"This book has the power to transform hearts and minds, opening us to new ways of imagining

what justice can mean for individuals, families, communities, and our nation as whole.
-Michelle Alexander, author of
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

"This book will change both what we understand about injustice and how we work for more
logical and effective solutions."
-Beth Richie, author of Arrested Justice

"Among books that aim to narrow the gap between law and justice, this is one of the finest."
-Kathy Kelly, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and author of Other Lands Have Dreams

Locked Down, Locked Out

Why Prison Doesn't Work and How We Can Do Better
by Maya Schenwar

In Locked Down, Locked Out, award-winning journalist Maya Schenwar dismantles the mentality of
forcible disconnection that props up the prison-industrial complex. She demonstrates that isolation
does not “rehabilitate” people, disappearance does not deter harm and prison does not keep us safe.
Moreover, she shows us how society can do better.
In this hard-hitting and personal book, Schenwar combines extensive research with the stories
of individual prisoners and their families--including her own family’s experience of her sister’s
incarceration. Together, these narratives reveal how prison shreds the ties that, if nurtured, could foster
real collective safety. Ninety-five percent of prisoners are released, and they emerge into the world
with even fewer economic opportunities and fewer human connections. The bonds broken by the
criminal punishment system have long-lasting consequences for former prisoners, families and society
as whole.
While Locked Down, Locked Out lays bare the ways in which incarceration is tearing society
apart, it also shines light on potential paths to come together, illuminating the possibility of a future
beyond imprisonment. Schenwar profiles community-based initiatives that foster anti-racist, anti-
classist, pro-humanity approaches to justice. These projects successfully deal with problems, both on
the individual and societal level, through connection rather than isolation, moving toward a safer, freer
future for us all.


Maya Schenwar is Editor-in-Chief of Truthout, an independent social justice news website. In

addition to Truthout, she has written about the prison-industrial complex for The New York Times, The
Guardian, the New Jersey Star-Ledger, Ms. Magazine, Prison Legal News and others. She is the
recipient of the Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Chi Award and a Lannan Residency
Fellowship for her writing on prisons.