The Social Order of the Underworld: How Prison Gangs Govern the American Penal System. By David Skarbek. Oxford University Press; 240 pages; $99 and £64. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.ukIN 2009 Edward John Schaefer drunkenly swerved his motorbike over a pavement in the town of Marin, California. He hit a father and his daughter. The girl died. Schaefer was jailed for life. Some ten days after arriving at San Quentin State Prison, Frank Souza, another inmate, stabbed Schaefer to death with a “bone-crusher”, a seven-inch homemade metal spear.The murder was not a random act of violence. Nor was it an example of the haphazard terrors of prison life. Mr Souza was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, a prison gang. When asked why he did it, Mr Souza replied: “All I got to say, nine-year-old girl.” The killing was justice, determined and meted out by the gang. It was one...
from The Economist: Books and arts http://ift.tt/1zL03Pd
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