Mary D. Looman and John D. Carl, A Country Called Prison: Mass Incarceration and the Making of a New Nation
| Date | 01 April 2018 |
| Author | Brianna Haugen |
| DOI | 10.1177/1462474516648421 |
| Published date | 01 April 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
Punishment & Society
2018, Vol. 20(2) 280–282
! The Author(s) 2016
Book review
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DOI: 10.1177/1462474516648421
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Mary D. Looman and John D. Carl, A Country Called Prison: Mass Incarceration and the
Making of a New Nation. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015, 264 pp. (including index):
978-0190211035, $27 (cloth)
The book’s preface, along with chapter 1, provides an introduction on mass incar-
ceration, which according to the authors has led to the emergence within the US
prison system of a distinct culture from the rest of the country. It is in this sense
that the authors see prison as a hypothetical country in its own. The book’s first
chapter reviews the history of punishment in the United States and in the Western
world. The authors investigate how different theories have historically guided the
types of punishment governments have used for years. Statistical data on the US
prison system and its racial disparities are contrasted with data from other indus-
trialized nations; the US’ incarceration rate is significantly higher. Looman and
Carl discuss how mandatory minimums, harsh sentences, and policy decisions are
the main causes of mass incarceration, and in the authors’ view, mass incarceration
has bred a unique carceral culture.
Chapter 2 discusses what elements make a group of people a country, and spe-
cifically why the US prison system fits such description. Shared common language,
beliefs, values, social behaviors, territory, historical factors, and a sense of shared
culture unify inmates and pull them into a country-like system. Residents of a
prison form a national identity and develop a social personality that stems from
shared experiences within the ‘‘prison country.’’ Inmates must assimilate into the
prison’s culture in order to survive physically, mentally, and socially. The beliefs,
language, social norms, and values within the prison system do not fit those of the
United...
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