This book reviews the disproportionate number of African American women making up the United States' prison population, looking particularly at how the nation's prison systems are ill-equipped to meet the basic needs of its ever-growing population. Topics covered include reasons why young African American women are first drawn into criminal behavior; trends connecting incarceration to physical, emotional, or sexual abuse; the effects of incarceration on inmates' families and children; and possible preventive measures or alternatives to imprisonment.