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Cover

A Life for a Life

Life Imprisonment: America's Other Death Penalty

James A. Paluch, Jr.
Edited by Thomas J. Bernard and Robert Johnson

Publication Date - 01 October 2003

ISBN: 9780195330489

240 pages
Paperback
6 x 9 inches

In Stock

A first-person account offering a detailed account of the daily realities of prison life in its mundane essentials, from the culture of the cellblock to the etiquette of the yard and the mess hall.

Description

James A. Paluch, Jr., is serving a life sentence without possibility of parole. In this remarkably perceptive book, he offers the reader a detailed account of the daily realities of prison life in its mundane essentials, from the culture of the cellblock to the etiquette of the yard and the mess hall. The book also highlights concepts of prisonization, institutionalization, and the community, as well as the nature of modern punishment.

Here, Paluch walks us through a complicated, sometimes treacherous culture behind bars, a place where manipulation and deception often rule. He introduces us to the world of the lifer, a community of men who know they will live and die behind bars. By the end of his book, Paluch leads the reader to question and reevaluate whether our prisons, in their present condition, should continue institutionalizing substantial numbers of offenders for the rest of their natural lives.

About the Author(s)

James Anthony Paluch, Jr. was born May 24, 1971, in Allentown, PA. Educated in both public and private schools, he and his girlfriend dropped out of high school six months before graduation. He was arrested in Philadelphia in June, 1990, for first-degree murder and aggravated assault. In October, 1991, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. He is a past president of the Pennsylvania Lifers' Association at SCI-Rockview.

Table of Contents

    Introduction
    Part I: Life
    1. As I Write This Book
    2. Bof's Journal
    3. Enter the Madness
    Part II: Food
    4. The Old Dining Hall
    5. The New Dining Hall
    6. The Commissary
    Part III: Personal Hygiene
    7. Showers
    8. Laundry
    9. Haircuts
    Part IV: Medical Care
    10. A Visit to Medical
    11. A Painful Experience
    Part V: Sex
    12. Forced Sexual Deprivation
    13. Sex in Prison
    Part VI: Inmates and Staff
    14. The Unlistened-to Story
    15. The Game
    16. The Times Are a Changin'
    17. The Snitch
    18. Asleep in the Deep
    Part VII: Custody and Security
    19. Shakedown
    20. Misconduct
    21. The Setup
    22. The Restrictive Housing Unit (RHU)
    23. Isn't It Ironic?
    Part VIII: Violence
    24. Firebombed!
    Part IX: Lifers
    25. This Is What We Do to Troublemakers
    26. Rumble in the Jungle
    27. The Lock in the Sock
    28. A Bowl of Fruit
    29. Joshua
    30. The Old Man and the Mountain
    Part X: Family
    31. Thinking of You
    32. A Sad Day for Mr. Strawberry
    33. A Lifer's Dad, by James A. Paluch, Sr.
    34. A Lifer's Mom, by Joyce Upchurch
    35. A Wife Doing Life, by Dianna L. Hollis
    Part XI: Conclusion
    36. Forgive Them, Father...
    37. A Life for a Life
    Bibliography

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