Orange Is the New Black

I received an advance copy of Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman through a goodreads.com contest.

Unfortunately for Ms. Kerman, the James Frey debacle led me to approach this book more skeptically than I might have otherwise. I found the circumstances of her crime rather hard to believe, especially when she recounts a meeting with the woman who caused her downfall. During this meeting, she quotes the woman as saying, "Sort of chilly for a marg?" Who has ever shortened the word margarita as anything other than 'rita???

That aside, I was compelled by the description of her conviction and time in prison. Despite the fact that she did commit a crime, I found the fact that the criminal justice system forced her to wait six years for sentencing to fall under the category of "cruel and unusual." By the time she was sentenced and self-surrendered to prison, the mistakes of her youth were long behind her. What sense did it make to punish her then?

Even more heart-breaking was reading about the deplorable lack of services available to help the women she served time with to return to the outside world with any chance of success. It's no wonder recidivism rates are so high.

Ms. Kerman's book brings to light the lack of "corrections" in our correctional system. I would much rather see my tax dollars being used to provide training and instruction that could lead prisoners that can be rehabilitated to productive, healthy lives after their incarcerations.