Lois Ahrens

Image rights: PM Press

The Real Cost Of Prisons Comix isbn: 9781604861761 (EPUB) 9781604861754 (MOBI) formats: epub mobi published: 09/2008 pages: 104 price: 7.90 euros

Lois Ahrens has been an activist and organizer for social justice for more than forty years. In 2000 she started the Real Cost of Prisons Project which brings together justice activists, artists, justice policy researchers and people directly experiencing the impact of mass incarceration to work together to end the U.S. prison nation.

The Real Cost of Prisons Project created workshops, a website which includes sections of writing and comix by prisoners, a daily news blog focused on mass incarceration and three comic books. The website (at www.realcostofprisons.org) and blog (at www.realcostofprisons.org/blog/) receive more than 30,000 distinct visits per month.

In 2005, she developed three comic books: Prison Town-Paying the Price by Kevin Pyle and Craig Gilmore, Prisoners of A Hard Life-Women and Their Children by Susan Willmarth, Ellen Miller-Mack and Ahrens, Prisoners of the War on Drugs by Sabrina Jones, Ellen Miller-Mack and Ahrens. More than 100,000 free comic books have been sent to prisoners, their families, organizers, teachers and others. The comic books have now being anthologized into the book, The Real Cost of Prisons Comix, published by PM Press in September, 2008.

Through the Real Cost of Prisons Project, Ahrens has been fortunate to have built an extensive correspondence with prisoners, which has grown into working relationships and friendships. Additionally, Lois is involved in educating people with criminal records, those who hire them and the public about how to overcome and end obstacles created by laws and practices surrounding Criminal Offender Record Information. She also works to raise awareness and opposition to the building and expanding of new jails in MA.

She lives in Massachusetts with her spouse Ellen Miller-Mack.