Prisoners are funny, but sad.

cartoon of 2 men in prison cell discussing votes
ex-cons are like most americans – they can’t vote, because they can’t find their voting place

Penal self-comforting

I’ve been fascinated by prisons, even before one of the greatest shows ever, Prison Break. In high school I even did a Social Studies term paper on the penal system!

If I can find the opportunity, I’d like to do a series of prison cartoons on contract. I’ve only been  inside 3 jails, and one was defunct, being used as a movie set, but I’d like to visit more.

I think it was the Lincoln Heights jail, which I see in Wiki is haunted, but I didn’t know it that day. They were shooting a show and we had to paint the damn thing. The worst part was the unbelievable echoing and noise from just moving ladders and buckets and talking. We had a crew of 5, but it sounded like a bad concert. It was the loudest building I’ve ever been in!

I can’t imagine how terrible it would sound as a real working, full prison. Real convicts must go deaf. And for any movie shooting, they must have to re-dub any sound.

(Tip on the cartoon: ex-cons can’t vote. Also, they can’t own firearms. Supposedly. They can own stocks, but the timing is important…I originally wrote this about 2008, and the market was WAY down.)

Here’s how to buy this or any law cartoon for powerpoint, law journals, newsletters, books, etc.

ID #n3902b        Caption: I don’t own stocks, and I can’t vote. It’s all good. (two convicts in prison)

Donna Barstow

Donna Barstow

Syndicated cartoonist in the New Yorker, LA Times, Harvard Business Review, Slate, textbooks, papers. Columnist for 10 years in Psychology Today. Set painter in studio Art Depts. Member Scriptwriters Network, script analyst. Author, 2 hardcopy books, Barnes & Noble Calendar.