Chicana Lives and Criminal Justice : : Voices from El Barrio / / Juanita Díaz-Cotto.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Texas Press eBook-Package Backlist 2000-2013
• VerfasserIn: Díaz-Cotto, Juanita,
• Place / Publishing House: Austin : : University of Texas Press, , [2021]; ©2006
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (360 p.)

This first comprehensive study of Chicanas encountering the U.S. criminal justice system is set within the context of the international war on drugs as witnessed at street level in Chicana/o barrios. Chicana Lives and Criminal Justice uses oral history to chronicle the lives of twenty-four Chicana pintas (prisoners/former prisoners) repeatedly arrested and incarcerated for non-violent, low-level economic and drug-related crimes. It also provides the first documentation of the thirty-four-year history of Sybil Brand Institute, Los Angeles' former women's jail. In a time and place where drug war policies target people of color and their communities, drug-addicted Chicanas are caught up in an endless cycle of police abuse, arrest, and incarceration. They feel the impact of mandatory sentencing laws, failing social services and endemic poverty, violence, racism, and gender discrimination. The women in this book frankly discuss not only their jail experiences, but also their family histories, involvement with gangs, addiction to drugs, encounters with the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems, and their successful and unsuccessful attempts to recover from addiction and reconstitute fractured families. The Chicanas' stories underscore the amazing resilience and determination that have allowed many of the women to break the cycle of abuse. Díaz-Cotto also makes policy recommendations for those who come in contact with Chicanas/Latinas caught in the criminal justice system.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Abbreviations -- Glossary -- Acknowledgments -- Preface. Interviewing Chicana Pintas -- Introduction -- Part I: Pre-incarceration Experiences -- 1. Latinas/os and the War on Drugs -- 2. Families and Early Experiences of Abuse -- 3. Youth Arrests and Placements -- 4. Barrios and Gangs -- 5. Addiction -- 6. Staying Alive: Hustling and Other Jobs -- 7. Adult Arrests -- 8. Police Harassment and Brutality -- 9. Courts and Consequences -- Part II: Sybil Brand Institute for Women and Beyond -- 10. Sybil Brand Institute for Women: The Institutional Setting -- 11. The Keepers: Regime and Rule Enforcement -- 12. Programs and Services -- 13. Jailhouse Economy -- 14. Living Together: Prisoner Alliances and Hostilities -- 15. Gender, Sexuality, and Family Kinship Networks -- 16. Outside Looking In: Third Parties -- 17. Prisoner Complaints and Resistance -- 18. Picking Up the Pieces -- 19. Concluding Remarks and Reflections -- Appendix A: Sociodemographic Characteristics of Chicana Pintas Interviewed -- Appendix B: Most Frequent Offenses Leading to Arrest -- Notes -- Reference List -- About the Author