Faces Imprisoned Women and Their Struggle with the Criminal Justice System eBook Betty May
Download As PDF : Faces Imprisoned Women and Their Struggle with the Criminal Justice System eBook Betty May 
In 2008 a group of women serving life sentences for capital crimes decided to reach out to at-risk youth and warn them of the consequences of bad choices. With the mantra If we can help just one kid, all this work will be worth it, they produced and performed a play FACES. The play became a phenomenon and reached hundreds of people—in the prison and at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. This is their story.
It is also the author’s story. How she went from knowing nothing about the Criminal Justice System to becoming an advocate for these women and an activist for change. The women’s mantra became her own and the basis for this book.
One of the women said of FACES, the play “If I had seen this play when I was a teenager, I probably wouldn’t be here now.” The women and the author want FACES, the book, to reach young adult readers and help them in the same way.
You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to have all the answers or always know the right thing to say. You can climb the tallest tree if you want.
You can take chances, make miracles or make mistakes.
You don’t have to be composed at all hours to be strong.
You don’t have to be bad or certain to be brave. You don’t have to have all the answers or even know who you want to be. Just take us with you in your journey, following your heart as we have just done with you. --From the play FACES
Profits from the sale of this book will be shared with the prison and with Social Justice organizations.
Faces Imprisoned Women and Their Struggle with the Criminal Justice System eBook Betty May
Betty May has written an important book. As a matter of fact, she has written two books. The first is the telling of her work in the women's prison in Jessup, MD with the women who are "lifers" and their struggle to produce a play about the choices that landed them in prison for life and get it out to the younger women who might benefit from their experience. The second is about how the prison system works (or rather, how it doesn't work) for these women and the struggle it is for them to experience even a modicum of a life while incarcerated. In 2008, Betty was recruited to help a group of lifers at the Women's Prison in Jessup, MD to help them write a "comedy" about life in prison that might engage the minds of young women and make them see the consequences of behaviors that could land them in prison. A comedy because they had been told that the work would need to be humorous to make it "saleable." What follows is May's account of working with the women to write, edit and produce a play about the choices they made that sent them to prison for life. The struggle to produce and present the play is inspiring and I cried when May tells of the actual nights of the production - albeit in the grim gym of the prison. What happened to May as she worked with these women made her an advocate for justice within the prison system. The second book tells of May's struggle to find a way to work within the system to help these and other incarcerated women. The result is an eye-opening book that will chill you with the kinds of injustice you may never have thought existed, but warm you with the hopes of these women and their wish to help even one young woman avoid the choices they themselves made that landed them in the system. May still follows the women she worked with on the play; but the play FACES is no longer being performed by the women at the prison. A change in prison administrators ended the performances; but you will still find May on the steps of the court in Annapolis, lobbying for reform to some of the laws that landed these women, and others, in prison for life. At the end of the book I was left with questions about how to continue to get the word out to the young and at risk and wonder if a grant to produce a high-quality videotape of the original production might somehow be made and then be made available to groups who would benefit from the viewing. "I wish" this for May and the women who became her friends at Jessup.Product details
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Faces Imprisoned Women and Their Struggle with the Criminal Justice System eBook Betty May Reviews
Here's an important book about this country's urgent need to fix our broken legal and penal systems—for the sake of individuals AND our society as a whole. The book is important not only because of the issues it addresses, but because of the way it addresses them. Betty May writes wonderfully well; she tells compelling personal stories that will draw you in; and her work as an advocate for imprisoned women and for legal reform is both imaginative and promising. There's no hectoring or grandstanding here, but a lucid, human-scale approach to problems we should all care about and work together to solve.
If you know anyone who has been involved in the US Justice system, you will relate to this book. It's not comprehensive when it comes to the system, but it provides resources, ideas, and the stories will be recognizable, especially for women.
Although I understand the reason for the layout, I suggest you move past the play "reviews" after the beginning introduction - that's when the stories become interesting.
The most promising thing about this book is that it looks at who people are before and after the incident that had them incarcerated. It is surprising how many people in prison are just ordinary individuals who made one mistake or found themselves in circumstances they couldn't resolve. When you see that, you understand the need for us to take care of each other better, and punish each other less. There are better ways, less expensive and more productive and these are explored in this book. Highly recommended if the issue interests you at all.
Life in prison is sad and hopeless when a person is serving a life sentence. Betty May changed the outlooks of a group of women by writing a play for them to tell audiences about their lives and choices they made when young. The women realized that they could help young people telling them their mistakes. They felt of value even while jailed.I liked especially when Betty wrote about writing the play and how she dealt with a few "divas".
Besides spreading the words of the women, Betty also learned that she wished to advocate for changes in the criminal justice system and is doing so now. She shares with us the various ideas , laws, and sentences that could be changed by thoughtful efforts. I was pleased to see this. This book is well composed and reads smoothly. An " easy read" . Good for you ,Betty. Who would have thought an actress and clown could have produced what you have. You will make a difference.
Eternal punishment is perhaps the most frightening possibility we humans can imagine. Who deserves eternal punishment? Each of us could name crimes that we believe may deserve that punishment. Does you list of crimes include being in the company of one who commits a capital crime?
This tender, true story makes no excuses for crimes, and does not advocate light punishment for serious crimes. This book is about justice. It's about real, loving, remorseful, transformed persons who will live the rest of their lives in prison.
There is a disconnect between the sentences these women serve; the circumstances of their lives and 'crimes'; and the persons they've become.. What are we allowing our criminal justice system to do in our names?
Read this book and ask yourself, "Is this the best system of justice a great nation can create and implement?" This book won't let you feel confident that we have it right... yet.
Betty May has written an important book. As a matter of fact, she has written two books. The first is the telling of her work in the women's prison in Jessup, MD with the women who are "lifers" and their struggle to produce a play about the choices that landed them in prison for life and get it out to the younger women who might benefit from their experience. The second is about how the prison system works (or rather, how it doesn't work) for these women and the struggle it is for them to experience even a modicum of a life while incarcerated. In 2008, Betty was recruited to help a group of lifers at the Women's Prison in Jessup, MD to help them write a "comedy" about life in prison that might engage the minds of young women and make them see the consequences of behaviors that could land them in prison. A comedy because they had been told that the work would need to be humorous to make it "saleable." What follows is May's account of working with the women to write, edit and produce a play about the choices they made that sent them to prison for life. The struggle to produce and present the play is inspiring and I cried when May tells of the actual nights of the production - albeit in the grim gym of the prison. What happened to May as she worked with these women made her an advocate for justice within the prison system. The second book tells of May's struggle to find a way to work within the system to help these and other incarcerated women. The result is an eye-opening book that will chill you with the kinds of injustice you may never have thought existed, but warm you with the hopes of these women and their wish to help even one young woman avoid the choices they themselves made that landed them in the system. May still follows the women she worked with on the play; but the play FACES is no longer being performed by the women at the prison. A change in prison administrators ended the performances; but you will still find May on the steps of the court in Annapolis, lobbying for reform to some of the laws that landed these women, and others, in prison for life. At the end of the book I was left with questions about how to continue to get the word out to the young and at risk and wonder if a grant to produce a high-quality videotape of the original production might somehow be made and then be made available to groups who would benefit from the viewing. "I wish" this for May and the women who became her friends at Jessup.
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