Yes, in My Backyard

Details

Overview

Historically, when communities heard about plans for a new prison the outcry was "not in my backyard." Times have changed. With an unprecedented 1.2 million people in prisons and 203 new correctional facilities built in small towns from 1990 to 1997, prisons have become a rural growth industry and their acquisition a conscious economic development strategy. Yes, in My Backyard explores the multi-layered dependence of one upstate New York farming town on the prison industry, and probes the profound implications of this dependence for the keepers and the kept, and for society at large.