Baumler and Cooper collaborate to tell the human story of Montana's first federal penal facility.

Details the clash between a former Alcatraz inmate, Jerry Myles, and a reform warden. This inside look at a prison riot chronicles the lives of the men involved in it and the consequences that followed.

Since the days of the wild West, Montanans have struggled to be "tough on crime" with limited resources. During Montana’s early territorial years, "criminal justice" was almost nonexistent: a few towns had inadequate and chronically overcrowded jails; occasional prisoners were sent east to the federal penitentiary in Detroit; and vigilantes summarily dealt with others suspected of crimes. In 1871, the federal government funded a penitentiary in Deer Lodge that was turned over to Montana when it achieved statehood in 1889. In this absorbing book, Keith Edgerton provides a social history of the Montana Penitentiary, with a primary focus on its early, formative years. After statehood, Montana leased its penitentiary to contractors, who utilized cheap inmate labor to turn a profit for themselves and for the state. Warden Frank Conley became a regional political boss and amassed a personal fortune, using inmates for road construction and a variety of public and private projects. Eventually, charges of corruption led to his ouster by Governor Joseph M. Dixon and sparked a trial and heated controversy that resulted in Dixon’s political downfall. After 1921 the prison system came under full control of the state government. Although there were changes at the penitentiary during the rest of the twentieth century--and two full-scale riots in the 1950s--there was also a depressing repetition of corruption, neglect, and underfunding.

Are security policies and procedures supporting a treatment environment? Are treatment cultures threatening the safety and security of correctional facilities? It is time to seriously debate and challenge our current process of ensuring community safety while at the same time addressing the underlying causes of criminal behavior. Over the last 40 years, incarceration rates in the United States have almost doubled as a result of our justice system and its guidelines. Researched-based studies show a large population of incarcerated people have underlining trauma related to addiction and criminal behavior. In this book, the authors share their experience in implementing a trauma-informed treatment program within a correctional facility. The journey is filled with heavy debates, extreme stress, hilarious happenings, and giant psychological and philosophical challenges. The reader will be a 'fly on the wall' as the trauma therapist and department of corrections lieutenant battle through their conflicting priorities. The reader will follow the many debates between the elements of treatment and security. This eavesdropping dialog provides the reader the opportunity to come to their own conclusion as to how to best implement a trauma treatment program inside a correctional setting. The style of writing is exceptionally useful to the undergraduate's ability to apply deep introspection in their upcoming career in any field dealing with human behavior but particularly in criminology and social work.

With claims staked, 1870s prospectors at Cooke City patiently waited for adequate transportation to get their ore to market. Eager enough, they named the town in honor of Northern Pacific tycoon Jay Cooke. Ironically, Cooke's influence in creating Yellowstone National Park stunted the growth of the town, as the park blocked any efforts to support a railroad through its borders. For more than sixty years, residents waited for rail until a new economy took hold--tourism. The dreams of the miners still live on in tumble-down shacks and rusty old mining equipment. And the successful vision of entrepreneurs offering rustic relaxation at the doorstep of Yellowstone continues to lure visitors. Historian Kelly Hartman recounts the saga that left hundreds battling for a railroad that never came.