Inside the Walls of Butner Prison

JoAnne DeWitt is a writer and a teacher of writing. Her first publication was in her local newspaper in Darlington, S. C. and told the story of her fifth grade class going to Columbia and meeting Governor Strom Thurmond. Since this beginning she has been published in several newspapers, professional journals, and magazines in her current state of North Carolina. Education is the topic of most of these writings. She has also published two non-fiction books. JoAnne has taught students to write in high school and university. Her writing classes use journals to stimulate their thoughts and prepare them for publication. Inside the Walls of Butner Prison is a collection of the writings of her class in creative writing at the Butner Federal Prison in North Carolina. In her teaching she encouraged the inmates to write their beliefs and their observations of their world. The essays and poetry include love, family, current events and philosophy. Inside the Walls of Butner Prison answers many questions that we would ask if we could visit the inmates. Are our schools educating our students ? How does our education system company compare with other countries ? Would year round school raise our students test scores and intelligence ? Are inmates given any opportunities to improve their lives in prison ? What are the reasons for judges sending young men to Butner? Does family life, or lack of it, cause young men to go down the wrong path? Read the inmates' writings and find their answers.