Do prisons protect public safety? Prisons protect the public from violent crime / David B. Muhlhausen -- Prisons increase violence / Carolina Cordero Dyer -- Imprisoning drug offenders makes America safer / James R. McDonough -- Imprisoning drug offenders does not make America safer / Ethan Nadelmann -- Mandatory minimum sentences should be repealed / pt. I: USA Today; pt. II: Ron Walters -- Are prisons just? U.S. prisons are humane / Harley G. Lappin -- U.S. prisons are not humane / Judith Greene -- Prison system is racist / Paul Street -- Prison system is not racist / R.D. Davis -- Supermaximum security prisons are cruel / Sasha Abramsky -- Supermaximum security prisons are necessary / Thomas J. Stickrath, Gregory A. Bucholtz -- Cross-gender prisoner searches are abusive / Alan Elsner -- Cross-gender prisoner searches can be justified / Gary W. DeLand -- How should prisons operate? Privately operated prisons are beneficial / Geoffrey F. Segal -- Privately operated prisons are not beneficial / Jenni Gainsborough -- Prison labor benefits inmates / Morgan Reynolds -- Prison labor exploits inmates / Brandi Kishner -- Prisoners should be charged for prison costs / Michelle M. Sanborn -- Prisoners should not be charged for prison costs / Phebe Eckfeldt -- Faith-based programs benefit prisoners / Melissa Rogers -- Faith-based programs discriminate against prisoners / Samantha M. Shapiro -- Who should be imprisoned? Criminal youth should be imprisoned / James C. Backstrom -- Criminal youth should not be imprisoned / Lenore Anderson -- Dying prisoners should receive compassionate release / Rashida Edmondson -- Prison hospice care meets the needs of dying prisoners / Anne M. Seidlitz -- Mentally ill criminals should not be imprisoned / Joanne Mariner -- Caring for mentally ill criminals outside of prison is dangerous / Jim Doyle, Peter Fimrite -- Mothers should not be imprisoned / Jackie Crawford -- Imprisoning pregnant women harms unborn children / Ayelet Waldman.