The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

Prisons & Punishment is an important new contribution to the fields of criminal justice, prison studies, philosophy, law, and political science, published by Africa World Press. The book will also prove useful to activists seeking to change or abolish the punishment industry. Prisons & Punishment collects in one volume African, European, and North American scholars, prisoners, activists, and legal practitioners who offer their various perspectives and visions.

About the Authors

Seth N. Asumah is Professor of Political Science and Coordinator of African American Studies at State University of New York, College at Cortland. His most recent books are Diversity, Multiculturalism and Social Justice (co-authored with Ibipo Johnston-Anumonwo, 2002), The Africana Human Conditions and Global Dimension (co-edited with Johnston-Anumonwo and John Marah, 2002), Educating the Black Child in the Black Independent School (co-authored with Valencia Perkins, 2001) and Issues in Africa and the African Diaspora in the 21st Century (co-edited with Ibipo Johnston-Anumonwo, 2001). He is a 1999 winner of the Rozanne Brooks Award for Dedication and Teaching Excellence and a 2002 recipient of "Excellence in Teaching" Award, State University of New York, College at Cortland.

Mechthild Nagel is Professor of Philosophy at SUNY Cortland and is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Institute for African Development, Cornell University. She is author of Masking the Abject: A Genealogy of Play (Lexington, 2002) and co-editor of Race, Class, and Community Identity (Humanities, 2000). Nagel is editor-in-chief of Wagadu: A Transnational Journal of Gender and Women's Studies. She has taught college courses in maximum security prisons for men. Her current research is on African prison intellectuals and African approaches to restorative justice.

Diane Antonio is the Communications Director of the Queensboro Hill Neighborhood Assoc., work with the homeless in my community, and she ran for District Leader in the 22nd A.D. Queens. Her published work includes: "Of Wolves and Women" (Animals and Women, 1995), "The Flesh of All That Is: Merleau-Ponty, Irigaray, and Julian's 'Showings'," (SOPHIA, 2001), and "Virgin Queen, Iron Lady, Queen of Hearts: The Embodiment of Feminine Power in a Male Social Imaginary" (Politicos, 2003).

Jill Soffiyah Elijah serves as Deputy Director of the Criminal Justice Institute (CJI) at Harvard Law School (HLS). Ms. Elijah practiced law through various avenues before transitioning into the clinical practice of academia. She was a Supervising Attorney at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (NDS), where she defended indigent members of the Harlem, New York community. Prof. Elijah has authored several articles and publications based on her research of the U.S. criminal justice and prison systems.

Tiyo Attallah Salah-El was born and raised in southeastern Pennsylvania. He is an accomplished tenor saxophone player and a composer of jazz music. He has spent over thirty years in a medium security facility in Pennsylvania and during that time has tirelessly educated himself, with the help of dedicated teachers such as Howard Zinn. Tiyo has earned Bachelor's and Masters degrees, studying political science and African American history. His essay, "A Call for the Abolition of Prisons," has appeared in several edited volumes.

Lois Ahrens is the Founder and Project Director of Real Cost of Prisons Project. Lois has been an organizer, fundraiser and creator of progressive organizations and programs for more than thirty-five years. She has developed and directed numerous organizations many of which continue to thrive. She lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.

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