Roman is a man serving a prison sentence of 12 years for committing a violent crime. His rehabilitation options include working at a facility that breaks and trains wild mustang horses. Within a short time, Roman's work with the horses propels him into an introspective period. He learns about the true origins of his own anger when he befriends a particularly troubled mustang. As his relationship with the mustang grows, Roman begins to deeply consider...

It's More Expensive to Do Nothing explores the dark and often disregarded world of criminal justice, the revolving door of institutionalization, the complexities of remediation, and the programs that have worked to help nonviolent ex-offenders succeed as self-sufficient members of society. Documentary argues for treating non-violent offenders in non-prison programs and offers examples of successful treatment facilities.

The documentary follows a unique rehabilitation effort in a Virginia jail that encourages inmates to write and record original music. In the jail's makeshift recording studio, four men collaborate to produce an album with Grammy-winner Todd 'Speech' Thomas of Arrested Development. As the creative process unfolds, these incarcerated artists must confront the traumas of their past, and music becomes the key to unlocking a new chapter in their lives....

Incarcerated bodies, liberated minds: a narrative of literacy education behind bars. Words No Bars Can Hold provides a rare glimpse into literacy learning under the most dehumanizing conditions. Deborah Appleman chronicles her work teaching college-level classes at a high-security prison for men, most of whom are serving life sentences. Through narrative, poetry, memoir, and fiction, the students in Appleman's classes attempt to write themselves...

No question about it — by almost any measure, America operates the world's largest, costliest, and most dysfunctional criminal justice ($250 billion) and incarceration ($80 billion) systems. With nearly 2.2 million prisoners in state and federal institutions, another 12 million circulating in and out of jails and detention centers, and 77 million with arrest records, America is an arrested society with more troubling rap sheets than promising resumes! Indeed,...

"In this highly original and highly researched book, Zara Stone draws on the intersectionality of socioeconomic success, racial bias, the prison industry complex, and the fallacy of attractiveness to get to the heart of how appearance and societal approval creates self-worth, and uncovers deeper truths of beauty bias, inherited racism, effective recidivism programs, and inequality"--

"An alternative prison ranch in New Mexico conducts a daring experiment: setting the troubled residents out to retrain an aggressive herd of horses. The horses and prisoners both arrive at the ranch broken in one way or many- the horses often abandoned and suspicious, the residents, some battling drug and alcohol addiction, emotionally, physically, and financially shattered. Ginger Gaffney's job is to retrain the untrainable. With time, the horses...