My Paperback Book

Since the 1980s, New York State and the rest of the nation saw one of the largest prison expansions in history. Harsher drug laws in the previous decade put thousands of offenders behind bars, and the building of prisons was seen as both a means of preventing overcrowding, and providing positive economic growth in all corners of the state.Now, that those laws have been reformed, the inmate population of New York State has gone down to a point that the Governor, Andrew Cuomo, has moved to close correctional facilities. In rural Upststate New York, many have rallied to keep these facilities open for the sake of having more jobs in economically depressed areas. Through the perspectives of a variety of voices in this ongoing debate, this book attempts to examine the state’s relationships with prisons, and whether or not there needs to be these many facilities open in the Empire State.