The following, originally posted on Internet Archive Blogs, is a brief list of resources ideal for becoming acquainted with the U.S. prison system, including some history.
DOCUMENTARIES
• Women in Prison Part 1 and Part 2
• AIDS in Prison Part 1 and Part 2
AUDIO
• Life After Prison (KXJZ Radio)
• Childhood Matters: When a Parent Is In Prison
BOOKS
• Drops of Blood: Prison Verse (1911; written by Royall Douglass, a prisoner in San Quentin)
• Famous Adventures and Prison Escapes of the Civil War (1913)
• Prison Life of Jefferson Davis (1866)
• Woman in Prison (1869)
View the post on Internet Archive Blogs.
Prisoner Activist 
Thanks for the info. I will be adding this to my blog roll. Sonni