The Journal of
Prisoners on
Prisons (otherwise referred to as the J.P.P.) is an
academic journal written by prisoners and based on the tradition of the
Penal Press. This journal was founded in 1988, primarily by Professor
Robert Gaucher from the
University of Ottawa, and has had many contributors over the years including
Mumia Abu-Jamal,
Leonard Peltier and
Little Rock Reed as some of the most well known writers.
The journal was founded with the idea of allowing for the voices of prisoners themselves in to an academic environment where prisons and related institutions, as well as their effects are examined. The concern was that the actual experiences of being in prison were not fully considered by the
academics and instituational workers making decisions and enacting policies to address experiences that they had no first hand knowledge or information about.
The purpose of this journal is "to bring the knowledge and experience of the incarcerated to bear upon more academic arguments and concerns and to inform public discourse about the current state of our carceral institutions."
1.
1. (Gaucher, R., Summer 1988, p. 54)