New book tells the stories of 6 incarcerated men, explores trauma-informed treatment for inmates.
An Arizona State University professor has collaborated with an Arizona inmate on a book that examines why investing in healing prisoners would benefit everyone.
“Imprisoned Minds: Lost Boys, Trapped Men, and Solutions from Within the Prison,” which came out this month, is the result of seven years of work from Kevin Wright, associate professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and Erik Maloney, who is incarcerated at the Red Rock Correctional Center in Eloy.
The book tells the stories of six incarcerated men who faced traumatic childhoods filled with abuse, neglect and abandonment. Maloney and Wright describe how this background puts young people on a path to “imprisoned minds,” and how a trauma-informed approach in prisons can undo the mindset and help the incarcerated people, prison employees and even victims.
“And this isn’t just a small segment of people on the inside,” said Wright, who is director of the ASU Center for Correctional Solutions.
“This is a significant portion of people that are there because of things that happened in their childhood that were unaddressed.”