Maverick: Ellen Barry, Jailhouse Lawyer

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To be sure, Barry's work is rarely popular, especially at a time when politicians all want to show how tough they are on crime, and prisons have replaced social programs as the cure-all for society's ills. "We've entered a disturbing period that promotes a retributionist, punitive attitude toward people in our society who haven't 'made it,' who are underdogs, who don't have the financial means that other people have, and who may have disabilities like mental illness and addictions to deal with," she says.

The numbers back her up. When Barry began LSPC, there were about 1,200 women in the California state prison system. Now there are more than 13,000—not counting those in the county jail systems, which handle nearly as many. To raise awareness, she has joined former Black Panther Angela Davis, now on the faculty at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and others to form Critical Resistance, a coalition of groups working against the expansion of the U.S. prison system. They have found allies among activists interested in immigrant rights, mental health, education, and labor, as well as among artists like John Trudell and Ani DiFranco, who have performed on behalf of the organization.

A small, bright-eyed woman with long graying hair, the 44-year-old Barry hums with an energy that's both tough and maternal. Having spent over 20 years in a field that traditionally receives little public acclaim, she was more than a bit surprised last year when she received a $275,000 "genius" grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for her efforts on behalf of prisoners. The grant will ensure that—for the first time in her adult life—she won't have to raise funds to pay her own salary. She plans to step down as director of LSPC and use the money to complete a book with Davis on incarcerated women while also expanding her teaching and organizing work.

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