Inside Voices

by Jennifer M. Miller

This is a collection of essays, four of which are comprised (with permission from the correspondents) of personal communications with inmates serving life sentences in Arkansas. This book developed from personal correspondence with four inmates serving life sentences in Arkansas. After touring two of the state prisons as a graduate student, Dr. Miller reached out to several inmates that had spoken to the tour groups and began to correspond regularly with the four of them. Friendships formed, and she, ultimately, asked them if she could publish their letters to her put together as individual narratives. They agreed and had final approval of their own narratives. These are in their words with a few short essays interspersed to provide context and background. The inmate narratives give first-person, humanized voices to people that are typically forgotten or, worse, demonized. These four men do not deny their guilt, nor do their crimes define them. They are intelligent, funny, and positive.

125 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 27, 2019

Reviews

[Blythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book with a lot of potential, one that poses very important questions about the American justice system and whether being "tough on crime" is ultimately serving our society. The narratives of the prisoners aren't fun, but they're valuable reading.

Unfortunately, they're overshadowed by the padding--the essays by Miller's students rarely say anything particularly interesting or important--and the book's failure to build a strong case for the narratives. Miller's introduction has some interesting things to say about her experiences and her interest in the subject, but her lack of objectivity left me uneasy. The introduction would have been an excellent place to talk more about the formation of trust and why she believes so strongly in the rehabilitation of these men. If the Arkansas prison system is particularly lacking in opportunities to rehabilitate, why does she believe it's succeeded in these four cases? That's an important question the book never answers.

If criminal justice reform interests you, I think this is worth picking up; it's a quick read, and I do think it has important things to say. I also think this book could have been much more than it was, and it's a shame it never received more development.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. An honest review was requested in exchange, but not required.

[Kim Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting to me. I'm very much always interested in people's mind and why they choose the things that they do. Why they chose those choices. I liked that we got this inmates back stories and what landed them in prison with their current sentences. I'm glad that each of them was able to learn from their mistakes and that they are using their story for something positive; both inside with helping other inmates and outside with writing this book so others can learn from them.

I was in the same situation as the author where for a class we got to tour a prison (women's prison) and from that we got to choose an inmate for the duration of the class we had conversations with that inmate. My class ended awhile ago and I still e-mail, send letters and cards to her and I feel like I can count her as a friend. Unlike the author, my friend will be getting out eventually.

[Tim Shepard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

An interesting look at life in prison by men living it without the hope of parole. It's scary to think these men will never be out of prison in their lifetimes. At the same time insight is given to why they are there and how they think life could be different.