Resources: PARC Recommended Legal and Educational Prison Books

Exoneree Diaries: The Fight for Innocence, Independence, and Identity (Alison Flowers, 2016, $18.95 +$2.50 S&H hardcover; $12.56 for softcover + S&H, use coupon code EXONEREE40 for a 40% discount). Through intimate portraits of four exonerated prisoners, investigative journalist Alison Flowers explores what happens to innocent people once released from the jailhouse doors into the unknown. As she tells each exoneree's powerful story, Flowers vividly shows that release from prison, though sometimes joyous and hopeful, is not a Hollywood ending-or an ending at all. An exoneree's first unshackled steps are the beginning of a new journey full of turmoil and uncertainty. Flowers also sheds new light on the collateral damage of wrongful convictions on families and communities, challenging deeper problems of mass incarceration and the criminal justice system.

The following are available through Prison Legal News, PO Box 1151 Lake Worth, FL 33460, 561-360-2523

https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/store/products/

1. The Habeas Citebook: Prosecutorial Misconduct. By Alissa Hull. $49.95 + $6 S&H. Latest offering in Prison Legal News Publishing’s Citebook series. Like the other Citebooks in the series, it’s designed to help pro se prisoner litigants to identify and raise viable claims for potential habeas corpus relief. This invaluable tool contains several hundred case citations and descriptions, saving readers many hours of research in identifying winning arguments to successfully challenge their conviction. It’s conveniently and logically organized into 16 chapters, beginning with a general overview of prosecutorial misconduct and progresses topically to discussing and providing case citations to specific issues such as Brady considerations and discriminatory jury selection.


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   Prison Education Guide.Christopher Zoukis, 2016, 280 pages, $49.95 + $6 S&H. This exceptional book provides the reader with step-by-step instructions to find the right educational program, enroll in courses and complete classes to meet their academic goals.

   
   


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   The Disciplinary Self-Help Litigation Manual. Dan Manville, 2nd Ed, 2015, 368 pages, $49.95 + $6 S&H. This is designed to inform prisoners of their rights when faced with the consequences of a disciplinary hearing. This authoritative and comprehensive work educates prisoners about their rights throughout this process and helps guide them at all stages, from administrative hearing through litigation. This invaluable how-to guide offers step by step information for both state and federal prisoners and includes a 50 state analysis of relevant case law.

   
   


4. The Habeas Citebook: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel. Brandon Sample, 2nd Ed, 2016, 275 pages, $49.95 +$6 S&H. The book is also practical and useful. It provides invaluable resources, including templates and forms, that explain what, when, where and how to file for habeas relief. It contains readable summaries of the relevant laws and rules and plain-English explanations of some of the inherently mystifying concepts of habeas law, such as “procedural default” and “certificates of appealability” and the “AEDPA,” along with practical advice.
    


5. Prisoners' Self Help Litigation Manual. John Boston & Dan Manville, 4th Ed, 2010, 928 pages, $54.95 + S&H. This is an indispensable guide for prisoners and prisoner advocates seeking to understand the rights guaranteed to prisoners by law and how to protect conditions of confinement, civil liberties in prison, procedural due process, the legal system, how to litigate, conducting effective legal research, and writing legal documents.  Also available on Ebay and third party sellers at a discount.
    


6. Protecting Your Health and Safety: A Litigation Guide For Inmates. Robert E. Toone, 2nd Ed, 2009, 325 pages, $10 + $6 S&H. This is an easy to read, plain language guide prisoners can use to identify and litigate federal civil rights claims against prison officials. Over 100 pages are dedicated to the different kinds of constitutional and statutory violations prisoners frequently encounter while incarcerated. Has not been updated since 2009; be sure to check case cites for updated case law.