The prison yard at the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno, Oklahoma, July 16, 2015, is seen during a visit by US President Barack Obama.

A Senator Calls For Prison Reform, After Time on the Inside

The Leonard Lopate Show | Aug 31, 2015

In 2009, Missouri State Senator Jeff Smith lied about about a campaign malfeasance, and he received a year and a day in a Kentucky prison. Mr. Smith Goes to Prison: What My Years Behind Bars Taught Me About America’s Prison Crisis is the story of his time in the big house; of the people he met there and the things he learned, including that America’s prison-industrial complex is a system that aims to build better criminals instead of better citizens.

Event: Jeff Smith will be speaking and signing books at The Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall, at The New School (55 West 13th Street, Room I202), on September 10 at 6:30 p.m.

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