Prison Journal: An Irreverent Look at Life on the Inside

Successful Boston politician and real estate developer Joseph F. Timilty was convicted in 1993 of conspiracy to commit fraud, and subsequently served time at the Schuylkill medium security federal penitentiary in Minersville, Pennsylvania. A blend of drama and black comedy, Prison Journal excerpts Timilty's secret diary from that period, providing a rare and intimate look at the day-to-day life of the incarcerated. Intermittently poignant and comical, the journal captures both the monotony and fear of prison life, skewers a hostile and wasteful prison bureaucracy, examines racial and sexual tensions among inmates, and presents an array of unforgettable characters, all imbued with Timilty's ironic Irish wit.

On October 4, 1993, Boston politician Timilty turned himself in to Schuylkill Federal Penitentiary to serve a four-month sentence for conspiracy to commit fraud in a condominium development. Prison was an eye-opener for this former city councilor. In this journal he kept daily, smuggled out in coded letters to his wife, Timilty records his observations. His portrayals of the other inmates are as often hilarious as they are heartrending. What sets his journal apart from most other prison writing, however, is his commentary on the mismanagement of the facility. He is appalled by the filth, the waste in the prison purchasing process, and the meaningless activities in the name of rehabilitation. Now released, Timilty asks, "How can tax payers agree to this sham?" Recommended for criminal justice collections.?Frances O. Sandiford, Green Haven Correctional Facility Lib., Stormville, N.Y.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.