January 01, 2011

VOICES

Two blogs for 2011.

The first blog, Tracking the Politics of 'Crime' and Punishment in Canada by Justin Piche of Carlton University, is an excellant source of current information, much of it obtained through access to privacy requests, on the motivations, implications and status of the Harper government's criminal justice agenda that is driving an unprecedented increase in the Canadian prison population. Specifically his post, 2010 Year-in-Review, is an excellent place to start.

The second blog is one written by a federal prisoner serving a life sentence for murder, some of whose experiences are contained in chapters of Justice Behind the Walls. The blog, entitled The Incarcerated Inkwell consists of weekly posts on vignettes of life inside a federal penitentiary as written by someone who has experienced the deep end of the criminal justice system.

The Vancouver Province is also publishing this blog in its Sunday online edition under the Dostoevsky inspired title of Live from the House of the Dead.

Michael Jackson