Coal, Cages, Crisis: The Rise of the Prison Economy in Central Appalachia

Prisons were built in rural Appalachian communities as a strategy for economic development due to the decline of the coal industry. Judah Schept's book "Coal, Cages, Crisis" explores the connection between prison growth and other sites of extraction, depletion, and waste disposal in the region. He argues that the future of the area depends on efforts to oppose carceral growth.

Format: Hardback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 22 March 2022
Publisher: New York University Press

As the United States embarked on a project of mass incarceration, rural communities in Appalachian regions sought economic development through the construction of prisons. Since 1980, over 350 prisons have been built across the country, with certain regions, such as Central Appalachia, experiencing significant growth. Eastern Kentucky, for instance, has eight prisons, making it the seventh highest incarceration rate in the world if Kentucky were considered a separate country. In his book "Coal, Cages, Crisis: The Prison Boom in Appalachian America," Judah Schept delves into this phenomenon, offering insights into prison growth, jail expansion, and rising incarceration rates in the hinterlands of the Americas.

Drawing on interviews, site visits, and archival research, Schept traces the recent prison growth in the region to the rapid decline of its coal industry. He takes readers inside the startling transformation occurring in the coalfields, where prisons are often built on top of old coal mines, including mountaintop removal sites, and integrated into community planning approaches to address crises of unemployment, population loss, and declining revenues. By linking prison growth to other sites in the landscape, such as coal mines, coal waste, landfills, and incinerators, Schept demonstrates that the prison boom is less about crime and punishment and more about the overall extraction, depletion, and waste disposal processes that characterize dominant development strategies in the region.

Schept argues that the future of this area is now hanging in the balance, detailing recent efforts to oppose its carceral growth. "Coal, Cages, Crisis" provides invaluable insight into the complex dynamics of mass incarceration that continue to shape Appalachia and the broader American landscape. It sheds light on the ways in which economic development, social inequality, and political power intersect to create a system that perpetuates cycles of poverty and incarceration. The book serves as a call to action for policymakers, community leaders, and individuals who are committed to addressing the root causes of crime and promoting sustainable, equitable development in rural America.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781479837151