sentencing, arguing that such sentences  are overused and lead to serious financial and ethical  dilemmas."--Publisher's description.},
      url = {http://library.usi.edu/record/1357547},
}