A Life for a Life: Life Imprisonment

by James Paluch, Thomas J. Bernard, Robert Johnson

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.

263 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

Reviews

[Desiree Cochran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely a fantastic portrayal of America's penal system in general. Though the experience will vary from state to state, he is generally on the nose with "life in prison". After having gone through prison myself, I felt like my professor was crazy for assigning this book to us. I felt like I would need therapy after I was done reading it because it was a vivid portrayal of everything I went through. Penitentiaries were created for penitence.... not warehousing. Once one has repented and corrected his/her life, they should be released. I'm fully in support of abolishing "life" and "death" sentences. Our focus should be, rather, on rehabilitation... not retribution. Thank you Mr. Paluch for writing this book and to the editors for conveying the story. It truly was an amazing read.

[Nina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another one of those books I had to read for my criminal justice classes. This book got under my skin in that the author was convicted of murder, whines and complains of his treatment in prison. Umm the person you murdered is DEAD and you still live! He never once takes any responsibility for his actions for hopes of an appeal. Its a great insight on prison life and etiquitte but seriously the whining got old.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I came in thinking that this book would be a bit of a drag, but at then end was quite surprised how interesting I found it. He complains a lot throughout the book, but also gives insight to how prison life is. Overall not something I would read again(read it for a cj class), but definitely worth a read if you are interested in the ins of life imprisonment.

[Katherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read this for my corrections class, and it was an interesting perspective on prison, but the author was whiny and unsympathetic. As he complained about his life for the majority of the book, it began to get annoying, and one could see why he would maybe have problems living in prison. I would describe the book as a whiny, annoying perspective of prison.